Professor Peter Robery BSc, PhD, FREng, CEng, FICE, FCS, MIAM

• FREng - Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2012),
• FICE – Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (2012),
• FCS – Fellow of the Concrete Society (2011),
• MIAM - Member of the Institute of Asset Management (2010)
• PhD – Aggregate for concrete made from domestic incinerator ash, University of Leeds (1981)
• BSc (Hons), Civil Engineering, University of Leeds (1977)

Peter brings over 33 years of experience in the field of concrete construction technology, inspection, testing, maintenance and repair. He is a Chartered Engineer recognised at the highest level by the Engineering Institutions and currently founder-director of Robery Forensic Engineering Limited. He was appointed visiting Professor in Forensic Engineering at the School of Civil Engineering in March 2015.

Peter is an accredited expert in failure investigation & forensic engineering, regularly serving as an expert witness on concrete and construction issues, and experienced in Technology and Construction Court, Arbitration, Mediation, Adjudication & Public Inquiry.

Over his career, Peter has worked in most construction sectors, including contractors, testing organisations and consulting engineers, with experience in a variety of responsible posts, including Companies House directorships.

Starting his career with a PhD taught him the advantages to be gained from working closely with Universities and other research organisations such as BRE & TRL. He then joined for Taylor Woodrow in 1982, before joining testing and investigation specialist Harry Stanger in 2000. He them moved to Guy Maunsell & Partners in 2005 (which became AECOM) and then to Halcrow in 2004, which is now CH2M HILL.

In CH2M HILL, Peter reached the role of Technology Fellow for Concrete Technology – the highest qualified concrete expert. Peter has always sought ways to promote University relations for mutual benefit, in feeding back to students current industry practice through teaching on MSc and MEng courses, identifying joint research opportunities and providing topics for MSc dissertations. He has also been external supervisor on three concrete-based PhD projects (U. Dundee, U. Glamorgan & U. Central Lancashire), an EngD examiner for a project on concrete repair systems, and an EngD supervisor for a project on offsite construction in civil engineering. He also provides strategic advice to the School’s industrial board.

Peter’s interest in concrete as a material started early in his career and it was Professor Adam Neville, then Head of the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Leeds that caught his imagination. Since then, he has made it his mission to further industry’s understanding of concrete durability, deterioration, inspection and repair and has undertaken a wide range of development and research projects in his career in industry.

Significant projects he worked on include:

• Buncefield investigation into the performance of bunds
• Singapore Mass Rapid Transit rail system
• Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
• White Square Office complex, Moscow
• London Gateway Port
• Midland Links motorway viaducts
• Lusail sewage treatment works, Qatar

Now, much of his project work being for the legal sector as an expert witness, this allows him to bring his knowledge of concrete design, technology and performance to assist clients, solicitors and counsel with their cases.

Teaching Programmes
• MSc in Advanced Structures and Design
• MEng in Civil Engineering, year 4, Module: Structural Engineering III