Don Ward was honoured to attend a celebratory event in Budapest organised by Hungarian industry leaders and former colleagues of Professor Sebestyén Gyula to mark ten years since Dr Gyula’s death. Don was able to speak warmly of the contribution made by Dr Gyula to global construction research during his terms as CIB Board member (1965-77), Vice President (1968-71), President (1971-74) and Secretary General (1980-93), mostly during a time when Hungary was behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ and such international collaboration was unusual and remarkable. Don was also pleased to promote the latest winner of the award named after Dr Gyula, namely the CIB Sebestyén Future Leaders Award, which was won in 2021 by the Student Chapter of the University of Hong Kong. It was heartening to hear his family’s gratitude to hear about the lasting legacy of their father and grandfather, and they asked to be kept informed of the work of CIB.
Don was also able to visit the campus of CIB Full Member ÉMI as a guest of CIB Board member Peter Töth, and to see the site of the 2019 Solar Decathlon as well as hear from ÉMI CEO about plans for extending this to an ‘Innovation Park’ for new housing. The pictures show Don with the other speakers which included Peter Toth, event organisers and Dr Gyula’s daughter and grand-daughters, as well as some of the exhibition material prepared for the event.
