The University of Cambridge est. 1209 is a public research university with 6,000 academic staff and 19,000 students. It is consistently ranked as the top university in Europe and among the top 3 in the world across the board (overall and in Engineering). Cambridge Alumni have won 95 Nobel Prizes, the most of any university in the world. The university has also been a hub for the development of a high-tech business cluster in its campus. The Department of Engineering is the largest department in the University of Cambridge. It is a leading international centre of research with core strengths spanning across the major engineering disciplines and a research portfolio of ~£90M. The Department employs 140 academic staff, ~200 contract research staff and over 600 research students. Research into future infrastructure and built environment is a significant part of the activities of the Department of Engineering covering two of its four strategic themes: (i) energy, transport and urban infrastructure and (ii) Uncertainty, risk and resilience. The Civil Engineering Division within the Department of Engineering conducts internationally leading research on advancing the mechanics of civil engineering systems within the broader context of the design, construction & operation of sustainable infrastructure and the stewardship of Earth's resources and environment. Advanced infrastructure materials is a major research theme within the division.

The University of Cambridge, the Department of Engineering and the Civil Engineering Division have world class research facilities which the key persons have access to. Key facilities include: fully equipped laboratories for the synthesis, production, preparation, characterisation and testing of civil engineering materials. Testing at element, member and full-scale are available. Unique centrifuge testing facilities that enable the scaling up of structures and testing under a range of mechanical and environmental conditions are also available.

http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/academic-divisions/civil-engineering