The Hydrographic Society UK & Ireland (THS:UKI) is delighted to announce the winner and runners-up of the Alan Ingham Award 2026, celebrating outstanding student achievement in hydrography and related marine and geospatial disciplines.

The annual award recognises exceptional academic work and highlights the exciting talent emerging from universities across the UK and Ireland. This year’s competition attracted a particularly high standard of submissions, making the judging process both challenging and rewarding.

Congratulations to our 2026 Award Recipients

The Alan Ingham Award 2026 has been awarded to Sebastian Poole from the University of Plymouth. In recognition of their outstanding achievement, Seb will receive a £500 cash prize and an Alan Ingham Award Certificate. As the winner, he will also become THS:UKI’s nominee for the International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS) Student Award and have been invited to attend Hydro 2026 in October, where they will be recognised alongside members of the international hydrographic community.

Sebastian recently graduated with a First-Class BSc (Hons) in Ocean Exploration and Surveying from the University of Plymouth. Having worked on boats in his hometown of Plymouth since the age of 14, he chose the course to pursue a career at sea, following in the footsteps of both grandfathers, who each proudly completed 25 years of service in the Royal Navy. Hydrography was a natural choice, driven by a desire to explore the oceans as one of our planet’s final frontiers.

His dissertation, “𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗳: 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘆𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮”, used two 10m gridded bathymetric datasets to map and interpret submarine glacial landforms across parts of the South Georgia continental shelf. Although new to glaciology, Sebastian applied the hydrographic and geospatial skills developed during his degree to investigate how high-resolution seabed mapping can be used to reconstruct former ice-flow dynamics.

THS:UKI also congratulates Mildred Haelg from the University of Plymouth, and Effimia Chatzpoulou from University of Plymouth, who have been named runners-up in this year’s competition. In recognition of their excellent submissions, each runner-up will receive a £150 cash prize and an Alan Ingham Award Certificate.

The Alan Ingham Award honours the legacy of Alan Ingham by encouraging and recognising excellence among students preparing to enter the hydrographic profession. The award reflects THS:UKI’s ongoing commitment to supporting education, innovation and the development of future professionals across the hydrographic, marine and geospatial sectors.

Speaking about this year’s competition, a THS:UKI spokesperson said: “The quality of entries for the 2026 Alan Ingham Award has been exceptional, demonstrating the innovation, technical ability and enthusiasm of students entering our profession. Congratulations to our winner and runners-up on their achievements. We look forward to seeing our winner represent THS:UKI as our nominee for the IFHS Student Award and to supporting them to attend HYDRO 2026 in October.”

THS:UKI would like to thank everyone who submitted an entry this year, along with the universities, supervisors and judging panel whose continued support makes the Alan Ingham Award possible each year.

Congratulations once again to all three award recipients. We look forward to following their future careers and wish them every success as they embark on the next stage of their professional journey.

You will be able to read their papers in future editions of soundings!

Find more information about the Alan Ingham Award, here: Alan Ingham Award – The Hydrographic Society

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