Fiona Cobb

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Fiona Cobb, FIStructE, HonFRIBA, is a British structural engineer and author of The Structural Engineer's Pocket Book. [1] The pocket book was first published in 2003 and is in its 3rd Edition having sold nearly 40,000 copies and is part of the structural engineering exhibit in the mathematics gallery at London's Science Museum. [2] Worldwide sales of the book exceed the 27,000 members of the Institution of Structural Engineers and the average 10,000 lifetime sales for non-fiction UK books. [3]

Cobb was a STEM Ambassador early in her career, volunteering in schools and writing in the national press. [4] She won the ACE's Young Consultant of the Year, 2007 for having published a core industry textbook before age 35 and being a notable woman in a male-dominated profession; the NCE/ACE judges citation said that "her belief in communicating the importance of the role of engineers in society is an example to all, as is the time she spends educating young people about why engineering is fun". [5] [6] Notable projects include The Weston Tower to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries at Westminster Abbey, [7] the first structure to be added to the Abbey in 350 years. She has been a Conservation Accredited Engineer [8] since 2009 and established Cobb & Company in 2019. [2] In 2021, Cobb delivered the IStructE Sutherland History Lecture with Nina Baker on Forgotten Figures in Structural Engineering, presenting original research into the first two female members of the IStructE, Florence Mary Taylor (1926) and Mary Irvine (engineer) (1947).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocket edition</span>

Small-size books which could fit in a reader's pocket have existed from early times. For example, the early 8th-century gospel book known as the St Cuthbert Gospel has a page size of only 138 by 92 millimetres. However, the concept of producing a specific pocket edition of a book dates to the 20th century. It refers to an edition that has been altered to fit in the reader's pocket, usually by using thinner paper, smaller print, and abbreviation of the text:

When a publisher wishes to produce a pocket edition of a book he can reduce the size of the print, and the thickness of the paper and covers; but he cannot do this indefinitely if the book is to remain legible and serviceable; a time comes when he must also abridge the text, abbreviating of cutting out any appendices or other portions, which, though perhaps interesting in themselves, are not really necessary to the main purpose of the work.

Mary Thompson Irvine, was a British engineer. In 1947, she was the first woman to be elected a chartered member of the Institution of Structural Engineers.

References

  1. "The Structural Engineers Pocket Book" . Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 The Structural Engineer Magazine (October 2019). "Profile Fiona Cobb". The Structural Engineer. 97: 32–33.
  3. "What are average book sales?" . Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  4. "Forward planning: a closer look at the role of the design engineer". The Independent. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  5. New Civil Engineer Magazine. "NCE/ACE Consultants of the year shortlists announced" . Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. "Newsletter 4: Where are they now? Profile: Fiona Cobb". IDBE Blog. 4 March 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  7. The Engineer (1 August 2018). "An inside-out display cabinet: Westminster Abbey's Weston Tower" . Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. "Conservation Accreditaton Register of Engineers (CARE)" (PDF). Retrieved 30 April 2020.