James Blyth
Senior Engineer
My formative years were spent on the Dorset/Hampshire border, but my wife’s heart is here in Devon.
Having lived in Surrey for some years, we have made Devon and Cornwall our home since we returned to the south-west after our daughter was born. She now has a brother, and we live in Cornwall, in sight of Devon, and enjoy the natural beauty and variety the south-west has to offer a growing family. Having re-found a previous DofE campsite I used many years ago, I have recently rekindling my love of wildcamping on Dartmoor.
Professionally, I have been an engineer in one guise or another since 2003 when, having already completed a science degree, I embarked on a part-time degree in civil engineering whilst learning platform timber frame design. I practised as a structural engineer for several years with a particular specialism in the hygienic food processing sector, and particularly enjoyed steering projects as a Lead Designer. In 2009 a research project crossed my radar that I felt my background in bioscience and engineering would allow me to unlock. I enrolled for a Doctoral programme under the auspices of the STREAM Industrial Doctorate Centre. My research focused on the use of biological methods to assess UV disinfection performance resulting in the award of PhD in Water Treatment from Imperial College London. I returned to consulting engineering in 2012 and have been a practicing civil engineer in the south-west since 2014.
I’m fortunate to have been able to work in a variety of disciplines and have experience in flood risk and drainage, traffic and transport, infrastructure design and even some river engineering. My experience includes civil and structural engineering design at all stages, from concept to completion and has included project and asset management.
At AWP I have joined the Flood Risk and Drainage Team and look forward to serving our clients with their development aspirations.