By the time I had completed my Hons BSc in Geology, specialising in mineralogy and petrology, I was absolutely fascinated by the opportunity of applying this knowledge to civil engineering – an opportunity that was growing rapidly as the economy of the UK began to recover from World War 2. To pursue that interest I enrolled at Imperial for their course in Engineering Geology but soon realised that to make any sensible progress in this branch of applied geology it was necessary to become familiar with the relevant mechanics of soils and rocks. That took years and to be honest is still work in progress. Appreciation of geomechanics was still in a very formative stage and it was a source of constant wonder to see how the mechanics of rock and soil masses could be quantified and predicted. I stayed at Imperial to complete a PhD and eventually joined the staff where I remained for the rest of my academic career. During that time I encountered countless examples of errors in design and construction that arose from a misunderstanding of the link between mechanics and geology – something Karl Terzaghi warned of in the 1940’s. It is this link between the mechanics of geological material and masses, and in particular the responses governed by groundwater, seen in their geological setting at the microscopic to macroscopic level that never fails to interest me. From that interest a fruitful and satisfying aspect of my career developed, helping others get right the geology relevant to their engineering work. In parallel with this is a growing awareness of the necessity to lead by example those at an earlier stage in their career, particularly with regard to Professionalism and a duty of care to their client, and to help the career of those for whom little technical help is available – this instigated the establishment of First Steps Ltd in 2000 in which I am a Co-Director with my colleague Dr Christine Butenuth.