In the process, the team employed shipbuilding techniques and the expertise of engineering firm Arup to keep the sinuous roof aloft with few visible supports.
Sara Thiam, director of the Institution of Civil Engineers ICEE) in Scotland, said the awards showed the skill and expertise of engineering Scotland.
His expertise in engineering and biology caught the attention of the dean of Harvard's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
And gradually, out of this quest for ever more difficult oil, Aberdeen developed world class expertise in engineering in very difficult surroundings.
Expertise in engineering, computer science, and bioinformatics also is required to help integrate new advances in technologies such as high throughput screening of compounds and in silico modeling.
There is an urgent need for multidisciplinary approaches combining expertise from engineering, analytical and environmental chemistry, (eco toxicology, and microbiology.
Two employee groups with functional expertise in engineering and business economics respectively comprise the MAS user groups.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, Mr Salmond said: "We are a country rich in natural resources, with world class universities, an outstanding visitor industry, expertise in engineering and life sciences, an astounding cultural heritage and a skilled and inventive people.
Consequently, a particular domain of expertise in engineering and scientific fields has emerged, demanding more advanced skills and deeper domain knowledge.
