Institute News
On 21st November 2024, the ICorr Young Engineers Programme (YEP) reached its grand finale with a vibrant presentation evening hosted at the Institute of Corrosion London Branch. The event, led by Danny Burkle and Izabela Gajewska, marked the culmination of months of effort by participants, mentors, and organisers. It was a night to celebrate technical brilliance, teamwork, and innovative thinking in the field of corrosion science. The YEP has been a foundation of ICorr’s commitment to developing future leaders in the corrosion industry, providing early-career professionals with opportunities to develop their skills, engage with industry experts, and tackle real-world engineering challenges.
The event was not just a competition but a celebration of innovation, teamwork, and professional growth. The evening also provided an excellent networking platform, connecting young professionals with industry experts.
The Event – 2024 YEP Final Case Study Presentation
A total of 24 early-career professionals from leading organisations participated in this year’s programme. This year’s case study challenge centred around a real-world failure of dump condenser heads at a power station, requiring teams to identify root causes, propose solutions, and develop long-term mitigation strategies.
The six teams presented their findings to a panel of experienced judges, each bringing a unique perspective to the evaluation. The judging panel included Stephen Tate, Gareth Hinds, Madeleine Davidson, and Chris Williams. Their collective expertise ensured that the participants received insightful feedback, enhancing the educational value of the programme.
A highlight of the evening was the keynote speeches delivered by Izabela Gajewska and Stephen Tate. Izabela talked about the Importance of Corrosion Management, drawing attention to the staggering global cost of corrosion—estimated at $2.5 trillion annually (£90B within UK)—and the critical need for effective collaboration, education, and risk management strategies to mitigate these impacts.
Stephen Tate followed with an inspiring message, reflecting on the YEP’s vital role in advancing the field of corrosion. He highlighted how the programme fosters innovation, builds professional confidence, and develops the leaders of tomorrow.
Programme Achievements: This year’s programme was a testament to YEP’s growing impact. With over 60 applications, the highest ever, and extensive engagement on social media generating 10,000+ interactions, the programme continues to draw attention from the global corrosion community. Since its inception in 2009, YEP has trained over 100 early-career professionals, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to excel in their careers, many of these YEP graduates are now actively participating within ICorr.
Recognising Excellence: The Winners
The culmination of the evening was the announcement of the winners. Team 1, mentored by Ali Morshed, took the top honours for their comprehensive and innovative approach to the case study challenge. The team consisted of Álvaro González Fuentes, Amy Johnstone, Ben Hudson and Kishan Nittur Ramesh, whose outstanding teamwork and technical analysis set them apart.
In addition to the team award, Rochelle Holness was recognised as the Winning Individual for her exceptional technical contributions and presentation skills. Rochelle’s dedication and leadership earned her a coveted place in the AMPP Leadership Programme, where she will represent ICorr at the upcoming AMPP conference
in Nashville. Mentors provided invaluable guidance to participants, helping them navigate the technical and practical challenges of the case study. The mentors included: Ali Morshed, Rob Doggett, Chris Googan, Stephen Shapcott, Andrew Sturgeon and Shengqi Zhou.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks were extended to the mentors, judges, and ICorr experts who contributed to the programme’s success, including individuals such as Stephen Tate, Yunnan Gao, and others and, our event sponsors BP, AMPP, Wood Thilsted, Intertek CAPCIS and LBBC Baskerville.
Looking Ahead
The 2024 ICorr YEP Final Presentation Evening was a resounding success, highlighting the importance of nurturing the next generation of corrosion professionals. Congratulations to all participants, particularly the winners, Team 1 and Rochelle Holness, for their remarkable achievements. A comprehensive report on the evening, featuring detailed insights from the presentations and feedback from the judges, will be published in the upcoming issue of Corrosion Management. Stay tuned for more on the outstanding work showcased during this unforgettable evening.
Join the Young ICorr Committee
Young ICorr is currently looking for new committee members. This is a fantastic opportunity for early career engineers, scientists, and researchers in the field of corrosion to get involved, gain experience, and make valuable connections. If you are interested, please contact Young ICorr for more information at icorryep@gmail.com
Photo: Winning Team Presenting.
Photo: All YEP Participants and Organisers.
Photo: YEP Winning Team: Team 1. Left to Right: Yunnan Gao, Kishan Nittur Ramesh, Amy Johnstone, Ali Moshed, Álvaro González Fuentes, Ben Hudson.
Photo: Standout Individual
– Rochelle Holness.
Institute News
It is with sadness that we must report the death in August 2024 of J D Griffiths, aka ‘Dave Griff’. Dave was a coating inspection and quality management expert who contributed hugely to the Institute of Corrosion coating inspector training and certification scheme.
He worked with R J P (Ran) Nicklin, who led one of the larger coating inspection specialists in the 1970’s.
In the early 1980s, Dave formed J D Griffiths and Associates Ltd, an independent firm of specialist engineers providing quality control, advisory and inspection services within the corrosion control and structural and piping steelwork protective treatment industries. Dave and his colleagues provided specialist expertise in respect of coatings and linings within the marine, oil, gas, petrochemical, product storage, transportation, pipeline and power generation sectors. They provided these services internationally, throughout the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, Holland, France, Spain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico.
Dave also provided independent expert witness and opinion services in cases of technical and commercial disputes, typically between asset owners and contractors.
In later years, much of Dave’s time was working with Argyll Ruane Ltd (ARL) who were the delegated body operating the Institute of Corrosion coating inspector training and certification scheme and later also the cathodic protection technician and engineer training and certification scheme. Dave was the Scheme Manager, reporting to the ICorr Governing Board (later formed into the Professional Development and Training Committee, recently deleted) and was often treading a very difficult line of ‘working for 2 masters’, both ICorr and ARL. He dealt with these challenges with professionalism and honesty.
ARL’s key competences related to non-destructive testing (ultrasonic, radiographic etc) and for many years Dave was the prime source of coating expertise as required within the ICorr Scheme. He also worked closely alongside John Thirkettle and
Chris Lynch who wrote the early CP courses, along with the other CP tutors, to assist in the delivery of the ICorr CP Scheme.
The Institute owes a considerable debt to the professionalism and dedication that Dave brought to his role as Scheme Manager. He was a significant contributor to the foundation of our scheme.
He will be missed by his wife Jacqui.
A personal note from Brian Wyatt:
Dave was a long-term friend and respected colleague. He was
also a man of integrity and of considerable fun. He was the first person I knew with a ‘radio phone’ in his car (yes, a radio phone,
pre mobile phones); great for calling the operator to book a
decent restaurant……
We travelled together to Libya to work on one of his projects;
I blame him for choosing the route via Malta on what I termed a ‘cattle ship’; it was most definitely a dual service vessel. It took
me 6 months to recover from the chest infection; I took advice
from both our excellent Vet and GP…
The negotiation, that took the time of single escalator ride, of the long-term arrangement whereby ICorr and ARL (who at that time were managing the delivery of the CP courses for us) agreed a commercial arrangement with the CPA for them to promote our courses into their industry. The CPA are the steel in concrete Corrosion Prevention Association, who remain to this day an important
partner for our ICorr CP Training and Certification work in concrete.
I remember his kindness and courtesy to all, even when vexed.
He will be missed by me and many others in ICorr and beyond.
Photo: J D Griffiths, Aka ‘Dave Griff’.
Institute News
Stephen Shapcott CEng FIMMM FICorr AWeldI, London Branch member, Past Young Engineers Programme recipient and now mentor, and Vice Chair or AMPP UK Chapter, has been awarded this year’s Smeaton Medal in recognition of his work in the scale up and deployment of material solutions for next generation low carbon energy sustainable chemical process technologies.
The Institute of Corrosion is also very pleased to announce that Stephen has additionally been recognised as a newly elected fellow of the institute.
When asked about these two notable events in his career occurring in such close succession, Stephen said, “To be a fellow of the Institute of Corrosion has been a careerlong goal and so to be awarded the Smeaton medal just the week before has been a fabulous experience. I hope any success I have had will inspire the next generation of Corrosion Engineers such as those on the Institute’s Young Engineers Programme.”
All in ICorr offer their congratulations to Stephen on this magnificent double win.
Stephen, who is Head of Materials Engineering – Licencing for Johnson Matthey’s (JM) Catalyst Technologies Licensing Business, was nominated by Dr Elizabeth Rowsell OBE CChem FRSC, JM’s CTO, for his ability in leading the selection of materials of construction for a wide variety of extreme chemical environments, facilitating the safe deployment of world scale chemical and energy process technologies. The development of these processes has resulted in multiple patent applications.
The origins of the Smeaton medal date from the 1970s. The current, third series of medals has been commissioned by the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the formation of the society in 1771. The third series is intended to recognise engineers in the early or mid-stage of their careers who have demonstrated outstanding engineering achievement in the management of hostile environments, such as windstorms, earthquakes, the human body, space, cyberspace, the deep oceans, or under extreme chemical, biological, or nuclear conditions.
The award of the medal to Stephen was announced at the society’s luncheon held at the University of Leeds on the 30th of October 2024 to mark 300 years since Smeaton’s birth and was presented by HRH The Princess Royal, who is an Honorary Member and past President of the Smeatonian Society.
Further information regarding the current series of
Smeatonian Society awards and past winners can be found
at the following website:
https://www.smeatonians.org/smeaton-medal
Photo: Stephen Shapcott with Her Royal Highness Princess Anne for the Smeaton Medal Presentation at the University of Leeds, on the 30th of October 2024.
Photo: Guests at the Annual Luncheon of the The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers.
Photo: Stephen Shapcott with Johnson Matthey’s CTO Elizabeth Rowsell Who Nominated Him
for the Medal.
Institute News
Corrodere Academy, a global provider of coatings and corrosion control training and certification, recently signed a 10-year partnership agreement with the Institute of Corrosion (ICorr). This long-term collaboration will ensure Corrodere continues to provide industry professionals with essential skills for combating global corrosion issues.
The agreement was formalised with a visit to Corrodere’s office from ICorr President Dr Yunnan Gao, where he signed the agreement with Corrodere’s Managing Director, Andrew Deere. The extended collaboration underpins both organisations’ dedication to excellence in corrosion prevention through education and training, ensuring that industry standards remain high and that professionals across the field have access to accredited and respected qualifications.
Dr Yunnan Gao Commented:
“As the President of the Institute of Corrosion, I am thrilled to announce this further extension of our long-term partnership with Corrodere Academy, with whom we have been closely associated since 2010. This agreement not only strengthens our commitment to advancing professional competence in corrosion control but also ensures that industry professionals continue to have access to world-class training and accredited qualifications. Corrodere’s rigorous, ICorr-accredited programs in areas such as coating inspection and thermal metal spray provide vital skills needed to combat corrosion on a global scale. By renewing our partnership, we reaffirm our dedication to equipping professionals with the expertise necessary to meet today’s industry challenges and maintain high standards across the field.”
Corrodere Academy’s suite of ICorr-accredited courses includes:
- ICorr Coating Inspection Levels 1, 2, and 3
- Pipeline Coating Inspection
- Insulation Coating Inspection
- Thermal Metal Spray Inspection
- Hot Dip Galvanising Inspection
- Coating Surveys
These courses are designed to meet the stringent demands of the protective coatings industry, equipping participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to inspect, evaluate, and ensure the effective application of coatings.
“This new agreement extends our working relationship with ICorr and allows us to continue our mission of delivering top-quality training that meets the rigorous standards of the corrosion industry. Our shared vision with ICorr drives us to continuously improve and innovate, ensuring our courses provide real-world benefits to professionals and the industry alike. We look forward to building on the success of our strategic partnership”
Andrew Deere – Managing Director at Corrodere Academy
This 10-year agreement not only reinforces ICorr’s endorsement of Corrodere’s courses but also highlights the essential role of accredited training in the coatings industry. With this continued collaboration, ICorr and Corrodere Academy are committed to upholding and enhancing the professional standards that safeguard the integrity and longevity of critical infrastructure and assets.
For more information about ICorr-accredited courses at Corrodere Academy, please visit corrodere.com
Photo: Signing of the New Agreement, Andrew Deere – Managing Director at Corrodere Academy with ICorr President Dr Yunnan Gao.
Institute News
By Yunnan Gao, Stephen Tate and Anthony Setiadi
Dear Members,
The Institute of Corrosion (ICorr) is very pleased to announce the successful election of
Dr Yunnan Gao as its New President and Dr Anthony Setiadi as its New Vice President at its AGM held in Neville Hall, Newcastle on 13th November 2024.
Dr Yunnan Gao has been the Institutes’ Vice President and one of its Trustees since November 2022, in support of the immediate past president Stephen Tate on various ICorr matters over the past two years. Additionally, Yunnan has been an active ICorr Aberdeen branch committee member for the last 10 years when he has twice held the Chair position, helping to build up the Aberdeen branch from strength to strength. Yunnan has extensive working experience in energy sector both in the UK and overseas for 17 years.
Currently, Yunnan works for bp based in Sunbury, UK. After his PhD studies at Loughborough University, UK, he has worked for a number of energy and technical service companies, including Atkins, DNV GL, LR, Repsol Sinopec, Saipem and Stork, in the areas of asset integrity and corrosion management. Yunnan is a UK Chartered Engineer (CEng), a UK Chartered Scientist (CSci), a fellow of ICorr (FICorr), a fellow of IOM3 (FIMMM) and an AMPP Certified Corrosion Specialist.
Dr Anthony Setiadi has been involved in ICorr for the past 13 years, whereby he was one of the organisers for the first ever Young Engineers Programme (YEP) and has supported this initiative through its successful iterations over the past 15 years. He has also been involved in the London branch committee as well as developing and supporting Chartership registrations to Engineering Council for ICorr.
Anthony received his PhD on materials from Sheffield University, UK, and is a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and Fellow of ICorr (FICorr), with experience in academia and industry covering various industries from nuclear, oil and gas and offshore wind. Currently, Anthony works as Chief Consultant for Wood Thilsted, a leading renewable energy consultancy, based in London, UK.
His background and expertise are in materials and corrosion engineering
for offshore and subsea environments.
We wish them both success in their new roles for the Institute and believe that together they will make a great partnership to lead the Institute from now on.
At this time, we would like to express our greatest gratitude towards our Immediate Past President – Stephen Tate, who recently retired from Oceaneering after 44 years in the Energy Sector. Stephen has led ICorr for the past two years, where he has demonstrated excellent governance and leadership throughout and made a number of successes, including recent involvement in setting up the new ICorr UK branches in Southwest England and Wales and Central Scotland, as well as a renewal of the MoU with AMPP in the USA and sign-off of the new MoU with CSCP (Chinese Society for Corrosion Protection) in China.
Stephen has set a very high bar for his successors to follow and with Stephen’s continued support as immediate past president and working together with the New ICorr President – Dr Yunnan Gao and New ICorr Vice President – Anthony Setiadi, the new team will endeavour to work wholeheartedly to continue the successes of ICorr and bring the utmost value and benefits to the ICorr corrosion community in the UK and overseas for the next two years and beyond.
ICorr Leadership Team’s contact details are as follows:
- ICorr New President – Dr Yunnan Gao: president@icorr.org
-
ICorr New Immediate Past President – Stephen Tate:
past.president@icorr.org
- ICorr New Vice President – Dr Anthony Setiadi:
vice.president@icorr.org
Please feel free to contact us directly if you have any issues that you would like to discuss.
On behalf of the new ICorr Leadership Team, we thank you for your past support of the Institute and look forward to working with you over the next two years.
With our very best regards,
Yunnan, Stephen and Anthony
Photo: President Handover on 13/11/2024, Stephen Tate to Yunnan Gao at the ICorr AGM Held at North-East Branch Newcastle, UK.
Photo: Our New ICorr Team, from Left to Right, ICorr New Vice President – Dr Anthony Setiadi, ICorr New President – Dr Yunnan Gao and ICorr New Immediate Past President – Stephen Tate.
