Each year, the Institute of Corrosion bestows a range of internationally renowned awards in recognition of excellence in corrosion science and engineering, and to reward outstanding service to the Institute and the wider corrosion community.
The institute is extremely proud to announce the selection of Trevor Osborne, FICorr (Hon), NACE Corrosion Specialist, for the H.G. Cole Award.
This award is made in recognition of exceptional services to the development of the Institute. It is only awarded on an occasional basis, reflecting the highest possible level of commitment of the recipient to the activities of the Institute. The inaugural H.G. Cole Award (in the form of a poignard) was presented to Charles Booker in 1997 by Gwen Cole (wife of the late Henry Cole), in recognition of his many years of service as Honorary Secretary of the Institute. The modern form of the award is a plaque whose design captures the essence of the original poignard.
Trevor is a past president of the Institute of Corrosion and a long-standing chair of the board of its commercial arm, Correx Ltd. He is managing director of Deepwater Corrosion Services (UK) Ltd., and has worked in the energy industry for over 43 years, with very wide experience in corrosion control and project execution. He will be presented with the award at the Institute AGM to be held on November 8, 2023, in Birmingham.
We offer our sincere congratulations to Trevor on this magnificent achievement.
Background to the H.G. Cole Award
Henry George Cole was the chief materials engineer at the UK Ministry of Defence. He was based in London and Farnborough, and was a hugely respected coordinator and sponsor of research, an elegant and influential ‘Whitehall Mandarin’, and a man of spectacular vision and determination. He was Secretary to the Hoar Committee, a ground-breaking development for the recognition of corrosion costs in the early 1970s that was the mainspring for corrosion interest in UK government circles for the next twenty years. Henry Cole was also hugely committed to the Institute of Corrosion. He became the part-time administrative officer for the institute when it shared accommodation with the SCI at Belgrave Square. He oversaw the Institute’s move to the IMF offices in Birmingham and he was one of the guiding lights of the Institute until his untimely death on 14th May 1987.
Trevor’s Legacy
Trevor has made an outstanding contribution to the long-term financial sustainability of the institute in a variety of roles over many years. He has guided the Institute financially by overseeing the continued success of our ICATS training scheme in his role as Chair of the Correx Board, and by coordinating sound investments on our behalf. In addition, before retiring from Council in 2022, Trevor spearheaded the purchase and refurbishment of a new headquarters for the Institute – ‘Corrosion House’ in Northampton.
This is a ‘state of the art’ 3-storey building, with the ground floor dedicated to the HQ administration team, the middle floor for training, and the top floor as a conference room. Each floor has its own kitchen, and the corrosion training centre has a breakout facility for delegates.
Corrosion House is undoubtedly a world class facility, totally fitting for the Institute of Corrosion, and based in a location in easy reach for both national and global customers, that today welcomes customers and members from all over the world.
More information on the H.G. Cole Award can be found on the Awards page of the ICorr Website:
https://www.icorr.org/icorr-awards/
