Our North-West (NW) Branch held its AGM on 1st October 2024 from 16:30 at Luther King 
House, Brighton Grove, Manchester, a most interesting venue and an excellent conference facility.
The event included talks from Paul Lambert on 200 years of Cathodic Protection and Trish Conder on NDT in the renewable energies sector. An excellent buffet and social meet followed the presentations and formal business of the AGM.
Paul Lambert
Paul is Head of Materials and Corrosion Technology Team at Mott MacDonald, where he has worked for over thirty years. He is also a visiting professor at the Centre for Infrastructure Maintenance, MERI, Sheffield Hallam University. As Past President, he has a long-standing involvement with the Institute of Corrosion, where he currently provides support 
in professional review and 
assessment and is the current chair of the PAC committee. He has over 40 years’ experience in the performance, durability, corrosion, and protection of materials, including polymers. He has led on the research and development of investigation techniques and protective systems for plain, reinforced, and pre-stressed concrete and steel-framed structures, including cathodic protection and corrosion inhibitors. Additional roles include the preparation of expert evidence on coatings, road surfacing, concrete, corrosion, and stainless steels.
Dr Patricia Conder
Dr. Patricia Conder works as Principal Consultant at Inspection and NDT Consultancy, ESR Technology Ltd. Patricia has a multi-faceted background, having worked in a range of sectors, including electronics, chemicals, pulp, and paper, before entering the inspection and non-destructive testing field. Her current focus is the data science of inspection, from 
planning and reporting to 
evaluation of results combining to enable a greater insight into the underlying corrosion mechanisms. Patricia has an honours degree in physics from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD in materials science from the University of Birmingham.
Following the two excellent Technical Presentations, the Institute President – Stephen Tate thanked the North-West committee for all their hard work over the last 2 years in reactivating and growing the Branch. The Annual Branch AGM followed this, led by Greg Brown, who was unanimously elected as Branch Chair. The Chair presented a bottle of wine to long-serving and retiring committee member Brenda Peters, who will soon join the Trustees of the Institute of Corrosion as its new honorary secretary. Greg also thanked Kathleen Brook for all her work as University Liaison Officer during previous North-West Technical Sessions, including the recent highly successful Corrosion Awareness Day held in April at the University of Manchester. Kathy has now moved to Leeds to take up a new role there.
Upcoming Events
Following the AGM the branch will hold its annual Christmas dinner (date and venue to be concluded) before looking towards next year’s programme. The committee continues to grow, and if you would like to get involved or contribute towards an event, contact nwchair@icorr.org 
For further details of NW technical programme, please visit: North West Branch – Institute of Corrosion (icorr.org) and scroll down to Local Technical Programme where copies of past presentations may be found.
Photo (Right): The Reception 
Area at Luther King House.
Photo: Greg Brown – 
Northwest Branch Chair Introduces Proceedings.
Photo: Professor Paul Lambert of Sheffield Hallam University and 
Mott MacDonald.
Photo: Professor Paul Lambert Spoke Passionately on The Topic Of Protection Of Reinforced Concrete With Many 
Case Studies Presented.
Photo: Dr Conder Discussed Various Case Studies Related to Deployment of Novel Ndt
Technologies With Particular Relevance To Emerging Net-Zero Energy Operations.
