The cart is empty!
London Branch
On the 15th February the branch welcomed Paul Lambert, who gave a presentation on “1824 and all that – a celebration of the bicentenaries of Cathodic Protection and Portland Cement”, at the usual venue, the Lancaster Hall hotel, Bayswater, London.
Paul Lambert has over 40 years’ experience in the investigation of structural durability and degradation and in the development of novel remedial techniques for civil and building structures, most recently as Head of Materials & Corrosion at Mott MacDonald. In 2023, he became one of the first three inaugural Mott MacDonald Fellows. He is a past President of ICorr and is currently Chair of the Professional Assessment Committee (PAC). He is also a visiting professor at the Centre for Infrastructure Management at Sheffield Hallam University, where he carries out research into novel materials and repair technologies and is well qualified to talk on this subject.
Historical Background
On January 22, 1824, the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in London accepted a paper for publication entitled ‘On the corrosion of copper sheeting by sea water, and on methods of preventing this effect; and on their application to ships of war and other ships’. The author was Sir Humphry Davy, and it described a study with his colleague Michael Faraday into what we now know as cathodic protection, which celebrates its 200-year anniversary in 2024. It was many years later before the true value of cathodic protection was recognised for the protection of buried and submerged steel structures. It was championed by the formation of the Texas-based Mid-Continent Cathodic Protection Association in 1938, which by 1943 had evolved into the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE, now AMPP) in the USA.
But that is only half the tale. On October 21st, 1824, a bricklayer in Leeds patented a new formulation of hydraulic binder for mortar and concrete which he called Portland cement due to its similarity to the popular structural stone, especially when mixed with beach sand. Portland cement eventually dominated the manufacture of all concrete worldwide.
200 years on, the long-term durability limitations of Portland cement concrete are regularly made good by the application of cathodic protection, making 2024 a very important year for those involved in reinforced concrete and its remediation. So, a happy 200th birthday to Cathodic Protection and Portland Cement. This was a very educational and entertaining presentation, and after questions, Paul was thanked, and presented with an ICorr pen in appreciation.
The branch held its AGM on 14th March, which was followed by the current ICorr President – Stephen Tate, with the bi-annual ‘State of the Nation’ speech.
The current chair of the branch, George Winning, highlighted the positive outcomes from the 22/23 season; hybrid meetings, introduction of webinars in the summer, which will be continued in ‘24, restarting the May event for branch members, which will also continue in ’24, and a very successful Christmas Luncheon. However, in-person and online, attendance were low, and this needs to be addressed.
The London branch treasurer, Jim Glynn, then showed and discussed the accounts for the 22/23 season. The branch receives an allocation from HQ to run all its activities, and after holding 6 evening technical meetings, May event, and the Christmas Luncheon, it returned a surplus of £10,500 to ICorr. Jim then proposed that these accounts be adopted, and this was proposed, and seconded by members attending, and approved.
George Winning as chair noted the 23/24 committee members, and thanked those who were standing down for their services. George stated he was also standing down due to other commitments, and that the new chair for 24/25 would be Paul Brooks, who will take over from the April meeting.
In his subsequent presentation, Stephen paid tribute to his predecessors for their major contributions to the Institute, and thanked the London Committee for its invitation to present this in-depth review of ongoing issues being addressed by the Trustees, and planned improvements to the Institute’s offering to members, both in the UK and overseas, with further opportunities for member engagement, following the successful roll-out of online webinars, that have proved very popular especially with those based outside the UK.
Paul Lambert Presenting on “1824 and All That” – a Celebration of the Bicentenaries of Cathodic Protection and Portland Cement.
George Winning Retiring Chair of the London Branch at the AGM.
Stephen Tate ICorr President Presenting the Bi-annual ‘State of the Nation’
Speech to London Branch.
Celebration of Science Event
On 15th November 2023 and on behalf of the Institute, Dr Yunnan Gao, Vice President of ICorr and Brenda Peters, (past ICorr President and Council Member) attended the Celebration of Science Event, combined with its annual Prizegiving Celebrations organised by the Science Council and held at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum.
With around 80 attendees, we felt privileged to be part of this event to celebrate the achievements of CPD Award winners, recognise volunteer contributions and applaud apprentices and their journey.
A highlight of these celebrations was an opportunity to meet with the newly appointed Chief Executive of the Science Council, Profession Della Freeth, and express ICorr’s continuous dedicated support to collaborate with the Science Council to bring the utmost benefits to both sides—to ICorr existing members and the whole science community.
From the keynote talk given by Dr. Becky Smethurst, who is an astrophysicist, author, science communicator, and Royal Astronomical Society Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, they learned a unique perspective on combining being a science communicator with being an active researcher. Other presenters included Tom Cheek (Apprenticeship Programme Manager), Adam Donnan (Board of Trustees), and Jane Banks (External Relationships Manager).
Following the awards and presentations, they used the opportunity at the networking reception to connect with fellow registrants from across the science disciplines, as well as individuals from the professional body community, industry, academia, and government.
Note: ICorr is licenced by the Science Council to award Chartered Scientist (CSci), and many professionals working in the industry have achieved CSci through ICorr.
• Details of all Award winners may be found at: www.sciencecouncil.org/blog/2023/11/15/celebration-of-science-2023-announcement/
• To find out more about future events held by the Science Council and its professional body Members see their website: www.sciencecouncil.org/news-blog-events/
Chartered Scientist Awards.
CAPTION:
Brenda Peters (ICorr past president and ICorr Science Council representative) with Science Council Chief Executive Professor Della Freeth and Dr Yunnan Gao (ICorr Vice President).
Cathodic Protection Training: The Role of the Cathodic Protection Governing Body in the Institute of Corrosion
Ensuring Industry Leading Training in Cathodic Protection The Institute of Corrosion’s successful and growing Cathodic Protection Training and Examination Scheme (‘the CP Scheme’) is managed by the Cathodic Protection Governing Body (CPGB) in accordance with BS EN ISO...