Recognising Past, Present and Future Talent
Each year, the Institute of Corrosion presents several internationally recognised Outstanding Achievement awards in corrosion science. These are presented to individuals to recognise their contribution to furthering knowledge, learning and research in this specialised field. The awards range from cash to a sword of which King Arthur would have been proud.
Here’s a summary of the prestigious awards that are coordinated by the Corrosion Science Division, and presented to past, present, and potential pioneers in corrosion science.
Lionel Shreir Award
Presented at the Corrosion Science Symposium, the Lionel Shreir Award is presented to the student judged to have given the best presentation at the symposium. A sub-committee of the Corrosion Science Division selects the recipient from all those who present at the event. This year, the symposium will be an online event for the first time, which brings in a whole new dimension to presenting skills. The criteria for selection for the award are:
- Originality and creativity of research
- Knowledge of corrosion science and practice
- Clarity of presentation and rapport with audience
- Clarity when answering questions
Submissions of 200-word abstracts detailing a 10-minute talk that students would like to give are being accepted from students around the world. These abstracts will be reviewed, and those selected will be contacted and asked to provide an extended abstract by Friday 28th August 2020.
For the opportunity to be awarded the highly sought-after certificate and cash prize, send your abstract to j.a.wharton@soton.ac.uk by Friday 17th July 2020.
Galloway Award
We have begun to receive nominations from overseas already for this award, which consists of a certificate and a cash sum.
The Galloway Award is presented to the student author of what the judging committee decide is the best published paper that describes original research in corrosion science and engineering during the last year.
In addition to the certificate and cash sum, a summary of the winner’s paper will be published in the Corrosion Magazine. (Don’t worry, if you’re the winner, you retain copyright of your work – allowing you to publish in other scientific journals.) The international reach of this magazine gives the student even more exposure to the global corrosion community.
Submissions of papers that have either been published in the last 12 months or are in draft form should be sent to the Corrosion Science Division Chair Julian Wharton, by email to j.a.wharton@soton.ac.uk.
T.P. Hoar Award
This award is reserved for those authors who have papers published in Corrosion Science and recognises the best paper from the previous year. A sub-committee of the Corrosion Science Division selects the winning paper, which is announced by the end of the year. The winning authors receive a certificate and a cash sum.
U.R. Evans Award
The U.R. Evans Award is the premier award of the Institute of Corrosion. An annual award, it is presented by the President of ICorr to an eminent researcher, corrosion scientist, academic, or industrialist. The recipient is selected by a Corrosion Science Division panel, and invited to give the plenary talk at the Corrosion Science Symposium. (The picture at the head of this article is Dr. Peter Andresen with the U.R. Evans award that was presented to him in 2014.)
It is usually at this event that the recipient is presented with their award and they are also granted Honorary Life Fellowship of the Institute. The award itself is a broadsword, and one that takes an edge – which has proved somewhat problematic in previous years.
Dr Julian Wharton recalls some trials and tribulations a previous winner of the award had in getting the sword home. “The sword had to go down to New Zealand in 2015, and the recipient had to try to get the ceremonial sword through customs. The winner, Professor David Williams, had real difficulties.
“Then you take it to university, and they say, ‘You want to hang a sword in your office?’ ”
The sword’s design has been modified slightly over time, and is no longer made from stainless steel. While a proper sword, if kept in non-ideal conditions they can corrode slightly. “But clearly, the recipient should be able to deal with any corrosion, given their background,” says Dr Wharton.
Robert Cottis – this year’s winner of the U.R. Evans Award
Professor Robert Cottis was appointed Professor Emeritus in Corrosion Science and Engineering on his retirement in 2011 after an exceptional career in the field of corrosion science. Here’s a potted history of his life in corrosion science:
- Graduated in Natural Science, specialising in Metallurgy in 1967
- Awarded a PhD in 1973 for work on electrodeposition in the fluidized electrode at the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science at Cambridge
- Appointed as a Project Manager, then Research Manager at the Fulmer Research Institute
- Worked on long-term research in the general area of corrosion, especially on corrosion fatigue
- Undertook many short-term failure investigations and other consultancy work
- Joined the Corrosion and Protection Centre, UMIST in 1979, initially as a lecturer, then senior lecturer, reader, and professor
Active in the development of teaching in the field of corrosion, Professor Cottis was responsible for the development of a distance learning approach to the MSc in Corrosion Control Engineering.
He was the Director of the TLTP Consortium – which developed the Ecorr courseware to support corrosion teaching – and the founding editor of the open-access online Journal of Corrosion Science and Engineering.
In 2005 he was awarded the T.J. Hull Award of NACE International for services to NACE in the field of publications, and he is a NACE Fellow.
With the experience he has, you can expect the talk by Professor Cottis to light up this year’s Corrosion Science Symposium. To find out more, email Dr Julian Wharton at j.a.wharton@soton.ac.uk.