The President writes… This
is my last such article for Corrosion Management as my two year term of office
ends at our AGM in November and I must start by expressing my considerable
satisfaction that Square One has been chosen as the Institute’s new publishers.
Dr Akid, who has been the coordinator of the Institute website for some time,
also takes over as technical Editor and intends to develop much closer links
between the website and the Journal. I wish Bob and the Square One Production
Team supporting Tony Cross as the Managing Editor, every success and I look
forward to the increased benefits for the Institute and its members. Brian
Tunnard resigned as Technical Editor following the publication of the July /
August issue after completing an exception period of 30 years. Plans are in
preparation to acknowledge and celebrate Brian’s considerable and uniquely long
service to the Institute. I am pleased that Brian has agreed to stay on as
Chair of the Publications Committee and thus remains a valuable and experienced
member of both the Executive and Council. Back in May, it was announced that
Graeme Manning, the Hon Secretary of the Yorkshire Branch, had been awarded the
President’s Plaque for Outstanding Service to the Institute over many years.
This was presented to Graeme by Robert Edyvean, our Immediate Past President,
during the Yorkshire Branch Seminar on Anti-Fouling. It was encouraging to see
such a well supported event with Roger Hudson’s Chain of Office as Branch
Chairman very much in evidence. On
a related note, I was very pleased to offer the Institute’s congratulations to
another recipient of the President’s Plaque, Dr Anne Neville who has accepted a
Chair at her Harriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. This must make Anne one of
our youngest Professors, but she has not reduced her commitment to the
Institute. Anne and her students played a major role in the management and
administration of last year’s Edinburgh Conference and they are all geared up
to do this again in Cardiff. Another
pleasant task is attending social functions and I was joined by our Assistant
Hon Treasurer Tony Collins for a relaxing and enjoyable day cruise on the River
Thames organised by the London Branch. Arriving at Hampton Court, Tony joined
the intellectual party for a tour of the Palace and its gardens while I was
persuaded to undertake an inspection of the many local hostelries, just for
future reference. It was amazing how many familiar faces we met on our tour. We
even found someone modelling the new Conference Delegate bags! Our
Annual Conference, UK Corrosion, is only a few weeks away. This will be crucial
for the Institute in terms of much needed financial resources and for the
growth of the Institute generally. An enormous amount of work has been put into
this over the past year and I am most grateful to the dedication of the
Organising Committee. I am determined to build upon our exciting last year’s
Conference in Edinburgh where everyone agreed that many of the unique
characteristics of Corrosion Gatherings had returned and the old ‘buzz’ was
back. I cannot express how pleased and grateful I am that CSD agreed to
integrate their Corrosion Science Symposium and I am most impressed with the
quality and range of their papers. Having such an alternative programme and a
large enthusiastic contingent of under 30’s will add a totally new dimension
and will also provide in return an insight to the Corrosion Industry and its
commercial life for the students. The
Courtroom Drama and the Grand Banquet should not be missed. Overall, thanks to
the exceptional and targeted advertising, everything is looking good. The
original exhibition stands were sold out in July, but we were able to expand
into a second room. The external demonstrat6ion area at the nearby Transco site
is again a new dimension and it will be served by a regular free mini bus service
from the hotel. Even if you do not intend to come to the Conference itself,
please visit the free exhibitions and bring a friend to the Grand Banquet on
the Wednesday evening. I believe this whole event will be talked about for
quite some time and you will want to say that you were there. The
last Committee Meeting was recently held in Cardiff to view the facilities and
make final arrangements. Unfortunately, a few were unable to attend including
Andrew Marsh and Mike Brown of Advantica. Alison Davenport, Chairman of CSD
attended instead of Stuart Lyon who had looked after the CSS aspects with Ben
Wilson of Swansea College. Official
notice appears elsewhere in this Journal regarding the 28th AGM of
the Institute. Last year this was held
in Sheffield, but following carious discussions and consultations, it was
decided to hold this year’s meeting in London, on the same evening, but prior
to the London Branch’s Evening Technical meeting in November. The Naval Club,
which is the normal venue for London Branch meetings was unavailable fort the
14th. Consideration was given to holding it on a different date, but
our Hon Treasurer, Roger Walker was able to offer an alternative local venue.
Consequently the AGM will now be held at 17.00 on 14th November at
the Middle East Association Club which is in Bury Street. Green Park is still
the nearest tibe station and cross over to the Ritz. Bury Street runs parallel
but east of St James Street. At
the end of the AGM it will be my pleasure to invest David Deacon as President.
I am exceedingly thankful to David for all his support and efforts as Vice
President and I know the Institute will prosper and expand under his
leadership. I wish David every success and I hope that he enjoys being
President as much as I have. I
have tried to meet as many of our members as possible over the past two years
and I am most grateful for all the support and warm welcomes that I received.
Thank you. John T. O’Shea, President