The President Writes...

It was a very proud moment for me the other week when the Presidency was passed over to me by Brenda. I can only hope I can do as good a job as she has, although I suspect my chairmanship of meetings may be somewhat less accomplished. Aware this may well be the first time some of the membership may have encountered me other than as a name, I thought it might be useful to outline a little of my background.

After a stint at grammar school (that ages me) and a couple of surreal years at Atlantic College, I found myself with an International Baccalaureate, an interest in metallurgy and an inability to convince the UMIST admissions tutor that I had matriculated.  Luckily, someone with clout at Aston University was on the IB examination board and understood its worth and, more fortunate still, I was offered the chance to go on, the then brand new, materials engineering course.

While the course was a bit of a mish-mash of metallurgy, polymers, mechanics and corrosion, during my final year I had a series of lectures on reinforced concrete. Sometimes that’s all it takes to determine the direction your career will take.  I stayed on to do a PhD on the corrosion of steel in concrete with Chris Page and Neil Short and had the opportunity to work with a group of researchers who have gone on to punch well above their weight in the area of reinforced concrete durability (I’ll spare the blushes of naming them). It was around about then I joined the ‘Institution of Corrosion Science and Technology’ – the name that still appears on the Presidential regalia.

After a couple of post-docs working with the likes of Perry Vassie at TRL and Ken Treadaway at BRE, I felt the need for a break from concrete for a while and went to work with the nice people at the wonderfully named National Centre of Tribology.  Following two very enjoyable years of wear, friction, lubrication and the inevitable corrosion, I was approached by Mott MacDonald to help out with the site phase of the Channel Tunnel. I’ve now been there the best part of 20 years and as Technical Director of materials and corrosion engineering I get to work with a bright, lively and quite frankly somewhat eccentric group of specialists, more than ably assisted by Chris Atkins.

Since 1999 I have also been associated with Sheffield Hallam University, working with Pal Mangat and Fin O’Flaherty in what has become the Centre for Infrastructure Management and was subsequently given the honour of a Visiting Professorship. I was very fortunate to be awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship and, with the support of Motts, the funding to pursue a four year research programme into the cathodic protection of historic steel framed structures which was completed last year.

I’m truly looking forward to my stint as President, particularly as it incorporates the 50th anniversary of the Institute next year. We’re looking to have special events and publications, not forgetting the Correx event at the NEC in October 2009.  It’s going to be a busy but interesting year.

Paul Lambert


President - Institute of Corrosion