Royal Academy Of Engineering News

William A. O’Neil, Secretary-General Emeritus of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has died in the United Kingdom, aged 93.O’Neil was elected Secretary-General of the IMO for a first term of Office beginning in 1990, a second term beginning in 1994, a third term beginning in 1998 and a further two-year term from 2002 to 31 December 2003. He was the second longest serving Secretary-General of IMO.Current IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed his sincere condolences to the Canadian Government…

Engineering X – an international collaboration founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and Lloyd’s Register Foundation – has awarded nearly £1 million ($1.2 million) in grants to six projects in the U.K. and overseas aimed at tackling the complex social, environmental and engineering challenges of decommissioning ships and offshore structures.From training to improve worker safety in ship recycling facilities in Bangladesh, to assessing the risks of structural failure of decommissioned offshore structures…

Dr Andrew Garrad, who retired from DNV GL on 23 December 2016, has been awarded a CBE – Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire – in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List. The CBE rewards contributions to the arts and sciences as well as work with charitable and welfare organisations. In 1984, Andrew co-founded Garrad Hassan (GH) in Bristol. It grew to become the world’s largest renewable energy consultancy, employing 1,000 people in 29 countries. He became President of GL Garrad Hassan after Germanischer Lloyd (GL) and Garrad Hassan merged in 2009. He ran the new company until 2012, when he became Chairman. After the merger of DNV and GL, Andrew became a member of the DNV GL – Energy Supervisory Board on the invitation of former Group President and CEO, Henrik Madsen.

A British-led initiative to create a back-up to satellite navigation systems for ships has been pulled after failing to garner interest from other European countries, despite its proponents pointing to the growing risk of disasters at sea. Vessels increasingly rely on devices that employ satellite signals to find a location or keep exact time, including the Global Positioning System (GPS). Paper charts are used less frequently due to a loss of traditional skills among seafarers. Experts say GPS is vulnerable to signal loss from solar weather effects or radio and satellite interference or deliberate jamming, which South Korea experienced from North Korea in recent years.

When the Institution of Naval Architects was formed in 1860 it became one of the bastions of Victorian engineering, enabling and encouraging the exchange of knowledge, information and good practice in the field of naval architecture. The basic principles laid down in the early days saw the Institution thrive as a body representing all the maritime nations of the world and this was recognized in its incorporation by Royal Charter in 1910 as the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).

Dr. Anne-Marie Warris, an internationally respected expert in the fields of sustainable shipping, climate change and environmental management, has been chosen as Personality of the Year 2013 by WISTA-UK, part of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association. Dr. Warris recently retired from a leading environmental role at Lloyd’s Register to initiate a new venture, ecoreflect ltd, a U.K.-registered company, whose purpose is “to explore ‘eco’ and to ‘reflect’ on the…

A recent report by the Royal Academy of Engineering on Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) occupations found that demand for graduate engineers is exceeding supply. Since then, there has been more focus by the British Government on the education of engineers and raising awareness of engineering career paths within the U.K. With engineering being essential to a number of sectors there is a huge variety of career options available. There are career options in sound, safety, transport, aeronautical, energy and marine to name a few. Looking at engineering as a whole, SEMTA predicts that U.K. industry will need to recruit an extra 354,000 employees, to replace retirees up until 2016.

Engineering failures in the marine industry certainly cost time and resources to correct and, sadly, sometimes resulting in loss of life. At his President’s Day Lecture, Professor John Carlton FREng, Professor of Marine Engineering, City University London and the 109th President of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), will retrospectively discuss some of the marine failures that he has encountered, with the aim of teasing out the underlying issues that have contributed to their causes. The President’s Lecture will be held Tuesday 11 October at IET London in Savoy Place, London WC2. Tea will be served from 17.30, the President’s Lecture will begin at 18.00 and a Reception will follow at 19.00.

Archie Bethel, CBE, has succeeded Alan Johnston, CBE, as Honorary President of the Society of Maritime Industries at the Society’s Board meeting today. Archie Bethel is Divisional Chief Executive of Babcock International Group plc’s marine and technology division. In welcoming Bethel to his role, the Society’s Chairman, Peter French said “I am delighted Archie has agreed to be our President. Bethel joined Babcock in January 2004 and was appointed Chief Executive of Marine on its formation in mid June 2007.

Mr Archie Bethel CBE has succeeded Mr Alan Johnston CBE as Honorary President of the Society of Maritime Industries at the Society’s Board meeting today. Archie Bethel is Divisional Chief Executive of Babcock International Group plc’s marine and technology division. In acknowledging his appointment Archie Bethel commented: “I am honoured to have been appointed as the President of the Society of Maritime Industries. In particular, I look forward to representing the maritime engineering sector which contributes so much to the UK economy. In welcoming Archie Bethel to his role, the Society’s Chairman, Peter French said “I am delighted Archie has agreed to be our President. We are fortunate that he already knows the Society well, having served on the Board since 2007.

UK engineering chiefs gathered at the Department for Education on Wednesday 8 June to discuss what can be done to ensure the talent pipeline and adequately equip young people for the requirements of industry. Organised by EngineeringUK, Schools Minister Nick Gibb MP addressed a high-level roundtable attended by representatives from EngineeringUK, E.ON, BAE Systems, JCB, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford of Britain, the ODA, GKN, Rolls Royce, ICW UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Pearson UK. With almost half a million engineering enterprises in the UK, employing 4.5 million people, the engineering industry is one of the most significant drivers of the UK economy today.

Professor Chris Hodge FREng CEng CMarEng FIMarEST, Chief Electrical Engineer of BMT Defence Services and Honorary Professor of Engineering at the University of Warwick, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST), taking over the role from Vaughan Pomeroy CEng FIMarEST FRINA FIMechE, Technical Director of Lloyd's Register who has held the post since April 2005. "Vaughan Pomeroy has done a magnificent job and we thank him for his unremitting enthusiasm for, and work on behalf of, the Institute," said Dr. Marcus Jones, IMarEST's Chief Executive. The IMarEST was established in 1889 and is the largest international membership body and learned society for marine professionals with over 15…