Prof Geoff Scamans has been awarded a prestigious gold medal by IOM3, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Prof Scamans, Professor of Metallurgy at Brunel University London and Chief Scientific Officer at Innoval Technology, received the medal at an awards ceremony last week in recognition of his record of internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary research spanning several decades and every element of the materials cycle.
He is best known for his pivotal work on surface engineering and corrosion mechanisms in aluminium alloys, which remains the leading reference material on this subject, and has also campaigned tirelessly for sustainable manufacturing and efficient use of materials.
Prof Zhongyun Fan, Director of the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST), welcomed the news. "This is a very prestigious award and great recognition for Geoff's work in metallurgy over the past 40 years and great recognition for one of our staff members.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Geoff for his continued hard work and commitment over the years which has been critical to BCAST's recent successes."
Prof Scamans has been responsible for over 20 successful collaborative research projects over the past decade, with impact spanning applications from transportation to construction, packaging, energy and defence. These have delivered major technological advances, including the development of high-performance alloys with excellent mechanical properties and structural integrity that can be fabricated using 100% recycled content and vehicle assembly.
"I was both surprised and delighted to get the award," said Prof Scamans. "My career has been driven by the need to develop simple understanding of complex technological problems and to translate this into industrial development in a way that treads lightly on the planet.
"My inspiration came from two books: Metals in the Service of Man, by William Alexander; and Gaia: An Atlas of Planetary Management, based on the work of James Lovelock, who is 100 years young this month.
"Working at Brunel with the indomitable Fan at BCAST since 2003 has provided the opportunity to turn this vision into reality."
Reported by:
Joe Buchanunn,
Media Relations
+44 (0)1895 268821
joe.buchanunn@brunel.ac.uk