The 58th Annual Heat Transfer Society Dinner was held at the Grand Connaught Rooms, London, on the 22nd March 2024. Master of Ceremonies was performed by our Chairman, David Norton, adding his characteristic northern tones to the proceedings and handling hecklers as well as any seasoned professional.
It was wonderful to see the number of participants and tables returning to pre-covid levels, with an atmosphere to boot. David thanked the committee for their hard work over this past year with a particular shout-out to Simon Parsons for having organised this years Dinner. Tim Griffin was thanked for his work on the membership front and he confirmed that the number of members was now over 140. David reminded non-members that at only £15 a year, membership was a bargain and that they too could join the members in wearing the society’s tie or scarf.
The outgoing President, Professor Tassos G. Karayiannis, thanked the society for allowing him to be President for the previous year and invited Fred Gardner, Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer at Valero Energy Ltd., Pembroke Refinery, to accept the Heat Transfer Society’s Presidential Balls of Office.
Fred said how honoured he was to have been asked to take on the position and how much of a surprise it had been. Fred told the story of his carrier in industry working at ICI Wilton, Wellman Graham Ltd, Foster Wheeler Energy Limited, through to his current position at Valero Energy Ltd, Pembroke Refinery, as Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer in the Reliability Department. On his way he picked up a B.Eng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Teesside and got the opportunity to work in all section of the supply chain from “design and manufacture” through “engineering, procurement, and construction” to “end user”.
David gave a brief summary of the forum events that had been given over the previous twelve months. A special mention was made for Dr Bluck and Dr Kamenicky for their presentations at the Presidents Night. The winner of the Mike Ackrill Award, for the best presentation, was awarded to Phillip Henry for his talk “Managing Tube Rupture Failure Risks in Pressure Relief Systems”. Phillip was unable to attend the evening, so the new President Fred Gardner accepted it on his behalf from the previous years winner Dr. Francesco Coletti, CEO of Hexxcell Ltd.
The charity collection on the evening raised £1000 for unicef which works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. Prizes were donated by Calgavin Ltd.
A very enjoyable evening was had by all and a big thank you to the companies that sponsored this event, making it possible. Please support the Society's annual dinner next year if you can, our Society represents our specialist interest and expertise and your active support will help the society's growth.
Details about the dinner and a ticket application form: Download Annual_Dinner_2024
