Aerospace Award

Award criteria

Purpose: The purpose of this award is to recognise a significant contribution over a period of at least 2-5 years to the NDT/CM/SHM community within the aerospace sector.

Eligibility: Nominees can be individuals or groups who have made a significant contribution to the NDT/CM/SHM community, either through R&D, technology innovation development or transfer, or by developing strategy leading to new technology development and exploitation, or by contribution to standards, or by facilitating significant change within the aerospace sector. Nominations can relate to a specific technology innovation or for contributions to a number of innovations, including those providing significant contributions in a support role. 

This is intended to recognise a contribution over a period of at least 2-5 years.

The proposer of the award should be a voting member of the Institute. If they are not, they will need to ensure the application is endorsed by an Institute voting member.

Details of the award: The award will consist of a certificate and free of charge registration at the Aerospace Event of that year, where the award will be presented. (For groups, only one person will be free of charge.)

Frequency: This award will be issued no more than once per year, but is not required to be issued should no one have been nominated or the Aerospace Committee does not feel any nomination meets the eligibility of the award. The award will be discussed at the final meeting of the year of the Aerospace Committee and finalised at the March meeting before the Aerospace Event.

Nomination arrangements: Nominations should be submitted by email to: karen.cambridge@bindt.org

Nominations for the award will be reviewed by the Aerospace Committee. If there is only one nomination, then the Aerospace Committee should vote to confirm whether the nomination is eligible and, if so, approve the award. 

If there is more than one nomination, then the entries should be sent for judging by a panel set up for the purpose. Four members of the panel are to be appointed by the Aerospace Committee. Each judge will be invited to score the entries on a point scale of 0 to 3 and send the scores to Karen Cambridge, who will total the scores, and the entry receiving the most points will be declared the winner. 
 
Awarding arrangements: The award will be made at the Aerospace Event (usually held in April) and will be awarded by the Chair of the Aerospace Committee. The winner will also be asked to issue a plenary-style short paper on the content of the award.

Committee: Aerospace Committee.

Winners

2023 winner: Guy Lawton

The Aerospace Award for 2023 is awarded to Guy Lawton.

Guy is the Royal Air Force (RAF) NDT Responsible Level 3 for UK military fixed-wing aircraft and for training delivered by the Tri-Service School of NDT.

Guy began his career in 1987, joining the RAF as an Apprentice Engineering Technician and graduating three years later as an Airframe/Propulsion Junior Technician. Over the next 14 years, he served as a Maintenance Technician and Supervisor on Sea King Search and Rescue helicopters and Tornado combat aircraft, then as a Propulsion Instructor. Following this, he was selected for non-destructive testing (NDT) duties, qualifying in five NDT methods. After a short assignment to RAF Cottesmore, he was promoted to Chief Technician and became the RAF Marham Regional NDT Team Manager in 2006. Following Ministry of Defence (MOD) NDT migration to the BS EN 4179 standard, he qualified as a Level 3 in penetrant testing (PT), eddy current testing (ET) and radiographic testing (RT). He then transferred to the NDT Technical Support Team, playing a lead role in bringing into service a modern computed radiography capability, developing techniques and administering examinations. After graduating with a first-class honours degree in NDT from the University of Northampton, there was a brief sojourn away from NDT, as the RAF Marham Quality System Coordinator, before Guy was headhunted as the NDT Support Manager for the newly reformed 71 (Inspection and Repair) Squadron at RAF Wittering.

In 2017, he was appointed as acting Air Command NDT Responsible Level 3 at the rank of Warrant Officer. After completing a 32-year RAF career in 2019, he continued in the Responsible Level 3 role full time as an MOD civil servant, with an additional remit for NDT assurance and development. As co-sponsor of UK MOD aircraft NDT policy, Guy works closely with the Royal Navy NDT Responsible Level 3, sharing representation duties on the UK National Aerospace NDT Board (NANDTB). He has served as Vice Chair of the NANDTB and has chaired multiple policy working groups, including Level 2 Limited,
Remote NDT and, most recently, 3D Non-Film Radiography Training and Qualification. At the end of 2023, Guy and three RAF colleagues were the first in the UK to achieve EN 4179 qualification in 3D computed tomography.