Special Contribution Award

Award criteria

Purpose: To recognise a significant personal contribution to the British Institute of NDT or the wider NDT/CM/SHM community, but should not reflect a contribution that benefits an individual business or academic institution.

Details of the award: The award will consist of an invitation to the NDT Annual Conference Dinner with one night’s accommodation, together with a framed certificate signed by the President and the Chief Executive Officer and a personalised letter from the President.

Eligibility: The successful nominee must be an active member of the Institute. The award will recognise a significant contribution that may be a piece of groundbreaking research, delivery of an Institute project or objective, or a significant investment of effort in the service of Institute committees or Branches. It may be awarded at any stage of a member’s career and is not intended to be an award for long service as are the Lifetime Achievement and Personal Contribution Awards.

Frequency: There is no periodicity for this award. Suitable recipients will emerge from time to time and their selection will be obvious by their acknowledged contribution. It will be possible for more than one candidate to be given this award in the same calendar year.

Nomination arrangements: All committees are encouraged to nominate individuals. Nominations for the award will be reviewed by the Croxson Committee and recommended for ratification by Council.

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.

Committee: Croxson Committee

2025 winners: Dr Iain Baillie and Sam Cunningham

The Special Contribution Award for 2025 is awarded to Dr Iain Baillie and Sam Cunningham.

Dr Iain Baillie joined British Steel as a physics graduate in 2001 and whilst working full time gained his doctorate in ultrasonics with Warwick University. He moved to Rolls-Royce as a research scientist in 2009 before becoming UK Manager for NDE in 2010, where he led the combined in-service, supply chain audit and research and technology (R&T) team for a decade. 

During that time, Iain was Lead Employer for the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT)’s NDT Trailblazer scheme and recruited over 40 apprentices into Rolls-Royce, who are now leading facilities and developing non-destructive evaluation techniques for the company. 

Iain has worked across numerous BINDT committees, including as Chair of the Technical Committee, and was BINDT President during the COVID-19 pandemic. He then became Chief of Engineering Operations with responsibility for Managed Service Providers (contractors). 

He remains active within BINDT as Vice Chair of the Membership, Qualification and Education (MQ&E) Committee.

Sam Cunningham is a leading figure in the UK non-destructive testing (NDT) profession, known for driving innovation in skills development, industry outreach and strategic engagement. As Vice President of BINDT, Sam has played a key role in shaping the future of the Institute and the wider NDT community.

Over the past decade, Sam has led a range of pioneering initiatives to widen participation in NDT, diversify the workforce and modernise the Institute’s engagement strategy. He founded BINDT’s Early Careers Branch, launched targeted outreach to apprentices and new entrants and recently took on leadership of BINDT’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programme as the Institute’s ambassador. This has resulted in a significant increase in visibility, school engagement and early-stage interest in NDT careers.

Sam is currently Chair of BINDT’s Education and Professional Development Committee, Practitioner Committee and Early Careers Branch. He also sits on the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group and the Croxson Committee, as well as previously serving as Vice Chair of the MQ&E Committee. His influence spans everything from policy and standards to inclusion and future skills.

In his day-to-day role as Group Sales Manager at Lavender International NDT, Sam combines commercial strategy with technical insight and a deep commitment to people development. He was instrumental in the creation and delivery of the UK’s national NDT apprenticeship programmes, directly supporting hundreds of individuals into successful technical careers.

In 2025, Sam is honoured with BINDT’s Special Contribution Award in recognition of his exceptional voluntary service, his leadership across the Institute and his unwavering dedication to the advancement of the NDT profession.