Publications Awards

Award criteria

Purpose: For the best paper published in the Proceedings of the NDT Annual Conference by a person in the early stages of their career (subject to a satisfactory oral presentation). The person concerned (or one of them, if there is more than one author who qualifies) must also present the paper in person at the conference and, at the discretion of the session chair, answer any questions from the audience.

Details of the award: A certificate and a cash sum of £300. 

Eligibility: The author of the paper must either be a student or within the first five years of full-time employment. He/she need not be a member of the Institute. In the case of multiple authorship, the early career-stage criterion must be satisfied by the first or second named author. If other authors also satisfy the criterion, the cash award is shared between all those authors satisfying the criterion, with each receiving a certificate. The free membership for one year is for the presenting author only. 

The proposal regarding the first or second named author aims to ensure that the person being presented with the award has made a substantial contribution to the paper. Otherwise, there is a risk that the award could go, for example, to a multi-author paper having just one early career-stage author who only played a minor role in the work being reported.

Frequency: Yearly, if a suitable candidate is deemed.

Nomination arrangements: The author of an abstract and full paper for the event can indicate they wish to be considered when submitting online.

Four members of the panel are to be appointed by the NDT Technical 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, subject to a satisfactory oral presentation.

Entries: Entries should be submitted by selecting the BPA option on Manuscript Central

Awarding arrangements: The award will be made mainly on the basis of the quality of the written paper, rather than on the quality of the oral presentation. This will allow the judging process to be completed before the conference. However, a check will be made to ensure that the quality of the oral presentation of the proposed winner is acceptable. Furthermore, candidates should demonstrate by the way they present the paper and answer any questions that they have made a substantial technical contribution to the paper.

Publicity: The award will be fully reported in Institute publications.

Presentation: The prize will normally be presented at the end of the NDT Annual Conference, though another appropriate Institute event may be chosen if necessary.

Committee: NDT Technical Committee.

The John Grimwade Medal

Award criteria

Purpose: This prestigious award inaugurated in 1981 commemorates the late E J Grimwade MC HonFInstNDT, a major pioneering figure in the NDT world. The medal is awarded annually for the best paper by an Institute member to appear in the Institute’s journal in the preceding year.

Details of the award: The best paper is selected from articles published by Institute members in Insight during the preceding year.

Eligibility: Any Institute member who has published in Insight will be automatically considered (co-authors need not be members but only the lead author receives a medal).

Frequency: The prize will be awarded annually and will only be issued if suitable nominations are received.

Nomination arrangements: Automatic. Shortlist prepared by the NDT Technical Committee and circulated to a judging panel for consideration. The judging panel will comprise the NDT Technical Committee Chair and the Honorary Technical Editor, plus two other NDT members (nominated by the NDT Technical Committee Chair).

Awarding arrangements: An engraved silver medal and an invitation to the NDT or CM Annual Conference Dinner with one night's accommodation for the lead author. All authors will receive a certificate and Institute pin.  

Publicity: The award will be fully reported in Institute publications and the Secretariat will issue details in a press release to the technical and engineering institutional press.

Presentation: The medal and certificate will be awarded at the NDT Annual Conference, though another appropriate Institute event may be chosen if necessary.

Committee: NDT Technical Committee.

Winners

2025 winners: Mengyuan Zhang, Dr Mark Sutcliffe, Dr QingPing Yang and Dr P Ian Nicholson

The recipients of the John Grimwade Medal for 2025 are Mengyuan Zhang, Dr Mark Sutcliffe, Dr QingPing Yang and Dr P Ian Nicholson for their paper, titled: ‘Robotic path planning for NDT using neuroevolution of augmenting topologies’, which was published in Insight, Vol 67, No 11, pp 688-696, November 2025 (DOI: 10.1784/2025.67.11.688).

Mengyuan Zhang is a PhD researcher in mechanical engineering at Brunel University of London. Her research focuses on robotic path planning for ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT). During her PhD, she has worked closely with TWI Ltd to develop intelligent robotic inspection systems that can plan inspection paths more efficiently and adapt to complex testing scenarios. Her research combines robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), optimisation and ultrasonic testing to reduce manual planning and improve the practicality of robotic inspection. She has validated her methods through both simulation and robotic experiments, published the results in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. Her work aims to support the wider adoption of autonomous ultrasonic inspection in industry.

Dr Mark Sutcliffe is a software consultant at TWI Ltd specialising in advanced inspection, imaging and autonomous systems, with applications across NDT, robotics and automation. He has over 30 years’ experience across industry, research and academia, from developing real-time operational systems to leading advanced algorithm and imaging research within TWI, and an extensive background in software engineering, sensing technologies and applied mathematics, with a focus on translating complex theory into practical, deployable solutions. His work has included the design and development of real-time NDT systems, ultrasonic data acquisition and imaging platforms and, more recently, robotic inspection and autonomous path-planning approaches.

Dr QingPing Yang is a Reader at Brunel University of London and founder of its Quality Engineering and Smart Technology Research Group and Robotics and Automation Research Group. His research spans robotics, NDT, sensors, dimensional metrology, AI and quality engineering, with a particular focus on intelligent measurement and automation systems. He has published more than 140 papers, supervised 27 PhD students to completion and led research projects funded by the EU, UK government and industry. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Metrology and Quality Engineering.

Dr P Ian Nicholson is a Technical Consultant and Business Development Lead with over 30 years of industrial experience, formerly with TWI Ltd. A Chartered Engineer, Ian specialises in systems integration for automated NDT, microelectronics, sensor and software development and technical project management. Throughout his career, he has delivered both prototype and commercial systems, coordinating multidisciplinary engineering teams to address complex inspection challenges across the aerospace and space sectors. Ian played a key role in the development of TWI’s flagship IntACOM robotic NDT inspection cells, leading to the creation of advanced NDT solutions for high‑performance inspection and evaluation. 

Past winners:
1980    Mr S I Ibrahim and Mr V N Whittaker
1981    Mr D A W Pullen
1982    Mr R F Lumb
1983    Dr J M Farley and Mr J L Thomson
1984    Mr A N Robinson, Mr P Nolan and Mr G A Raine
1985    Mr C N Owston
1986    Dr D N Shackleton
1987    Dr J Ogilvy
1988    Dr P Highmore and Dr K A Short
1989    Dr G A Georgiou
1990    Dr P A Cawley
1991    Dr A McNab
1992    Dr J R Rudlin and Dr L C Wolstenholme
1993    Prof J H Bungey
1994    Dr F A Wedgwood
1995    Mr R A Smith
1996    Dr A McNab and Dr A Cochran
1997    Prof G Hayward, Mr R Banks and Mr R Farlow
1998    Prof G Hayward and Mr P Reynolds
1999    Dr A Khalid
2000    Dr B W Drinkwater, Dr A M Robinson and Dr R J Freemantle
2001    Mr R A Smith and Dr G R Hugo
2002    Dr S Dixon, Dr C Edwards and Prof S B Palmer
2003    Dr L L Morgan, Mr P Nolan, Mr A Kirkham and Mr R Wilkinson
2004    Dr E A Birt, Mr L D Jones, Mr R A Smith and Prof C B Scruby
2005    Dr A Sophian, Dr R S Edwards, Prof G-Y Tian, Dr S Dixon, Dr D Topp and Dr M Smith
2006    Mrs A Whittle
2007    Prof P Cawley
2008    Dr L Nelson
2009    Dr R A Smith    
2010    Mr C Lane
2011    Prof D P Almond
2012    Prof P Cawley
2013    Prof D Mery
2014    Prof P Cawley, Dr N Brierley and Dr T Tippetts
2015    Dr C Mineo, Prof S G Pierce, Mr B Wright, Prof I Cooper and Dr P I Nicholson
2016    Dr Chris Ward and Dr Colin Brett
2017    Professor Peter Charlton, Dr Stephen Mosey, Dr Miles Weston and Dr Mark Sutcliffe
2018    Dr Colin R Brett, Dr David A Gunn, Dr Ben A J Dashwood, Simon J Holyoake and Dr Paul B Wilkinson
2019    Dr David A Gunn, Simon J Holyoake, Dr Ben A J Dashwood, Dr Paul B Wilkinson,
            Dr Colin R Brett, Humphrey C Wallis, Wayne Leman and Professor John G Rees
2020    Dr Tomasz Pialucha, Dr Brian Pavlakovic, Dr David Alleyne and Professor Peter Cawley
2021    Dr Stewart Haslinger, Professor Michael Lowe, Professor Richard Craster, Dr Peter Huthwaite and Dr Fan Shi
2022    Ross Hanna, Dr Mark Sutcliffe, Professor Peter Charlton and Dr Stephen Mosey
2023    Sam Hurrell, Professor Peter Charlton, Dr Stephen Mosey, Dr Owen Rees-Lloyd and Dr Richard Lewis
2024    Dr Oksana Trushkevych and Professor Steve Dixon

 

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The Ron Halmshaw Award

Award criteria

Purpose: The Ron Halmshaw Award is awarded for the best paper published in Insight in the preceding year, on any aspect of industrial radiography or radiology.

Details of the award: The prize is in the form of a certificate, a fixed award sum (£350) by cash from the Ron Halmshaw Fund and an invitation to the NDT or CM Annual Conference Dinner with one night's accommodation. 

 

Eligibility: Anyone who has published a radiography or radiology paper in Insight will be considered.

 

Frequency: Yearly, if a suitable candidate is deemed.

 

Nomination arrangements: Automatic. All members of the Institute’s NDT Technical Committee will be invited to submit nominations for the award.

 

Entries: Entries submitted (on a form to be made available by the Institute) will be sent to the Secretary of the Institute.

Awarding arrangements: In January each year, a memo is issued to the judging panel, containing voting instructions, marking sheet, shortlist of name(s), paper title, issue, month and page number and a voting form embossed with the Institute seal. The deadline for return to the Secretariat is 31 March. A judging panel of three is appointed by the NDT Technical Committee.

 

In the interest of achieving fair, bias-free results, a system is operated that requires each panel member (any listed authors excepted) to vote anonymously to the Awards Secretary, who is responsible for totalling up the points awarded and notifying the winner to the Secretary.

 

Publicity: The award will be fully reported in Institute publications and the Secretariat will issue details in a press release to the technical and engineering institutional press.

 

Presentation: The prize will normally be presented at the NDT Annual Conference, though another appropriate Institute event may be chosen if necessary.

Committee: NDT Technical Committee.

Winners

2025 winners: Dr Nick Brierley and Dr Robert Culver

The 2025 winners are Dr Nick Brierley and Dr Robert Culver for their paper, titled: ‘Length-scale-dependent evaluation of detection reliability for NDT image data’, which appeared in Insight, Vol 67, No 4, pp 203-207, April 2025 (DOI: 10.1784/insi.2025.67.4.203).

Dr Nick Brierley heads up the Research and Development (R&D) team at Diondo GmbH, a leading manufacturer of industrial X-ray computed tomography (CT) systems. Prior to joining Diondo in 2020, he led the X-ray imaging activities at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry. Until recently, he served as the inaugural Chair of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT)’s NDE 4.0 Working Group. He holds a doctorate in non-destructive testing (NDT) from Imperial College London and an MA from the University of Cambridge.

Dr Robert Culver is a Sensing & Technology Integration Engineer working for BAE Systems FalconWorks. He has over nine years of industrial interdisciplinary R&D experience spanning NDT, computer vision, photonics and quantum sensing. His work focuses on emerging technologies and their practical integration into next-generation sensing systems.

Past winners:
1995    J-E Holmström
1996    Dr E A Birt
1997    A B Wooldridge, Dr R K Chapman, Dr G A Georgiou, I Munns and G S Woodcock
1998    Dr S Ekinci, N Bas, M Aksu, A Yıldırım, M Bingöldag, T Kurtcebe, M Dogruöz, S Sarıçam and N Yılmaz
1999    A McNulty, J McNab and W K J Greenwood
2000    P R Vaidya
2001    R R da Silva, M H S Siqueira, L P Calôba and J M A Rebello
2002    A G Vincent, V Rebuffel, R Guillemaud, L Gerfault and P Y Coulon
2003    Dr G A Georgiou and Mr C R A Schneider
2004    S Smalley and G Wilson
2005    D Mery, D Hahn and N Hitschfeld
2006    Dr G-R Jaenisch, C Bellon, U Samadurau, M E Zhukovskiy and S V Podoliako
2007    V Rebuffel and J-M Dinten
2008    S F Burch and B A Stow
2009    Q Shen, J Gao and C Li
2010    K Arunmutha, P Arun Kumar, T Saravanan, J Philip, T Jayakumar and B Raj
2011    Dr S F Burch
2012    V Riffo and D Mery / J Guo, L Zeng, B Li and W Yu
2013    X Zhao, J-J Hu, T Yang and F Wang
2014    W Gao and Y H Hu
2015    Ge Lijing, Li Linsheng, Xie Jialong and Lin Guoxiang
2016    Changying Dang, Jianmin Gao, Zhao Wang, Yulin Xiao and Yalin Zhao
2017    Domingo Mery, Vladimir Riffo, Irene Zuccar and Christian Pieringer
2018    Stefano Ridolfi
2019    Johann Kastner, Christian Gusenbauer, Bernhard Plank, Jonathan Glinz and Sascha Senck
2020    Andreas Michael Stock, Gabriel Herl, Professor Dr Tomas Sauer and Professor Dr-Ing Jochen Hiller
2021    Mahdi Mirzapour, Amir Movafeghi and Effat Yahaghi
2022    Abdel Rahman Dakak, Valérie Kaftandjian, Philippe Duvauchelle and Patrick Bouvet
2023    Dr Ross Hanna, Dr Mark Sutcliffe, David Carswell, Professor Peter Charlton and Dr Stephen Mosey
2024    Dr Shant Kenderian, Dr Joseph (Toby) Case, Paul M Adams and Anita Gregorian