Published on the 27th October 2017 by ANSTO Staff
The international residual stress research community has recognised ANSTO’s National Director of Australian Gen-IV Research Lyndon Edwards (above right) for his ‘excellent contribution to the advancement of applied residual stress applications and control’ at a ceremony in the US on 25 October.
The Iain Finnie Memorial Award recognizes leading engineers and researchers who have made seminal contributions to applied residual stress technology through either major practical innovations or pivotal theoretical advances.
“It is a great honour to be recognised by my peers with this award which reflects a lifetime commitment to structural integrity in the nuclear and aerospace industries,” said Edwards.
“The measurement and control of residual stress is critical to the safety assurance of nuclear and aerospace systems including Generation IV nuclear reactors, which are the main focus of my current activities”
Residual stresses, which refer to the stresses that remain in a solid material after the cause of the stress has been removed, are an important area of investigation in materials science and engineering.
The prestigious memorial award was presented at the 2017 Residual Stress Summit held at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Ohio, US.
The award honours Iain Finnie, an acclaimed researcher and educator who made substantial contributions in the field of residual stress measurement and materials behaviour.
The summit draws together experts, residual stress users and developers, from around the world for a series of technical sessions, talks and equipment demonstrations.
Edwards made a significant contribution to materials engineering at ANSTO from the period of 2007 to 2016 as the head of the former Institute of Materials Engineering before taking up his current role.
Edwards was recognised with a 2013 Eureka Award for his joint role in helping to keep Australian troops safe as part of a team working in the Armour Applications Program, which includes representatives from defence contractors Thales Australia, armour manufacturers Bluescope Steel, the University of Wollongong and Swinburne University of Technology.
His expertise in nuclear structural materials was needed to reinvigorate the nuclear research portfolio.
Prior to his appointment at ANSTO he worked with the aerospace, automobile and power industries in the UK using scientific techniques to assess structural integrity and provide useful models for practising engineers.
Edwards had an academic appointment as Professor of Structural integrity at the Open University in the UK and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Monash University.
Edwards was born and raised in Wales. He has a Masters and DPhil in Metallurgy and the Science of Materials from Oxford University, UK.