Rickinson to retire from UK’s Institute of Materials
Dr Bernie Rickinson, Chief Executive of the UK’s Institute of Materials (Courtesy IOM3)
Dr Bernie Rickinson, Chief Executive of the UK’s Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), has announced he will retire from his role with the Institute at the end of 2018. As yet no successor has been announced, but IOM3 confirmed that recruitment consultants have been engaged.
Rickinson became Chief Executive in 1997 and has since guided the organisation to its current position as a major UK engineering institution whose activities encompass the whole materials cycle, from exploration and extraction, through characterisation, processing, forming, finishing and application, to product recycling and land reuse.
IOM3 was formed from the merger of the Institute of Materials and the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in June 2002. It merged with the Institute of Packaging (2006) and the Institute of Clay Technology (2006). In the Summer of 2009, the Institute reached an agreement with the Institute of Wood Science to transfer all its members and activities to IOM3. In November 2010, IOM3 also embraced the activities and membership of the Institute of Vitreous Enamellers.
Commenting on his retirement, Rickinson advised that with the organisation’s 150th anniversary set for 2019, it will be important for a new Chief Executive to take full advantage of the opportunity for community visibility during the series of anniversary events planned by the Institute.
IOM3 stated that it would like to “sincerely thank Bernie for his outstanding contribution to the Institute and to the engineering community throughout his 20 years of service.”
