prevention

plenary lecturers
Dr Bruce Ackland
Bruce Ackland & Associates Pty Ltd, Australia
Dr Bruce Ackland obtained a Bachelor of
Science with Honours in Physics at Monash
University in 1979 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1984,
also at Monash University in the Department of Materials
Engineering. Bruce has worked in the corrosion and
cathodic protection industry since 1982, forming Bruce
Ackland & Associates in 1985. Cathodic protection
projects have involved work throughout Australia, New
Zealand, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Bruce
maintains an active role as a member and chairman in
Australian Standards committees; is the current chairman
of the Australian Electrolysis Committee and is an
accredited ACA lecturer and Corrosion Technologist.
Mario Blasco
Dulux Protective Coatings, Australia
Mario Blasco obtained a Bachelor of
Applied Science degree at the University
of Melbourne in 1986. Mario has worked in Dulux
Research and Development for 25 years to the present
day, starting in the Dulux Coil Coatings laboratory as
a research and formulation chemist there until 1995.
After that Mario moved to the Dulux Protective Coatings
Laboratory where he focussed on the continuing
development of two-pack coatings for the protection
of steel and concrete against degradation, particularly
the formulation of coatings that withstand the wide
range of corrosive and chemical environments across
the Australasian region. Mario’s current role is Technical
Manager of the Protective Coatings Division.
Tony Hughes
CSIRO, Australia
Dr. A.E. Hughes received a B.App.Sc. with
distinction (1978) and M.App.Sc. (1982)
from RMIT and subsequently received his PhD 1991
also from RMIT. He joined the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Materials
Science Division in 1982 working as a surface scientist
to study surface reactions and catalysis. He has worked
in a range of different materials science areas including
surface science, catalysis, segregation in solid oxide
electrolytes, metal finishing, rare earth conversion
coatings and prognostic health management of structures.
He is currently working in self healing coatings, chromate
replacement inhibitors and heterogeneous catalysis. He
has over 130 publications (book, journal and patents).
Dr Hughes has led on major projects with Boeing, BAE
SYSTEMS in the corrosion and corrosion mitigation area
and with Orica in catalysis. He has been an Adjunct
Professor at RMIT University Physics Department and
has received awards from the Royal Society of Chemistry
(2004), BAE SYSTEMS Chairman’s Silver Award for
Innovation (2002) and an award from CSIRO for Innovation
in 1994.
Paul Natishan
US Naval Research Laboratory, USA
Dr. Natishan received a B. S. in Biology
from Wilkes College and a M.S and Ph.D. in
Materials Science and Engineering from the University of
Virginia. He came to the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
as a National Research Council post-doc and joined NRL as
a Research Metallurgist in 1985. Dr. Natishan is currently
Head of the Corrosion Science and Environmental Effects
Section. He has worked in the fields of corrosion and
materials science and engineering and electrochemistry
for 28 years. His research has resulted in 99 publications
and 7 U.S. patents. He was inducted as a Fellow of NACE
International in 1998 and a Fellow of the Electrochemical
Society (ECS) in 2005. He is a Past President and Past
Secretary of ECS and was appointed Adjunct Full Professor
at Duke University in 2006. Dr. Natishan was the recipient
of the Blum and Foley Awards from the National Capital
Section of ECS and the Kruger Award from the NACE
International Baltimore/Washington Section.
Graham Sussex
Sussex Materials Solutions Pty Ltd, Australia
Graham Sussex started his professional
career with a PhD in Solid State Physics at
Melbourne University. He moved into corrosion in 1979,
initially working on electrochemical research projects
at UMIST and since 1985 on industrial problem solving
in corrosion and materials’ properties. He worked at
CAPCIS for 2 years, returning to Australia for an 8 year
stint with an NDT and engineering consulting company
working in a multidisciplinary group. It included corrosion
investigations, accelerated corrosion and product testing
as well as broader engineering and non-metallic projects.
In 1996 he moved to Materials Australia (MA) for 5 years
leaving in 2001 to establish Sussex Materials Solutions Pty
Ltd. Since then he spends 50% of his time as the Technical
Specialist for the Australian Stainless Steel Development
Association (ASSDA) answering technical questions for the
users of stainless steel.
Geraint Williams
Swansea University, United Kingdom
Dr Williams is a senior lecturer in materials
science and engineering at the College of
Engineering in Swansea University. He holds a 1st class
degree in chemistry and a PhD in physical/inorganic
chemistry from Swansea University. After post-doctoral
appointments in both semiconductor gas sensors and
corrosion science, he became a member of the academic
staff of the College of Engineering in 2007. He is the
author of over 200 journal and conference papers
and the co-originator of 6 patents in fields ranging
from aqueous corrosion of metals and gas sensors,
to the photochemistry of semiconductor colloids and
powder dispersions. He is a leading expert in the use of
advanced electrochemical scanning techniques, both
to quantify organic coating integrity and to visualise
fingerprints on metal surfaces. His research interests lie
in the areas of localised corrosion mechanisms, novel
protective coating technologies, chemical sensors and
fingerprint detection techniques.