Corrosion Science Award 2008 Winner

Awarded for his significant contributions to corrosion science which, assisted by pioneering approaches, have provided detailed consideration of the relationship between material structure, properties and performance; including corrosion control strategies through surface and near-surface modification.

About the Winner

Professor George Thompson received a 1st class honours degree in metallurgy from the University of Nottingham; where a PhD was also awarded for research on precipitation sequences in Al-Li alloys. 

Following postdoctoral research at Nottingham on the effects of heat and mass transfer on corrosion processes, he joined Howson-Algraphy Limited, a UK lithographic printing plate manufacturer. Research and development at Howson-Algraphy was progressed by secondment to the Corrosion and Protection Centre at UMIST, now The University of Manchester. He joined the academic staff 1978, with progressive promotion to Professor of Corrosion Science and Engineering in 1990. 

Research interests include general and localised corrosion, corrosion inhibition and coatings, tailored to the requirements of the architecture, aerospace, automotive, electronics lithography and packaging areas. The research embraces detailed understanding of material structure, property and performance relationships, assisted by pioneering use of electron microscopies and ion beams. 

The research has been progressed by more than 100 successful MPhil and PhD students, and numerous postdoctoral research workers, together with significant networking and international collaborations including Japan. In addition to the many publications, the research has been recognised by election to the Royal Academy of Engineering and appointment to OBE for service to the defence industries.