Chris Webster, a researcher in process technology at British Steel, has won the local round of IoM3’s Young Persons’ Lecture competition. Hosted by British Steel earlier this week at the Lincolnshire Iron and Steel Institute’s monthly meeting in Scunthorpe, the 3 judges assessed the 4 entries, all of which were submitted by British Steel employees.
John Wilkinson, Fellow of IoM3 and a competition judge, said: “The overall standard of the presentations was the best I’ve ever seen. All would have been worthy winners.
“We were particularly impressed with Chris’ entry. His research looked to the future and clearly considered the bigger picture of one of the issues facing the steel industry. Chris confidently handled all the questions from the judges.”
Chris’ presentation was titled ‘Capturing carbon for a sustainable future’ and his work will now feed into British Steel’s own research. Chris, who joined British Steel 4 years ago after graduating from Oxford University where he read Engineering Science, said: “Carbon capture will be essential for us to meet the carbon dioxide emission reduction targets set by the UK government in its future policy. My talk highlighted our options and the need for us to develop our knowledge – this will help us make the correct choice to match our site costs, energy balance and by-products. I also looked at the competing technology we could use and the pros and cons of these different options.”
Chris received a prize of £500 and progresses to IoM3’s North East regional final, which will also be hosted by British Steel in Scunthorpe. He said: “I was delighted to win, particularly as the other 3 entries were so strong, and now I’m looking forward to the competition’s regional stage and the exciting opportunities this could bring.” If successful, Chris will go forward to the UK finals in London, the winner of which will travel to Perth, Australia for the Young Persons' World Lecture Competition.
Helping John judge the local competition were LISI President Richard Farnsworth and last year’s winner Ross Angove, Product & Process Development Technologist at British Steel. John said: “We all wish Chris the best of luck for the next round – he’ll be up against some tough competition including entries from the Sheffield Metallurgical and Engineering Association and the Cleveland Institute of Engineers but we’re confident he stands a great chance.”
Photo (above): the 4 competitors who presented at LISI’s meeting. (L-R): Chris Webster, Mojisola Sobanwa, Paul Chimdiribe and Christopher Payne-Dwyer