From the President

Welcome to the December 2021 edition of Materials Australia magazine. As we reach the end of what has been a historic two years, it is really quite important to reflect on the past 12 months and what we have achieved.

This time last year, we shared some of the lessons learnt from 2020. I think it apt that we do the same now—for 2021. Meetings by online platform became the active normal into 2021, and many of us have felt a sense of remote meeting overload or ‘zoom fatigue’. There have been fewer online events for Materials Australia this past year, and we really must now strive to collectively conduct more face-to-face interactions.

Online presentations, conferences and seminars will undoubtedly continue, and those we have held have been excellent. I would like to highlight the Additive Manufacturing Symposium held by the University of Sydney in August, which was a resounding success and increased the Materials Australia membership. However, I personally think that everyone genuinely does want to get back to meeting and networking in-person. Having been categorised as an essential worker for manufacturing in Victoria throughout both 2020 and 2021, I have been fortunate—our team worked onsite almost continuously. I would have to say that everyone is really looking forward to a holiday and has a lot of leave owing! This in itself produces a whole new problem that the manufacturing industry must now face in 2022, in that the increased liability for staff leave is a new challenge that must be tackled. Labour shortages will become a different kind of problem. As we emerge from isolation as a country, we all have to learn to live with a new COVID-19 reality. In the manufacturing and materials industries, the supply chain deficiencies that were present towards the end of 2020 have become more challenging. However, this also means new opportunities have arisen, and as a country we must further focus on the fundamental importance of sovereign capability. In the metals casting area for example, price rises of some raw materials are abnormal. The price of magnesium per tonne rose to almost US$10,500 in November, which is reportedly up over 300%. Silicon also increased around 300% in the past few months as shortages began to have impacts. As may be appreciated, it is not just the aluminium metals industries that are impacted by these two elements; steel production and cast iron production are heavily reliant on both elements, and both may be impacted in 2022. We have been very busy behind the scenes in our Materials Australia activities. Some of the initiatives that are nearing completion are outlined below. Revamping the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for our Certified Materials Professionals (CMatP) from the beginning of 2022. The system we are moving to is aligned with that of Engineers Australia, which will reduce the reporting required by our members. We will be asking for volunteers from the membership base to undergo auditing in early 2022. We are aiming to audit all CMatPs within the next three years. I will be one of the first to be audited, and will share my experiences in the next issue of Materials Australia magazine. Preparing a diversity and inclusivity statement for Materials Australia, which was initiated by the Victorian and Tasmanian Branch, and agreed upon, unanimously, across the Materials Australia National Executive Committee and the National Council. I would like to especially thank Professor Nikki Stanford, the Materials Australia National Vice President, for assisting in the preparation of this important document. A copy of the statement is available on page 6. Continuing our focus on diversity and inclusion, we plan to set organisational goals in 2022 to: ensure equal access for all to events and opportunities; establish awards dedicated to our female membership; and attain the greatest diversity possible in our professional activities. We are in the process of reinvigorating many of our awards, and I am very pleased to note that HTA Group is the winner of the Claude A. Stewart Award for 2021. I am also very pleased to note that we have moved to rebrand the Florence M Taylor Award. This is one of the oldest awards, and we beleive that Materials Australia has and we believe that it is a worthy idea to dedicate this award exclusively to our female members who have contributed so strongly to our profession. Florence Taylor had an extraordinary career in Australia. She was the first female architect, structural engineer and civil engineer in Australia, and a publisher of many trade journals. She was also the first woman in Australia to fly a heavier than air craft, in 1909. When the Australian Institute of Metals was first formed in 1946, as the publisher of the Institute’s journal, she offered to donate medals in her name that were to be awarded annually to a member of each of the founding branches.

We believe that we have the opportunity to honour this legacy by making the award national, for Materials Australia. More details are included in this edition of the magazine (see page 7), and nominations are open for the 2022 award. I would like to make a note about conferences planned for 2021 that were postponed until 2022. CAMS will be run in February 2022 and there has been a very good set of abstracts submitted. APICAM and LMT 2022 are also expected to run later in 2022.

Finally, I would like to congratulate my employer, AWBell, for recently winning both the Governor of Victoria Export Award and also the Australian Export and Investment Award in the “Manufacturing and Advanced Materials” category for each. Looking towards 2022. I would like to wish you, your family and colleagues the best of health and to stay safe during the holiday period. Best Regards Roger Lumley National President Materials Australia