IGEM NEWS | YPPC 2014 Final
Simply the best
IGEM’s 13th Young Persons Paper Competition final saw
eight of the world’s best and brightest engineers and
managers come together to fight for the prize of an allexpenses paid trip to the World Gas Conference in Paris
John Lin presents his paper
IGEM President
Simon Ayley
congratulates
Gregg on his
winning paper
CONTESTANTS TRAVELLED from as
far away as Hong Kong to take part
in the annual contest to see which
of the group of under-35s could best
demonstrate their potential to make
a valuable contribution to the gas
industry.
Each of the eight finalists had won
a regional heat before reaching the
final, held at Hellidon Lakes Golf and
Spa Hotel, in Daventry. They were
asked to write a 1,500-word paper
and deliver a 15-minute presentation
before being grilled by the judges.
The panel of ‘dragons’ consisted
of IGEM President Simon Ayley,
Rhead Group Chief Executive Nigel
Curry, Ofgem Technical Adviser
Steve Brown, Chair of IGEM’s
Technical Coordinating Committee
Chris Gorman and Danielle Royce,
Stakeholder Engagement Manager for
Wales & West Utilities and runner-up
at last year’s competition.
Sponsored by Rhead Group,
Skanska and Wales & West Utilities,
the event witnessed an impressive
array of presentations on topics as
diverse as cutting edge metering
systems and new techniques to
protect pipelines from corrosion.
The finalists were:
• Oonagh Malone, Project Engineer,
Firmus Energy
• Gregg Daddson, Plant
Performance Engineer, National Grid
Grain LNG
• Simon Impey, Civil Engineer, DNV
GL
• Chris Holliday, Engineer, MACAW
Engineering
• Tom Holdsworth, Business
Development Executive,
ControlPoint LLP
• Stuart Bishop, Network Technician,
Scotland Gas Networks
• John Lin, Assistant Engineer, The
Hong Kong & China Gas Co
• Camilla Yau, Assistant Engineer,
The Hong Kong & China Gas Co.
However, there could be only
one winner and Gregg Dadson took
the top prize of an Apple iPad. He
will also be flying to Paris in June
2015 to attend the 26th World Gas
Conference.
Having spent the morning taking
an exam, Gregg was last up in front
of the judges but still managed
to impress them with his work on
reducing the energy bill at the huge
Isle of Grain facility where he works.
Speaking after his win, Gregg said:
“It has finally sunk in now. It was an
amazing experience and I was so
proud to have won representing not
only my company but also the London
& Southern Section. While I didn’t
see all the presentations, I’m sure
everyone did a really good job – so
well done to them. I am just really
grateful to have been recognised for
the work I have done.”
In second place was Simon Impey,
Civil Engineer for DNV GL, who
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Gregg with the finalists plus Nick
Blair and Simon Ayley
spoke about his project assessing the
flood risk to high pressure pipelines
in the event of a dam failure. In
third place was Tom Holdsworth,
Business Development Executive for
ControlPoint LLP, who talked about
his work developing an asset integrity
system for network owners in the
UK and overseas. Both Simon and
Tom took away a Kindle Fire for their
outstanding presentations.
IGEM President Simon Ayley, Chair
of the judging panel, said: “All of the
contestants did a smashing job with
their presentations and there was
some really creative and interesting
work on show. Gregg’s paper,
however, stood out for its ingenuity
and the confidence with which he
presented it. Kudos must also go
to him for doing such a sterling job
having spent the morning of the
competition taking an exam – well
done, Gregg!”
Nigel Curry, CEO of Rhead Group,
said: “As a previous winner of IGEM’s
Young Persons Paper Competition,
it was a pleasure to be involved in
the competition and see the talent
amongst the younger engineers
coming through the sector. “The quality of entries was
exceptional; Gregg’s winning paper
showed a strong depth of knowledge
in the subject while also recognising
the broader commercial and technical
considerations at the Isle of Grain
LNG terminal. I look forward to
hearing about his trip to the World
Gas Conference 2015 in Paris. “I would encourage any young
person to enter the competition next
year - it is a great opportunity to
demonstrate your potential at a key
industry event.”
The call for the 2015 competition
will soon be going out. If you would
like to know more, contact YPN
Secretary Linda Mee by emailing
linda@igem.org.uk to register your
interest. Read Gregg’s winning paper
on pages 34-35 of this edition.
The event was followed by a
delicious barbecue
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