There was a double award celebration for Professor Mike Bradley, director of The Wolfson Centre at the University of Greenwich, at the Material Handling Engineers Association’s (MHEA) Bulk2014 conference, as he was presented with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ (IMechE) Bulk Materials Handling Award for Innovation and Bulk Solids Handling Award for lifetime achievement.
Prof Bradley and his colleague Dr Robert Berry, along with Robert McGregor of Brookfield Laboratories, received the IMechE Bulk Materials Handling Award for Innovation in recognition of their paper Development and commercialisation of a new powder flow tester for powder formulation, development, quality control and equipment design, concerning their development of the Wolfson Brookfield Powder Flow Tester.
Accepting the award, Prof Bradley said: “I am thrilled to receive this award for the development of an instrument that has become the most-used instrument in industry worldwide for measuring the properties of powders and bulk solids for the purposes of equipment design and formulation development.
“It is a model of how putting together the needs of industry with the knowledge of leading researchers can result in solutions that take everyone forwards.”
Prof Bradley was honoured again during the Bulk2014 dinner when he was granted the IMechE Bulk Solids Handling Award for lifetime achievement, which recognises an individual’s professional excellence in the field.
As professor in particle and bulk technology at the University of Greenwich and director of its Wolfson Centre, his particular areas of expertise are pneumatic conveying, design of hoppers and silos, dust control, plant integration and product quality. He has contributed significantly to many international journals and conferences and is an active member of the MHEA and other national and international committees.
Collecting his second accolade of the evening, Prof Bradley remarked: “Few things in life could give me more pleasure and satisfaction than to receive this accolade from peers working in the field, whom I hold in high esteem.
“When I was appointed as head of The Wolfson Centre on its foundation, I had a vision to build it into a world class centre of excellence to provide a wall-to-wall service to the solids handling community in education, research and consulting services in all relevant technical areas. I view this award as the ultimate confirmation that that vision was not only achieved, but sustained as well for an extended period.”
By winning the Bulk Solids Handling Award, Prof Bradley joins an illustrious list of previous winners that includes Allan Wilkie, John Carson, Dr Harold Wright and Andrew Jenike.
Commenting on Prof Bradley’s achievement, BMHC chair and technical director of Ajax Equipment Dr Eddie McGee said: “This conference is a very apt forum in which to give Mike the recognition he so richly deserves. Mike is a professional specialist of the highest order capable of blending scientific understanding with experience and innovation. He is a well known and spirited exponent of education on the whole topic of bulk solids handling and his contribution to our industry has been extensive and longstanding.”
