ii UK Focus
we held our nerve and eventually managed to incorporate as a company. The GASG funds were signed over, and we were on our own - and haven’t looked back since!”
The management of the GASG is now carried out by the Board of Directors supported on a day-to-day basis by the secretariat at the Source Testing Association.
Joe Watson served as Chair for over 20 years before being appointed President and was succeeded in 2015 by the current Chair, Jane Hodgkinson of Cranfi eld University. Kim Chandler (Johnson Matthey) was Vice Chair for several years before Peter Walsh (Health and Safety Executive) took over in 2016. Many dedicated members have served on the committee during the past 30 years and the group has only been able to fulfi l its aims through their voluntary efforts.
Membership
Throughout its history, the GASG membership has included representatives from many of the sensor and equipment manufacturers in the UK, along with university research groups, government and private laboratories focusing on gas/particulate sensing and monitoring. Many large-scale users of such technology have also been active in the group. Membership has always been available to all teams and individuals with interests in gas sensing and analysis, and organisations outside the UK are also welcomed. Great efforts have been made to maintain fees at moderate levels and from the outset the group has sought to be as inclusive as possible, by offering tiered memberships at Academic/Consultant, Industrial and Corporate levels.
Notable early supporters included Mike Byrne (EI Electronics, Ireland), Stuart Hopkins, (formerly of SIRA and then a consultant), Rob Newbury, (then of Pollution Monitoring Systems and now a consultant) and Mike Williams (Cranfi eld University). Leading organisations which have featured strongly in the group’s history include British Gas, City Technology, Crowcon Detection Instruments, E2V (later SGX), Kane International, EI Electronics and Edinburgh Instruments. In addition, the Health and Safety Executive has been a long-term supporter of the group, providing many speakers and hosting multiple meetings. Many gas sensing and instrumentation startup fi rms (such as Alphasense, formed in 1997) have also been enthusiastic members and have prospered alongside the group.
Inevitably there have been changes in membership over 30 years as organisations respond to developments in gas detection technology, applications and markets. However, overall numbers have been comparatively stable – there are typically over over 50 members with wide-ranging interests.
Activities
The GASG primarily serves members by arranging themed technical meetings which focus on the latest developments in gas sensing and analysis, addressed by leading UK and international experts. These bring together manufacturers, users, research organisations and academic departments who share interests in the fi eld. A key feature of all GASG meetings is the provision of ample opportunity for members to discuss current issues with speakers and each other in an informal atmosphere during breaks in the presentation programme. This is recognised as a signifi cant strength of the organisation.
Three technical meetings per annum have been organised throughout the past 30 years, and only in extreme circumstances has the group failed to maintain this programme. Meetings are usually held in Spring, Summer and December (incorporating the AGM). Well over 50 different venues have hosted meetings, including leading sensor manufacturing sites, major technical research centres, university departments, a hospital, a naval
Original committee members celebrating the GASG 20th anniversary. The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, London, December 2013.
dockyard and a brewery. The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London has been the location for several successful December meetings. These events usually feature a full programme of technical presentations from leading experts, lively discussions and tours of facilities wherever possible.
The unprecedented Covid pandemic of 2020-21 demanded that face to face gatherings were temporarily curtailed, but events moved online immediately with only one having to be cancelled. However, the new landscape drove the development of GASG online capabilities and subsequently a hybrid meeting approach. Although most members still prefer the traditional face to face format, which was reinstated as quickly as possible, the ability to attend meetings remotely is now an attractive additional option. Increased online participation has also enabled a signifi cant expansion in the range of speakers who are now able to address meetings from afar, and experts in different locations and time zones have added greatly to the value of meetings.
GASG meetings continue to address wide-ranging topics dealing with technology and applications in environmental, industrial, medical and other fi elds where gas detection plays an important role. There have been over 500 presentations in total, dealing with subjects as diverse as the olfactory capabilities of dogs and bees, spectroscopic detection of gases in exoplanet atmospheres and the role of gas analysis in the early diagnosis and management of disease. Proceedings of the technical meetings are distributed to all members and the GASG now has a signifi cant archive of presentations which speakers have generously shared.
Joint meetings have been held with other professional organisations having parallel interests, so enhancing further the benefi ts to attendees. These have included the Sensors for Water Interest Group (SWIG), the Optical Sensors Collaborative Association (OSCA), the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the National Physical Laboratory.
A regular and popular part of the programme in recent years
has been the Early Career Researcher meetings. These allow the upcoming generation of developers and researchers in gas, volatiles and particulate detection to showcase an eclectic mix of short talks or posters with prizes awarded for the best presentations. The GASG also supports students engaged in gas detection research and development who wish to present their work at relevant international conferences by the provision of travel grants. In return, recipients give a synopsis of their work at a GASG meeting.
The GASG has an ever-expanding online presence and has sought to embrace appropriate social media tools to improve engagement with existing affi liates and to attract new members. As the group enters its 4th decade, an improved website will be launched to simplify many of the member interactions and allow a streamlined access to the groups’ archives.
Future
The UK gas detection community has a long and highly successful heritage. The technical and commercial successes of the industry are recognised at an international level, and it continues to be well served by trade groups such as the Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring (CoGDEM), and non-commercial organisations such as the GASG.
The enduring strength of the GASG is a testament to the vision of the founders and the engagement of the members over the past 30 years. Looking ahead, the group will continue to offer a unique environment for discussion and for the dissemination of information covering all aspects of gas and particulate detection and measurement across the widest possible range of applications. Efforts to expand the membership will place particular emphasis on attracting individuals and organisations who have not previously been well-represented, to the broader benefi t of the increasingly diverse gas detection community.
Author Contact Details J.Watson, BSc(Eng)(Nottm), SM(MIT), PhD(Nottm), CEng, FIET. • Email:
gasg.pres@
yahoo.co.uk M.J.Willett, BSc, PhD, MInstP, CPhys, CEng. • Email:
martin.willett1@ntlworld.com
J. Watson IET SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2023 M.J. Willett
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
