Founder of Thordon Bearings George A. (Sandy) Thomson existed with the 2019 Elmer A. Sperry Award in acknowledgment of “leading the innovation in water-lubricated propeller shaft bearings” in aquatic transport with making use of polymeric substances.
Thomson, a leader in the advancement of innovative polymer products, existed the honor on October 31, at the SNAME Maritime Convention, in Tacoma, United States, by the Chairman of the Board of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science as well as Technology (IMarEST), Richard Vie.
As Carnival Corporation’s previous Vice-President, Technical Development as well as Quality Assurance– Shipbuilding, Vie contributed in advertising making use of water-lubricated polymer shaft bearings in the cruise ship market, with the market’s very first application mounted aboard the Grand Princess, in 1998.
Vie stated: “The Elmer A. Sperry Award for Advancing the Art of Transportation is just one of the greatest awards offered for a person’s payment to transport design. I am genuinely honoured as well as blessed to hand this honor over to a buddy, a partner as well as a real leader.
“There is no better example of an individual’s commitment to marine environmental sustainability than Sandy. His passion for and commitment to ocean conservation has been visionary, although not without its challenges. There was growing concern for the marine environment when Sandy’s oil- and grease-free polymer bearings were first introduced the late 1970s. Embracing this vision for cleaner seas led him to develop an environmentally safe, seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearing. Sandy’s bearing solution not only protects the environment but it provides a robust and reliable system that is a match for, and indeed better, than any other solution.”
The globe’s very first Thordon water moisturized prop shaft bearing was mounted on a Great Lakes yank had by McKeil Marine in Hamilton in the late 1970s. Since after that, Thordon bearings have actually been mounted or retrofitted to vessels running in every delivery market, consisting of cruiseships, guest ferryboats, containerships, vessels, mass service providers, basic freight ships, marine vessels, workboats, riverboats as well as overseas assistance vessels.
“His pioneering work has eliminated a major cause of ocean pollution – oil leaking from conventional oil lubricated sterntubes – and prevented millions of litres of oil leaking into the sea and rivers, protecting marine ecology,” statedMr Vie.
On approving the honor, Thomson, stated:“I am truly humbled in receiving this award, and I thank Richard for his kind words. To be presented with this prize is a testament to the talent and dedication of all those working tirelessly within the company to develop safer, more environmentally-friendly solutions for all sectors of industry. It really is a collective effort rather than any one individual. It is our material scientists, technologists and engineers – some of the best in the world – that must take all the credit.”
The Elmer A. Sperry honor is offered collectively by the American Institute of Aeronautics as well as Astronautics, the Institute of Electrical as well as Electronics Engineers, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Society of Naval Architects as well as Marine Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, as well as the American Society ofMechanical Engineers
Sandy signs up with a lengthy checklist of Sperry Award receivers, which was developed in 1955, consisting of Sir Geoffrey De Havilland for the very first jet-powered guest airplane as well as engines, Malcolm McLean that established the contemporary intermodal delivery container which transformed transportation as well as worldwide profession, as well as Bradford W. Parkinson for the advancement of the Global Positioning System (GENERAL PRACTITIONER).
Sea News, November 4
