Stuart Hakes, Chief Executive of F.I.C. (UK) and immediate past president of the Society of Glass Technology (SGT), was given an honorary fellowship at the SGT’s annual conference last week.
The award was presented in recognition of his services to the glass industry and is limited to 12 people at any one time and is held for the lifetime of the awardee.
It is the highest honour the Society can give and was presented to Mr Hakes by current president, Arun Varshneya.
Speaking afterwards Mr Hakes said: “I’m absolutely tickled pink. I have a strong connection to the SGT which began when I was a youngster and continues to this day. I feel incredibly humble and it is a very deep honour but I don’t really feel I deserve it!
Mr Hakes has had links to the SGT for 59 years and joined when he was a student living in the UK. After a brief break when he returned to his native New Zealand, he rejoined the organisation and became its President in 2019.
He said: “The SGT is over a 100 years old and is still relevant today. It bridges industry and academia and provides important support to young people considering a career in the industry.”
Sponsored by Sheffield Hallam University, Pilkington, and F.I.C. (UK) with a sustainability theme, the three-day conference at Murray Edwards College provided an impressive audience with a forum for the discussion of all aspects of glass with three strands following glass science, glass industry and history & heritage.
Industry papers were presented by glass companies such as DSF Refractories & Minerals, F.I.C. (UK), Glass Futures, the Czech Republic’s Glass Service, Krysteline, Sisecam, Vidrala and others.
The event took place in Cambridge, UK.
