Stuart Hakes, Chief Executive of F.I.C. (UK) and immediate past president of the Society of Glass Technology (SGT), received the prestigious honorary fellowship during a banquet dinner on 5 September at the SGT’s annual conference in Cambridge.

Upon presenting the award in recognition of Mr Hakes’ contribution to the glass industry and the Society, Professor John Parker, himself an honorary fellow and past SGT president, said: “It is my great honour to announce the honorary fellowship award. This is limited to 12 people at any one time and is held for the lifetime of the awardee. It is highest award the Society can give”. Current SGT president Dr. Arun Varshneya then also paid tribute to Mr Hakes’ many decades of service.

“I feel incredibly humble and it is a very deep honour. Remember, we are in the Glass Age and there is no stopping us now with Glass Futures doing things and everybody in the industry trying to decarbonise and help the planet going forward. Industry, academia and more importantly the young ones [students], we [the SGT] are with you, we will always be with you and the industry will get stronger,” enthused Stuart Hakes.

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 experts from leading players including DSF Refractories & Minerals, F.I.C. (UK), Glass Futures, Glass Service a.s., Krysteline, Sisecam, Vidrala and others.

A full review will follow in a future issue of Glass Worldwide.