Members of the public are welcome to take part in The RNLI Annual Lecture, held in partnership with the University of Southampton, on Wednesday 30 November 2011 at 6pm. This year’s lecture, ‘Testing Times: the role of trials and testing in marine safety’ will be introduced by eminent guest speaker Dr Ian Dand FREng.

RNLI volunteers in action

The last few decades have seen major cultural and technical changes in maritime safety, and Dr Ian Dand has been at the forefront of these changes during his career as a naval architect. His lecture will focus on the reasons for the changes and the lessons learnt. He will explain how model testing has illustrated the equal importance of operational aspects alongside design in improving marine safety. The talk will include the high profile investigation of major incidents at sea such as The Herald of Free Enterprise, as well as the exploration of ship behaviour whose purpose is motivated by safety, like RNLI lifeboats. The lecture will end with a personal view of marine safety at the present time.

Steve Austen, RNLI Head of Engineering Support, explains: ‘We are delighted that Ian Dand will be speaking at the 2011 RNLI Annual Lecture, as well as being at the forefront of his field, he has been involved with the RNLI for many years, including a period of time when he was a member of the RNLI Technical Committee.´

‘The RNLI charity’s lifeboats are crewed by volunteers who go to sea, sometimes in extreme conditions, to save lives. Therefore we do our best to ensure they have the right lifeboats and equipment to operate as safely as possible in the most hostile sea environment – and some of the engineering achievements behind this will be highlighted during Ian’s talk.’

The lecture will be delivered in the University at 6.00pm. Tea and biscuits will be served in the Turner Sims foyer at 5.30pm, and all members of the public with an interest in marine safety and the RNLI are welcome to attend.