NORTHAMPTON, UNITED KINGDOM - At a general Meeting and council meeting held in Northampton, Steve Lavender was elected as president-elect of the British Institute of NDT (BINDT) for 2010 to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Dr Robin Shipp.

The president-elect is normally chosen from the existing vice presidents, however Lavender was eligible for election following his six-year stint as a vice president from January 2000 to December 2005.

Steve is co-managing director of Lavender International NDT Consultancy Services Ltd., the highly respected trainer, examiner and Level 3 consultancy company based in Penistone, Sheffield. He has been involved with the Institute since 1982, when he joined the early PCN specialist boards. Since then he has (apart from VP) been a part of many PCN committees including working groups, the general technical committee and, more recently, he has been appointed vice chair of the newly-structured certification management committee (CMC). He is a member of BINDT's Yorkshire branch.

He worked with the technical committee publications working group but has probably contributed most to the institute in his two periods as chair of the membership, certification and education committee (MQ&E). The committee has worked very hard to ensure continued liaison with the engineering council, as well as managing the trainer accreditation program and, of course, to develop membership.

Outside the United Kingdom, he has a strong association with ASNT. He was key in the creation of the North Atlantic Section in 1993 and is currently ASNT's section operations council awards division chair and has recently been appointed to the board of directors selection committee.

He is one of a select few having both the ASNT and BINDT Fellow Award.

Lavender is keen to make the most of his 12 months as president-elect before moving into the president role as of January 2011, and has the full support of the company in this ambition. He is interested in working with BINDT staff in all departments and members of all levels to ensure the institute not only remains relevant in today's industrial world but also grows and expands to meet the new challenges facing the industry.