Dr Andrew Spowage, Reader in Engineering and Materials Education at the Queen Mary University Malaysia campus has recently been certified by the Institute of Materials Malaysia (IMM) as a Materials Failure Investigation Practitioner.

Failure investigation is a process of testing materials to find out the cause of failures and the limitations of the materials.

The recently launched scheme provides a pathway for people to gain an industry-recognised certification. It is the first in the world for failure investigation and meets ISO standards for condition monitoring and diagnostics.

Based on his extensive experience and knowledge, Andrew has been given the highest level of certification – Level 4, certifying that he possesses the relevant knowledge and experience as well as the authority to endorse and verify test results from Level 1-3 certified practitioners.

Dr Spowage’s technical area of expertise covers the full spectrum of the Performance of Materials and has a strong focus on materials failure investigation.

The launch event took place at Nottingham University Malaysia with a certificates awarding ceremony.

The leader of the education committee which launched this certification scheme, Max Ong, is also a Queen Mary Alumni.

Reflecting on the certification standard, Dr Spowage commented, “This certification standard marks a significant recognition of the hard work and dedication of the 44 expert members from academic and industry who developed it over the last two years.

Special credit should be given to Ir Max Ong who is the driving force behind the IMM’s education committee which managed the initiative.

As one of the first Level 4 MFIP recipients, I look forward to serving as an examiner for future candidates and to continuing to provide support for local industry.”