GPD: Candidates for Jorma Vitkala award of merit announced

GPD: Candidates for Jorma Vitkala award of merit announced

Two years ago at the Glass Performance Days (GPD) event in 2017, the Jorma Vitkala Award of Merit was created to recognize outstanding individual contributions to the glass industry.
This award was presented to Jorma Vitkala himself as the first-ever recipient at GPD’s 25^th Anniversary event.
Every two years, this award will continue to be granted during each GPD opening ceremony to a new recipient who has been selected through an international nomination procedure. 

“GPD has become the reference for the industry in terms of knowledge management and networking. Three days at GPD gives you a year’s worth of learning, contacting industry colleagues or looking for innovation and new business opportunities. All this would not be possible without the personal touch of Jorma Vitkala,” says Jean-Paul Hautekeer, Global Strategic Marketing Director – High Performance Buildings, Dow Europe.

The award was created for 25th GPD anniversary to recognize Jorma Vitkala’s long-standing contributions to developing GPD into one of the most prestigious events in the industry.

“While the highlighting and personification of the award is a very concrete and effective publicity step, we wish to underline that it is for the common good and progress of the glass industry that the award is instituted,” Hautekeer says. “Continued innovative progress and bold new solutions will keep the applications of glass at the forefront for designers, industries and research institutions, and provide us with effective competitiveness in the choices of materials and solutions for building, automotive and interior decorating. This award is our special tribute to leading contributors in the development of the glass industry.”

At the end of 2018, a committee of representatives from GPD sponsors and selected group of international glass industry media representatives was established to open the international nomination procedure to all, as well as to screen the recipients.   

The committee has received numerous outstanding nominations of contributors that made a significant impact on the development of the international glass industry through innovative products, processes, systems, construction, design or architecture. All nominations were supported by a brief description of the nominee’s relevant merits and contributions.

The following people have been nominated for this year’s Jorma Vitkala Award of Merit based on their excellent work in the international glass industry:

James O’Callaghan                                               EOC

James Carpenter                                                   Carpenter Design Associates

Tim Macfarlane                                                     Glass ltd

Gérard Savineau                                                    Consultant (Former Solutia)

Valerie L. Block                                                       Kuraray

Graham Dodd                                                          ARUP

Mario Boschi                                                            Retired (Saint-Gobain)

Phillip Davies                                                            Retired (Dupont)

Ennio Mognato                                                          SSV

Francis Serruys                                                          Saint-Gobain

Margaret Webb                                                           IGMA

Julia Schimmelpennigh                                             Eastman

Professor Joe Minor                                                    Texas Tech University

Ulrich Sieberath                                                            IFT Rosenheim

Don Mathieson                                                            DMS Australia           

John Colvin                                                                      Consultant

Ren Bartoe                                                                        Vesuvius

Norbert Wruk                                                                   NSG

Larry Carbary                                                            Dow

Luc Moeyersons                                                            Everlam

Mauro Overend                                                            Cambridge

Alexander G. Chesnokov                                                Moscow Glass Institute

Alberto Bertolini                                                            Isoclima

Timo Suomi                                                                        Ayrox

Lisa Rammig                                                                       EOC

(John) Brian Waldron                                                Consultant

Ian Ritchie                                                                         Ian Ritchie Architects

Guillermo Garcia                                                            Heliotropetech Inc

The final decision on the winner of this year’s award will be made by secret ballot among the nomination committee. Jean-Paul Hautekeer, chairman of the committee, will count the votes. This year’s winner will be announced at the GPD Opening Ceremony on June 26, 2019.

The nomination committee: