ESA-Denis Gilley Award

Denis was the General Manager of the Chesterton production plant at Bantry (Eire), which manufactured a wide range of compression packings materials for use in industrial equipment. As such, Denis was a Founder Member of the European Sealing Association in 1992. Denis was well respected and liked by all of his colleagues ……… including his competitors!

Although he worked for an American Company, Denis was Irish and proud of it. But equally, he was proud of his Company and the plant he had built up in Bantry. He was particularly pleased that he had been able to establish a great team of people, whom he motivated and developed to produce world-class materials of excellent quality. He was delighted when the plant was awarded the international quality systems management standard ISO 9002 in 1992.

So, it was with real sadness that we learned of his premature death in December 1995, at the age of just 58 years. In recognition, the ESA has introduced a plan to carry on the work which Denis had achieved with his employees, by establishing an Award in his name.

The Award is aimed at exceptional students wishing to work on a project related to sealing technology. The concept has been established not only to investigate aspects of sealing technology, but more importantly, to provide the successful candidate with the opportunity to develop his or her own skills. The Award is made to enable a student to conduct a project (or projects) of relevance to the fluid sealing industry in a key university or centre of technical excellence in Europe.

Aims of the Award
        to commemorate Denis
       to enable a good student to gain experience of the sealing industry
       the successful student to be held in high esteem in his or her subsequent career
       to develop sealing technology
       to establish good contacts between the ESA and appropriate centres of technical excellence
       to raise the profile of the ESA, ESA Members and the centre of excellence

The Student
The successful student, male or female, will have a good academic record, with an interest in industrial applications of mechanical engineering technology. The student will have an analytical mind and enjoy a hands-on approach in problem solving. It is likely that the student will have good interpersonal skills and, importantly, will be self-motivated ; we are looking for someone with "spark"! Selection will be by interview from a short list of candidates.

The basis of the Award
The successful candidate will receive a bursary from the ESA for an agreed period (ideally 2 or 3 years), and will be offered industrial projects within ESA Member Companies during this time.

During periods of work at industrial locations, the student will be reimbursed for all out of pocket expenses and be provided with a small salary.

There will be no contractual requirement for the student to work in the sealing industry at the end of the Award, and equally, there will be no guarantee of employment in the industry after the Award. However, during the course of the industrial projects involved, the student will have the opportunity to meet a number of key people within the industry, and if the chemistry is right ......

Out of respect for Denis, the first Award has been made to Trinity College, Dublin. At the completion of this first award (in 2000), the Award will be opened to all Universities and technical institutes across the European Union which have an interest in sealing technology, mechanical engineering and related topics. It is hoped that the "cream" of students from all appropriate centres of technical excellence will be offered as candidates for selection to the Award. A Prospectus for the Award will be available from the ESA closer to the time. Please register your interest.

The first recipient of the Award is Máire Ní Ruaidhe, a second year undergraduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Trinity College, Dublin. The Award ceremony was held at Trinity College in June '98, and the presentation was made by Eithne Gilley (pictured below right, with Máire).

Máire spent the Summer of '98 learning about various aspects of sealing technology in a series of industrial projects at production sites of four ESA Member Companies :
      Merkel Freudenberg Fluidtechnik Ltd (Tallaght/RoI)
      Klinger Ltd (Bradford/UK)
     Flexitallic Ltd (Cleckheaton/UK and Rochdale/UK)
     John Crane Sealol (High Wycombe/UK, Slough/UK and Shannon/ RoI)

During the latter part of 1998, ESA Divisions designed a number of potential industrial projects for Máire. From these,  Máire and her Tutors selected one from the ESA Packings Division to become her final year project, starting in Summer '99 and continuing until April 2000:

To develop a mathematical model to predict the load / friction / sealability characteristics of a conventional, on-off valve stem packing