BE MEngSc PhD FIEAust CPEng FTSE FRINA CEng MSNAME MAICD
It was with profound shock and sadness that we announced that Prof Andrew Potts passed away in March 2019. Prof Potts founded the Australian Marine and Offshore Group, now trading as AMOG Consulting, in 1991. He was the company's managing director from its inception until he became the CEO of AMOG Holdings Pty Ltd in 2012.
Prof Potts was an alumnus of Monash University where he undertook his undergraduate engineering studies and his masters prior to completing his PhD in Engineering at the University of Reading in the UK. It was only fitting that he was appointed as a Professor of Practice at Monash, in recognition of hits outstanding engineering accomplishments and continuing close engagement with the university in both research and education, from the early 1990s. He was always passionate about constantly improving the quality and reach of engineering; filling a position as a guest lecturer, mentoring students, supervising PhD engineering students, establishing an ongoing graduate recruitment programme at AMOG, and establishing the AMOG/Emeritus Professor Grundy PhD Engineering Scholarship at Monash (now named the AMOG Consulting Grundy and Potts Memorial Scholarship).
"Through his passion for engineering theory and practice, Dr Potts built a bridge between industry and academic research, which he has grown into a successful and internationally recognised company with a reputation for solving the difficult problems with solid analyses and evaluation." Prof F Seible, former Dean of Engineering at Monash University.
Throughout his career, he received many awards and much recognition, from colleagues and from industry. Prof Potts brought together a unique set of skills; strong technical skills, commercial experience, dedication to engineering research and excellence; combined with a dynamic leadership and presentation style. He had a reputation for always seeking innovative solutions, and a proven ability to drive industry-leading research.
Whilst at the University of Reading, Prof Potts with Prof Richard Chaplin undertook a landmark Joint Industry Project (JIP) on "Light Weight Materials for Offshore Station Keeping" involving an investigation of the performance of synthetic fibre and composite ropes for deepwater catenary moorings and TLP's tethers. Along with his collaborators on this work, they published an Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) paper (OTC Paper No. 6965, 1992), which recently won the 2017 American Society of Civil Engineering “Hall of Fame Papers Award” for Offshore Technology in Civil Engineering. This body of work effectively opened up the potential for using polyester fibre ropes for mooring offshore platforms, which is now the standard practice for deepwater developments around the world.
Many will be familiar with the other JIPs, such as the SCORCH and Chain FEARS JIPs, that he initiated and delivered; bringing together investment from some of the largest global oil and gas companies (Shell, Chevron, BP and ExxonMobil, amongst others), universities, and subject matter experts to conduct research that has since contributed to industry guidelines and standards, as well as forming the basis of many peer-reviewed technical papers presented at conferences and forums around the world. The influence required by an Australian SME to obtain funding and unite some of the largest competitive organisations in the world, to agree to a course of research and development to facilitate industry advancement, cannot be underestimated.
Professor Potts and AMOG, under his guidance, has won many awards and received numerous accolades, including;
- 1988 Winner of the 3M UK Industrial Competition "INSPEX Innovation in Imaging Award" for Non-Destructive Testing of Wire Strands and Ropes using the 3M "INSPEX" System
- 1994 Industry Environment Award, Australian Minerals and Energy Environmental Foundation (AMEFF)
- 1995 Institution of Engineers, Australia - Engineering Excellence Award for Construction Cost Reductions in Offshore Pipeline Developments
- 2011 City of Monash Business Association award for Most Outstanding Business in Monash
- 2011 AMOG awarded Engineers Australia Award of Excellence (Infrastructure Projects over $20M) for West Seno Mooring Refurbishment Project
- 2014 AMOG awarded Sydney Engineering Excellence Award for the Burrendong Dam project
- 2015 Winner of 20th SNAME Offshore Conference Best Paper Award for “Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) of Mooring Systems: Diagnostic Techniques to Improve Mooring Integrity”
- 2016 High Commendation Award in the area of Innovation, Research and Development, Engineers Australia (Victorian Division) for Longitudinally Grooved Suppression (LGS) technology
- 2016 Winner of Australian Industrial Research Group (AIRG) Medal for Australasian Technological Innovation, for Longitudinally Grooved Suppression (LGS) technology
- 2017 Winner of Maritime Australia Civil Industry National Innovation Award
- 2018 Winner of ASCE OTC Committee Best Paper of the Year Award at OTC 2018
Prof Potts will be remembered by many for his passion and eloquence, dedication and perseverance, his intellect and his voracious appetite for learning. Those who had the honour of calling him a colleague and/or friend will no doubt recall animated discussions on topics as broad-ranging as military history and colonialism, and identities such as Brunel and Monash, as well as the latest AMOG engineering paper, project or challenge.
Andrew's professional legacy is best reflected in the company that he founded and subsequently grew into the thriving engineering consultancy it is today, with an international reach and reputation for providing innovative and high-end engineering solutions across multiple industry sectors. This engineering legacy is a company built upon technical excellence; a company that personifies his dedication to the profession, passion for innovation devotion to sharing his knowledge, and drive to excel. From humble beginnings, now employing staff and associates in multiple cities around Australia and having expanded across 5 continents, AMOG will continue to flourish, in is memory.
Vale Professor Andrew Elmhirst Potts.
