Q&A this world critical built environments: how to save a space station, and told us how he went outside the space station to stop it leaking air. Why should people join the club? The Rumford Club will hold a black-tie dinner at the House of Lords in 2022 Sebastian Grey Back at the club As engineering networking group The Rumford Club welcomes back guests, members and speakers, incoming chair Sebastian Grey explains what to expect in its 75th anniversary year T he built environment and engineering services sectors dining and debating group, The Rumford Club, is making a return, following a shutdown during the pandemic. Socialising, rebuilding networks, exchanging ideas and debating the topics of the day are back, as the club celebrates its 75th anniversary with a series of events at the National Liberal Club in London between October 2021 and March 2022, and a black-tie dinner at the House of Lords in 2022. The club provides an opportunity for professionals including consultants, contractors, manufacturers, educators, researchers and many more across the sectors to meet and debate the issues of the past, present and future. Each dinner has a keynote speaker and topic of debate. What is the history of The Rumford Club? It was founded in 1947 by engineers Bernard Oldham and Don Sayers to encourage debate and discussion around technical issues such as air movement in buildings. The topics for discussion have expanded over the years, but its key remit is still to host regular dinner meetings with keynote speakers discoursing on topics around the industry, which frames the subsequent debate. The club was named after Count Rumford, born Benjamin Thompson in America in 1753, who went on to become a fellow of the Royal Society and achieved popular acclaim for his designs for domestic fireplaces. What kind of events does the club put on? Currently, the club hosts dinners at the National Liberal Club in London, and its patron is Lord Rupert Redesdale. Before the pandemic, the clubs programme included talks from the likes of Dr Scott Steedman, director of standards at the BSI, on standards in the industry; Rudi Klein, past CEO of SEC Group, on the post-Carillion landscape and the change needed to create a vibrant building services sector; and an intriguing talk on medieval thermal comfort by Robyn Pender, of Historic England. The clubs black-tie speakers are also impressive; one of the events featured former astronaut Michael Foale, who delivered a presentation titled Out of People have lost a lot as a result of the pandemic but, as we return to normal, The Rumford Club can be the place to help rebuild, kick-start and generally improve their careers, through meeting people and being able to get back into debating the topics we all know and love. Its a second home within the industry. How do people become a member? Membership of The Rumford Club used to be on a member-recommendation basis, then further review and approval by the committee only. In 2017, however, the committee agreed to a more open membership policy. This gives people within the industry who may not know a member an opportunity to join by filling in an online membership application, which is then sent to the committee for approval. Although the club was initially founded for and by engineers, the variety of topics for discussion on issues such as heating, ventilation and achieving net zero are all relevant to anyone within the built environment. Current membership splits into two broad groups: the established, more senior people from the built environment, and younger engineers who want the opportunity to network with key influencers from their sector and build on their knowledge. What speakers can we expect to see next at The Rumford Club? Speakers for the year ahead will include: Ruth Carter, CEO, CIBSE; Isobel Sheldon, chief strategy officer, Britishvolt; Ian Pillay, development director, Clean Power Hydrogen Group; Sharon Duffy, head of engineering delivery optimisation, Transport for London; and Simon Wyatt, partner, sustainability, Cundall. Visit www.therumfordclub.co.uk to www.cibsejournal.com September 2021 85 CIBSE Sep 21 pp85 Q&A.indd 85 27/08/2021 12:06