Professor Mike Tipton MBE from the University of Portsmouth has been awarded the 2019 Ireland Medal from The Lifesaving Foundation in recognition of his outstanding contribution to saving lives worldwide from drowning.
Professor Tipton MBE, who is the UK’s leading cold water survival expert, is a Professor of Human and Applied Physiology. He is Director of Research for the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science where he leads the University’s Extreme Environments Laboratory.
Nice as these accolades are, we are all more driven by trying to learn things that can be used to save lives by prevention, search, rescue and treatment.
He has spent 35 years working in the areas of thermoregulation, environmental and occupational physiology. Professor Tipton MBE and colleagues in the Extreme Environments Laboratory examine the physiological and psychological responses to adverse environments and the selection, preparation and protection of those who enter such environments.
In addition to his survival research, Professor Tipton MBE is a Trustee and Director of Surf Lifesaving GB (SLSGB) and recently completed 10 years on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) Medical & Survival Committee. He is now a member of the Council of the RNLI. In both of these organisations, Professor Tipton MBE provides technical input on the physiological responses associated with immersion-related deaths and the prevention, rescue and treatment of immersion casualties.
Professor Tipton MBE said: “I am honoured and delighted to receive this award, I see it as recognition of the impact of our group’s research and teaching efforts over many years to save the lives of those who find themselves in trouble in water.”
The medal will be presented in Waterford City on Monday 24 February 2020. The following morning, Tuesday 25 February, Professor Tipton MBE will present an open free lecture on his work at Waterford Institute of Technology's School of Health Sciences. Attendance is open to all interested in Cold Water Survival.