Tom Peat

Tom graduated with a MEng in Aero-Mechanical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde in 2013. This degree incorporated numerous independent and group assignments, as well as an international research project at the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain. Upon completion of his degree, Tom began work as a Supplier Quality Engineer with Jaguar Land Rover, located in Gaydon. This role included the review of suppliers’ manufacturing facilities to ensure correct process controls were in place to maintain part quality and protect the delivery schedule. One of his main projects involved the investigation of defective aluminium plates that were susceptible to splitting during the pressing process. The outcome of this investigation identified the primary cause of the failure and resulted in the implementation of new process controls to reduce the frequency of defective parts. This role cultivated an interest in materials science which led to the undertaking of a PhD in Advanced Surface Engineering within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. The PhD project involved the development of an innovative surface engineering process to manufacture highly erosion-resistant composite surfaces containing ceramic and oxide reinforcing particles. The findings of this research were published in leading peer-reviewed academic […]

Sophie Parsons

Sophie is a Chartered Engineer with expertise in materials failure analysis and corrosion incidents in both the marine and land-based sectors

Charles Murdoch

Charles’ background is in materials, having graduated with an MEng in Materials Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, UK. In his final year of study he took a slight specialism into Aerospace Materials covering aerospace structures and design. After leaving Imperial College, Charles secured a graduate scheme position with Rolls-Royce plc based initially in Derby, UK. As a graduate he spent placements on the shop floor, at the Heathrow field service office looking after British Airways and also spent time in Montreal, Canada, with the Energy business. After 18 months, he graduated from the scheme and into the Rolls-Royce internal Failure Investigation Team investigating a wide range of components from failed bolts to failed fan blades. In the majority of cases investigations concerned metallic components, however polymer, composite or even cardboard components were not uncommon. Investigations regularly included an aspect of tribology or fractography using a high magnification scanning electron microscope. In 2014 Charles relocated back to London and to Hawkins, and has continued to investigate Materials and Mechanical failures. Charles now regularly returns to his ‘student days’ at Imperial College to perform analysis of fracture surfaces on the microscopes available. Since joining Charles expanded his areas of expertise […]

James Morris

James completed his PhD researching a novel enzyme and its mechanism of action in blood cells, before undertaking six years postdoctoral research into the biochemistry of various cellular signalling pathways. In 2007 James took on a role at a small biotechnology company, where he ultimately became responsible for the chemicals production business, serving hospitals through the UK and Europe with histological stains. James built up the product stewardship requirements of the business, and qualified as a road transport Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser. James has since worked as a Product Steward, assessing and assigning hazard and transport classifications to new and reformulated petrochemicals products, for Shell and Gulf Oil. At Hawkins, he will be aiding both the Fire Investigation and Contamination teams, with his extensive knowledge of chemical reactions. James is a Senior Associate based in our Reigate Office.

Paul Moody

Paul completed his undergraduate degree in Metallurgy at the University of Birmingham in 1990. During this time, he was sponsored by British Steel and gained work experience at Swinden Labs in Rotherham. Paul later completed his Doctorate at the University of Birmingham, researching the fracture properties of welded structural steels in relation to the oxygen content of weld metals. The work was sponsored by ESAB, headquartered in Waltham Cross in London. After completing his studies in 1995, Paul began his career at the Defence Research Agency as a Research Scientist, working on welding of high strength naval steels and investigations of failed components. Following this, Paul worked as a Metallurgist at a number of firms including Bodycote Materials Testing Ltd, Ingenco Ltd (formerly Scottish Power Technology), and Doosan Babcock Ltd. Paul’s experience includes facilitating contract materials testing for the offshore oil and gas services industry, performing remanent life assessment on boilers for power plants and petrochemical sites, investigating failed components, and providing support on materials related issues. Since joining Hawkins in 2017, Paul has worked on cases involving escapes of water, personal injuries, petrochemical sites and boilers for power generation. Paul’s boiler and petrochemical site investigations have taken place in […]

Clara Coombes

Clara is originally from Canada and graduated from the University of Toronto with a 1st class undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering. Her academic interests include energy systems and different methods of power generation, as well as their wider impacts such as safety, environmental risks, and economic issues. After her undergraduate degree, Clara moved to the UK to begin a MPhil in Advanced Chemical Engineering at Cambridge University. She continued to pursue her interest in energy generation and policy, completing her Master’s course with a thesis exploring various scenarios by which small floating nuclear power plants might be used to provide civil power for the UK. Following on from her Master’s degree, Clara began a PhD in Nuclear & Civil Engineering at Cambridge University. Her PhD research focussed on the modular manufacture and construction of small nuclear reactors. In her thesis, Clara developed models to estimate the build times and costs associated with different levels of offsite construction for factory-built, modular nuclear reactors. Clara’s PhD was industry sponsored and allowed her to complete a short secondment in Derby with the nuclear team at Rolls-Royce. This enabled her research to investigate some of the key industry questions pertaining to small modular nuclear […]

Ben Lister

In 2008, Ben graduated from Churchill College at the University of Cambridge where he read for the Engineering Tripos and specialised in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. As part of his degree, Ben spent a year working in Sharjah, UAE as a design engineer and financial modeller for a small petroleum company involved in the construction of a new gas processing plant, and also completed an internship in the USA as an engineering specialist in the purchasing division of a large engine manufacturer. After graduation, Ben joined the engineering and research section of E.ON as a specialist in system modelling and analysis, initially focusing on renewable electrical generation technologies. The following years covered projects in a number of sectors including: MV distribution networks for industrial sites; analysis support for regional public distribution network operators, and an R&D portfolio, including electric vehicles and smart grid communication technologies. Ben later moved into a role supporting the commodities trading business with engineering analysis of the interaction between markets and electrical networks. In 2016, E.ON split its fossil fuel assets to form a separate company, Uniper. During this time, Ben moved back into a project support role as a microgrid and battery specialist on a […]

James Kingham

James graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2005 with a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, having completed an industrial placement year working in cryogenics for The Hymatic Engineering Company (now part of Honeywell Aerospace’s Defence & Space business group). After graduating, James returned to Honeywell Aerospace as a development engineer, working on Joule-Thomson coolers and Stirling Cycle Cryocoolers primarily for missile and satellite applications. This included customer driven development projects as well as R&D and investigative projects. In 2010, James took on the role of New Product Development Manager with ITT (later Xylem) Flow Control, overseeing the development of pneumatic and hydraulic valve actuation controls and actuators for use in severe service environments, including the oil & gas and rail industries. James was then promoted to Centre of Excellence Engineering Lead – Valves (Technical Manager) in 2013, becoming the senior technical contact at the Wolverhampton site overseeing product development, project management and product certification activities within the business. James is a Chartered Engineer and as such is a full member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. James also holds a Level 5 diploma in Management & Leadership and is a Six Sigma Black Belt.

Eleanor Jay

Eleanor graduated with a 1st Class Masters Degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London. As part of Eleanor’s first degree, she was employed at Industrial Research Limited in New Zealand (now Callaghan Innovation). Here, she developed specialised ceramic filters for the use in hydrogen cells, assisting in the purification of hydrogen. Following this, her PhD work involved researching ceramic materials for nuclear fuel storage applications (requiring high temperature and pressure resistance). During this time, she worked closely with several nuclear establishments across the globe with whom she collaborated. Eleanor also spent time at Nanyang Technology University in Singapore, where she investigated ceramic systems for a variety of energy applications such as fuel cells, including lithium-ion batteries. After completing her PhD, Eleanor was seconded to the Government Office for Science and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to be part of the Nuclear Energy Research and Development Review Board, chaired by the then Chief Scientist, Sir John Beddington. The work was commissioned after the House of Lords published a critical report on the future of nuclear energy in the UK. She assessed the UK’s nuclear energy landscape, which involved close communication with stakeholders across the nuclear industry […]

Mike Hopwood

Mike’s civil and highway engineering career began at Parkman where he worked on several major projects, including the St Helens M62 link road and the A570 Ormskirk Bypass. Specialising in preliminary and detailed design work, Mike joined Giffords to work on the structural design of the Second River Dee Crossing. Mike moved to Cheshire County Council in 1994 and rose to the level of Principal Engineer. At the time, Cheshire was one of the largest UK local authorities and was also managing a large motorway network including the M6. During his progression, Mike led teams responsible for safety inspections, winter maintenance, streetworks and third party claims. Mike appeared in Court countless times as a witness for local government. Whilst with local government, Mike was responsible for the design, letting and construction of numerous large and complex civil engineering schemes. During this time, he gained particular expertise in all aspects of design, performance and specification of road building, drainage, construction materials and road and junction layouts including traffic management and road signs. Alongside his Engineering role, Mike was also a local government health and safety officer. He was responsible for workplace safety audits and risk assessments along with enforcement and the […]