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 […]

John Holland

An Intel scholar, John graduated with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2000. As part of his degree he developed an automatic moisture sensor for use in the peat industry for which he was awarded the Hewlett Packard national award for innovation in engineering. After a brief period with Schlumberger Oilfield Services in Peru, John returned to Ireland to take up a position with Teradyne Connection Systems, before joining Timoney Technology as a mechanical design engineer, where he specialised in the design and development of Hydropneumatic Suspension Systems for specialty off road vehicles. In this role he also gained considerable experience with computer aided engineering techniques such as Finite Element Analysis and Vehicle Multi-body Dynamic Analysis. John was appointed engineering manager with Timoney Technology and took over full technical responsibility for all engineering projects and products. Projects of note include the DARPA Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle, the USMC Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Vehicle and the Timoney ADT Independent Suspension Axle System manufactured under licence by Terex Equipment Ltd. John was also involved with the Ginaf Rally Power and DeRooy race teams for the 2007 Dakar Rally and has numerous automotive suspension patents filed […]

Richard Heath

After obtaining a First Class Honours Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of York in 1996, Richard began his career working for the research and development organisation of Nortel Networks, a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, investigating methods for improving the capacity, resilience and flexibility of optical transmission networks. During this time his work generated intellectual property and he co-authored several patents. In 2004, Richard joined Hawkins as a Forensic Investigator working on behalf of insurers, utilities providers, local authorities and private companies. He specialises in the investigation of fires, explosions and electrical engineering losses. He has undertaken many forensic investigations of fires in industrial and commercial premises. In addition he investigates domestic and vehicle/machinery fire losses. He also investigates electrical engineering failures leading to electric shocks, electrocutions, failures of alarm systems and electronic control systems, personal injuries and electrical equipment damage. He has given evidence as an expert witness in Civil and Coroner’s Courts.

Christabel Evans

Christabel regularly investigates material failures, escapes of water and oil, system failures, and personal injury claims. She writes CPR compliant court reports and presents at industry awareness days.

Jonathan Emm

Jonathan’s engineering career began at Morganite Thermal Ceramics. Here he ran projects to develop a non-destructive testing technique for their foundry ceramic products, as well as a new product with very high thermal shock resistance. Jonathan joined BAE SYSTEMS in 2000 as an engineer in the Advanced Technology Centre, Stealth Materials Group. He ran development and application engineering projects there, mostly using elastomeric and composite materials as radar absorbent or transparent media. These were applied to military aircraft, ships and vehicles. This work enabled him to develop strong project management skills and in his last year he led a team of engineers and scientists in developing a sprayable, radar absorbent coating for aircrafts. In 2003 Jonathan joined Cytec Engineered Materials, where he ran qualification testing programmes for aerospace composite materials and provided technical advice and assistance to customers, particularly in relation to processing issues. His customers included Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, with whom he worked to incorporate advanced, recently developed materials into their aircraft structures. Jonathan joined Hawkins in January 2007, where he trained in the investigation of fires and explosions to add to his engineering expertise. Jonathan has now been involved with a broad range of forensic engineering […]

Gavin Dunn

Having gained a first-class MEng degree in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), Gavin started his career by taking on the role of Knowledge Transfer Partnership Associate with QUB and John Huddleston Engineering.  During this time, he developed the use of CATIA computer aided design software across the business to manufacture 5-axis precision machined aerospace parts, before accepting a position with John Huddleston Engineering as an Engineer.  In this role Gavin programmed 5-axis machining centres, designed tooling and jigs, and ensured a consistent production of complex precision aerospace parts was maintained. In 2010, Gavin joined Forensic Science Northern Ireland as a Forensic Engineer in the Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) team.  In this role, Gavin attended serious and fatal road traffic collision scenes across Northern Ireland often in the immediate aftermath while the road remained closed by police.  Gavin was responsible for the forensic reconstruction of collisions from the scene through to the court room.  He conducted examinations, tests, and analyses to determine the circumstances of each collision as fully as possible, many of which were high profile cases.  He routinely advised investigation teams on forensic strategy, provided direction to other scientific staff, and liaised with external technical […]