Philippa Moore

Philippa graduated from the University of Cambridge with MA and MSci degrees in materials science and metallurgy. She subsequently stayed at Cambridge to gain her PhD, researching the microstructures and properties of laser and laser/arc hybrid welds in pipeline steels, a project supported by industrial partner, TWI Ltd. Philippa then spent 18 years working at TWI Ltd, and developed an international reputation in fracture toughness testing, and engineering failure investigation, often of welded steel structures, through her project work and consultancy. In her last six years at TWI she was a Team Manager, her roles included responsibility for a team of engineers who delivered fracture toughness testing services for TWI. She has also carried out projects related to fracture tests in corrosive environments and hydrogen embrittlement of steels. She has published over 45 conference and journal papers on her academic research, and on topics supporting her involvement on British and International standards committees for fracture testing. Philippa was herself the industrial supervisor of five PhD students and four MSc students from 2013 to 2019 working on fracture-related topics. An inspirational and respected technical expert, she is an enthusiastic and experienced presenter to both technical and non-specialist audiences on topics related […]

Giuseppe Scatigno

Giuseppe graduated with a 1st Class Master’s Degree in Materials Science and Nuclear Engineering from Imperial College London. During this period, he worked at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Incident and Emergency Centre, performing radiological dose calculations, following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. He completed a PhD, researching electrochemistry and corrosion, where he focused on environment-assisted corrosion phenomena, working closely with several nuclear utilities across the world. Giuseppe also spent time in Japan working on the development of Gen III+ reactors at Hitachi-GE Ltd. Giuseppe’s PhD work required the extensive use of state-of-the-art microscopy techniques, experimental traditional techniques, as well as computational, mathematical, and analytical methods. After completing his PhD, Giuseppe worked as a Research Associate for Imperial College, sponsored by EDF Energy, to study stress corrosion cracking resistance of dry cask storage units designed to be used for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel. Giuseppe was then employed by EDF Energy, where he worked as a Corrosion Engineer and Chemist. Giuseppe worked closely with power generating stations before becoming the lead on water cooling systems and interim spent fuel storage. Giuseppe defined the chemical inhibitors regimes and corrosion monitoring systems to ensure the appropriate management of […]

Gerald Deshais

Gerald completed his PhD in Materials Science at the University of Cambridge in 1999, where he investigated the resistance of 7XXX alloys to stress corrosion cracking on behalf of Péchiney (now part of Rio Tinto Alcan).

Nick Wright

Nick’s first job following graduation was for the Cookson Group at its research centre near Oxford, where he carried out materials development and testing work. Following this, Nick returned to the University of Birmingham where he gained a PhD developing polymer matrix composite engineering components. Nick joined Cosworth Ltd in 1999 as a Materials Engineer, developing materials and processing technologies for Formula 1 Engine applications. This work included a large number of failure investigations on race and road vehicle components. In 2006 Nick joined ERA Technology Ltd, working initially in the Gas Turbine group on failure investigations and remaining lifetime assessment. He became increasingly involved in failure investigations in a wide variety of applications including power generation, petrochemical process plants, electrical distribution, general industrial and road vehicles. This led to his appointment as head of the Forensic Engineering service line at ERA, where he led a team of engineers supporting loss adjusters, insurers, manufacturers and owners/operators. Nick joined Hawkins in 2013, where he works as a Principal Associate based at our London office.

Neville Tranter

Following completion of his degree in Metallurgy at the University of Birmingham, Neville worked as a Graduate Heat Treatment Engineer at Wallwork Heat Treatment. This focused his knowledge of working in hazardous environments. It was from the work undertaken at Wallwork that Neville gained an interest in failure investigations and decided to broaden his knowledge by undertaking a Master of Science degree in Forensic Engineering and Science at Cranfield University. Following his Masters, Neville worked for Intertek Plc, running Rolls-Royce’s out-sourced Metallurgical Laboratory. This gave him exposure to materials science and general engineering of gas turbine engines and failure analysis. Intertek also undertook failure investigations from a wide range of third-parties. Through this work, he conducted over 100 metallurgical and failure investigations including: multi-million pound oil and gas industry losses medical devices and equipment railway rolling-stock and systems consumer products and patent infringement. After Intertek, Neville moved to Goodrich Corporation as a Materials Engineer where he investigated failures, non-conformance and manufacturing issues on hydraulic and electric aerospace actuation systems. Since joining Hawkins, Neville has specialised in the investigation of engineering failures and is currently working as a Principal Associate in our Birmingham office.

David Rose

David’s career started in the Technical Services and Development Laboratory at the BP facility in Hythe. He then moved on to study anti-oxidant behaviour in lubricating oils for his PhD at the School of Chemistry at Leeds University. After graduation he studied hydrocarbon combustion as a research fellow. In 1993 David joined the Defence Research Agency (latterly known as DERA) working for the Fuels & Lubricants Centre in Farnborough, running the Fluids Handling and Flammability Hazards laboratories. His research varied from developing methods of preventing gearbox explosions, self-cleaning filtration systems, the compression ignition of hydraulic fluids to fuel reformation for fuel cells. He acted as a consultant to the Armed Forces concerning fire hazards associated with fuels and lubricants. David became interested in forensic investigation while working as part of the DERA TWA 800 air accident investigation team, investigating the destruction of a Boeing 747 that was caused by the ignition of a fuel-air mixture in the centre wing tank. Since joining Hawkins in 2001, David has carried out over 1,000 forensic investigations involving petrochemicals, confined space entry, fire and explosion incidents both in the United Kingdom and overseas. These cases have included small scale incidents to multi-million pound losses […]

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 […]

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 […]