Caroline O’Keeffe

Caroline O’Keeffe is a Forensic chemist based in our London Office. She has a PhD in Composite materials.

Madeleine Combrinck

Madeleine is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a background in material failures and building and white goods fire investigation.

Minesh Patel

Minesh is a Chartered Engineer with expertise in structural design and forensic engineering. He holds master’s degrees in Civil and Applied Science Engineering, and has led investigations into structural failures, bridge performance, and construction defects across the UK, Canada, and the Middle East

Luke Hooper-Fitch

Luke Hooper-Fitch is a Forensic Collision Investigator at Hawkins, based in Birmingham. He has expertise in collision reconstruction and vehicle examinations.

Ben Gibbs

With a focus on the noise footprints of future aircraft, Ben has recently completed his BEng in Aerospace Engineering at the University of the West of England. His growing interest in psychoacoustics developed through study and industry placements has led to experience in the early-stage design of low noise rotor blades, and the development of conceptual noise attenuation strategies aimed at reducing psychoacoustic annoyance for future eVTOL urban operational environments. Ben has recently joined Hawkins and works alongside Hawkins Acoustics Director, Ros Lambert-Porter, collaborating with architects, manufacturers, facilities managers, and end-users to deliver services including noise impact assessments, room acoustics assessments, noise at work assessments, design consultations and vibration measurements.

Louisa Laing

Louisa graduated with a Masters degree in Chemistry from Durham University, where she developed a strong foundation in analytical and materials science. During her studies, she completed a year in industry with Intrinsiq Materials Ltd, working on conductive nanomaterials for printed electronics. After graduating, she returned to Intrinsiq as a Research Scientist, focusing on the development and characterisation of nanocopper pastes. In 2018, Louisa joined QinetiQ, where she specialised in electro-optical physics and advanced material systems for defence applications. As Team Leader of the Electro Optical Physics group, she led a team of scientists delivering research and development projects focused on coatings, textiles, and composite camouflage materials. Her work included designing and testing novel materials, using optical and infrared measurement techniques to evaluate performance. She also collaborated with military stakeholders and QinetiQ’s legal team, contributing to intellectual property development and presenting technical findings to the NATO Science and Technology Organisation. Throughout her career, Louisa has developed strong expertise in technical investigation and data interpretation—skills that closely align with forensic methodologies. She has authored technical reports for government and industry clients, contributed to multiple patent applications, and provided training and mentorship within her team. Louisa joined Hawkins in August 2025 as […]

Ian Major

Ian started his career working for Aspen Burrow Crocker on a variety of civil engineering projects. He was involved in the design of numerous highway and infrastructure schemes, waste transfer stations and the Thameslink rail project. He has also spent time supervising construction work on site including a year working at wastewater treatment plants. In 1999, Ian joined Hyder Consulting where he spent 11 years working predominantly on the design and project management of major infrastructure projects including the N5 in Ireland, the A2 widening in Kent and the A421 improvements in Bedfordshire. Ian joined Hawkins in 2010, specialising in the investigation of property damage and personal injuries involving civil engineering and building incidents. He is also an experienced fire investigator, having investigated over 200 fires including major and complex losses in domestic, commercial and industrial premises. In his specialist field of engineering, Ian has determined the causes of a wide range of losses from small domestic claims of water ingress through to catastrophic building collapses. Other examples of incidents that Ian has investigated include wall failures, subsidence, flooding and problems associated with ground-borne vibration. Much of this work has involved advising on matters in relation to the requirements of […]

Mehul Jesani

Chemistry, contamination and pollution expert Mehul Jesani joins the Hawkins team in London

Adam Ashing

Adam is an electro-mechanical engineer based in our glasgow office. He has experience spanning over explosives, ballistics and failure analysis. He worked previously performing stress, deflection and structural analysis and early research and design

Lucy Pinkard

After completing her degree in Forensic Science from the University of South Wales, Lucy worked as an Analytical Scientist in the pharmaceutical sector, specialising in spectroscopic techniques. She then joined Avon and Somerset Constabulary as a Crime Scene Investigator, where she was involved in the forensic investigation of volume, serious and major crime scenes. During her career with the Police she also worked as a DNA Laboratory Analyst, examining items for the presence of blood and DNA. Lucy advanced to the position of Crime Scene Manager, managing the forensic response to major incidents. This included working with the Major Crime Investigation Team during the forensic investigation of many high profile cases. During her time within the Police, Lucy has delivered evidence in both Crown and Magistrates Courts and received a Police commendation for her commitment and dedication. She was also a Forensic Fire Investigator, involved in the investigation of crimes involving arson, endangerment of life and murder. Lucy completed her Masters in Forensic Investigation of Explosives and Explosions with the University of Cranfield Forensic Institute in January 2025, completing her thesis in the subject area of thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries. She now lectures at Cranfield University in Fire Investigation and […]