Jari began his career in forensic investigation in 2017 as a Trainee Process Engineer while completing his BSc thesis at LFoundry, a 200 mm semiconductor manufacturer. His research focused on characterising volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination in the photolithography area. Using TD-GC/MS and thermal outgassing analyses on silicon wafers manufactured in the cleanroom, he identified the source of contamination and developed a mitigation strategy to manage and reduce it, contributing to significant potential cost savings.

During his Master’s degree, Jari participated in an exchange programme at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), where he developed a mathematical resilience indicator to analyse the vulnerability of hazardous industrial installations to domino effects triggered by intentional and unintentional events. His work combined resilience assessment with cost-effectiveness analysis to support optimal recovery strategies for chemical industrial clusters following major incidents.

Jari has extensive experience as a forensic engineer for major insurance companies, providing expert technical consultancy (CTP) in both civil and criminal proceedings. He has conducted over 400 investigations involving fires and explosions, both in Italy and further afield. These cases ranged from small domestic incidents to multi-million-euro losses affecting retail premises, warehouses, process plants, factories, photovoltaic installations, wind turbines, and wildland areas. His work included analyses using FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) and arson fire investigations.

Jari also has experience reconstructing road traffic collisions, including vehicle examinations and 3D simulations with dynamic analysis using PC-Crash software.

He joined Hawkins in October 2025 as an Associate, based in our Italy office.

L’esperienza di Jari nelle investigazioni forensi è iniziata nel 2017 durante la laurea triennale, lavorando per LFoundry (SMIC), un produttore di semiconduttori da 200 mm, dove ha svolto il ruolo di Ingegnere di Processo durante il progetto di tesi di laurea. La sua ricerca si è concentrata sulla caratterizzazione della contaminazione da composti organici volatili (VOC) nell’area di fotolitografia. Attraverso analisi TD-GC/MS e di degasaggio termico su wafer di silicio prodotti in camera bianca, ha identificato la causa della contaminazione e sviluppato una strategia di mitigazione per gestirla e ridurla, contribuendo a potenziali risparmi significativi per l’azienda.

Durante la tesi di laurea magistrale, Jari ha preso parte a un programma di scambio presso la Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), dove ha sviluppato un indicatore matematico di resilienza per analizzare la vulnerabilità degli impianti chimici agli effetti domino, innescati sia da eventi di natura intenzionale che non. Il suo lavoro ha combinato la valutazione della resilienza con un’analisi costo-efficacia per la ricostruzione dei poli industriali a seguito di incidenti di entità rilevante.
Jari ha esperienza come consulente tecnico di parte (CTP) per conto di importanti compagnie assicurative, sia in procedimenti civili, che penali.

Durante le sue precedenti esperienze in Forensic Experts S.r.l. e Arson S.r.l., ha condotto oltre 400 investigazioni forensi relative a incendi ed esplosioni, sia in Italia che all’estero. Questi casi hanno spaziato da piccoli incidenti domestici a danni da diversi milioni di euro che hanno coinvolto esercizi commerciali, magazzini, impianti di processo, fabbriche, impianti fotovoltaici, turbine eoliche e aree boschive, incluse analisi di fluidodinamica computazionale condotte con FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) e indagini su incendi di natura intenzionale.

James graduated from Swansea University, with a BEng and an MSc in materials engineering. During his undergraduate studies, James completed a year-long internship with Airbus UK, gaining experience within both the part compliance and failure analysis teams.

After completing his Master’s degree, James earned a PhD in Materials Engineering at Imperial College London. His research focused on the development and characterisation of tungsten diboride ceramics, a highly effective neutron shielding material vital for the advancement of smaller spherical tokamak designs. In his thesis, he developed novel sintering manufacturing processes for tungsten diborides, enabling a number of mechanical and thermal properties to be experimentally characterised for the first time.

James’ PhD was partially funded by the Nuclear Energy Futures Centre for Doctoral Training, where he received specialist training from leading academics on key topics within the nuclear industry. He served as cohort representative, leading outreach activities including the Cambridge Science Festival and an exhibit at the Science Museum.

Following his PhD, James secured funding to continue as a postdoctoral researcher. His work focused on scaling up manufacturing processes industrial application and investigating the effect of varying the tungsten to boron ratio in his materials. James has published in two leading journals: Nuclear Fusion (IOP) and the Journal of the European Ceramic Society (Elsevier).

James joined Hawkins in November 2025 as an Associate based in our London office.

Chris graduated with a BSc in Cartography in 2007 and began his career in land and engineering surveying. He gained extensive commercial experience in 3D laser scanning, as-built CAD 3D modelling, and reverse engineering for major projects, including airport terminals, stadium construction, and mining, oil, and gas developments.

In 2012, Chris trained as a Police Constable with the Western Australian Police Force. In 2017, he joined their Major Crash Investigation Section as a Collision Reconstruction Officer, covering the world’s largest policing jurisdiction, sometimes travelling up to 3,000 kilometres to attend a collision. During this time, he completed credits towards a Diploma in Road Crash Investigation.

Chris relocated to the UK in 2018 and joined the Transport Research Laboratory as a Collision Investigator. Working primarily on a Department for Transport project, he conducted live and retrospective collision scene and vehicle examinations alongside police investigators. He applied forensic investigation techniques to determine the root cause of collisions and the injuries sustained by vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users, before recommending countermeasures. He has a particular interest in CCTV analysis and 3D reconstructions.

In 2020, Chris joined Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary as a Forensic Collision Investigator. He led scene examinations of fatal, serious injury, and police-involved collisions across Hampshire and Thames Valley Police areas. His responsibilities included reconstructing collisions and producing detailed reports, often presenting expert evidence in criminal trials and coronial inquests. Chris received multiple commendations for his collision reconstructions during his tenure.

Chris joined Hawkins in November 2025 and is an Associate Road Traffic Collision Investigator based in our Reigate office.

Ellie is a Civil Engineer with a strong specialism in highways design and engineering, supported by a broad background in urban realm improvement, active travel infrastructure, and utilities coordination.

Ellie’s career in highway engineering began at AECOM, where she undertook an internship within the Transport Hub, designing vehicle restraint barriers using the Road Restraint Risk Assessment Process (RRRAP) for the M6 J21–26A Smart Motorway scheme. Following this, Ellie completed her Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester, graduating with first-class honours. Her degree covered a range of disciplines including Structures, Geotechnics, Hydraulics, Fire Engineering and Operations Management. For her master’s group project, Ellie specialised in highway design, developing optioneering designs for a road bypass in Broughton from concept design through to detailed design, utilising the DMRB, Traffic Signs Manual and TSRGD.

After graduating, Ellie joined Arcadis as part of their Graduate Programme within the Highways and Transportation team, gaining invaluable experience across a variety of projects. During a client secondment at Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, she worked as a Project Manager focused on business case development and funding approvals to support the growth of Ebbsfleet Garden City, with a strong emphasis on active travel strategy and green corridors. Ellie successfully gained approval for three business cases through the Infrastructure Investment Panel and Board, contributing significantly to the regeneration of pedestrian and cyclist facilities in the area.

Following this, Ellie worked as Utilities Manager for the G2S development area of HS2, where she was responsible for the design, management and assurance of utility diversions. She achieved Level 3 assurance sign-off for two major diversionary schemes and was recognised with the “People and Culture” award for her contribution to the team and project delivery.

Upon returning to the Urban Highways Design team, Ellie developed extensive experience across the full design lifecycle of highway infrastructure projects, from concept through to detailed design and construction support. Over five years, she worked predominantly as Design Engineer, Design Lead and multidisciplinary coordinator, delivering a range of high-profile urban realm and cycle/pedestrian safety improvement schemes across the UK. Her work included utilities coordination and design for the Oxford Street Programme, as well as active travel design on major client frameworks including Transport for London and local authorities.

Ellie has also taken on commercial responsibilities, managing change events and supporting fee preparation and bid submissions for new projects. She is CSCS-accredited and regularly supports on-site activities, providing technical assistance to contractors during the construction phase.

In addition to her technical and commercial work, Ellie has a strong passion for professional development and wellbeing. She led Arcadis’ Urban Highway Design Professional Development Forum for three years, focusing on both personal and professional growth within the team. Ellie was instrumental in organising training sessions, hosting guest speakers, and leading workshops and presentations on key industry topics. She also trained as a Mental Health First Aider and acted as a Wellbeing Advocate within her team, promoting positive workplace culture and support initiatives. Ellie has additionally volunteered with Coast to Capital providing assistance for their virtual work experience day as part of their STEM initiatives, delivering workshops for students to inspire future careers in the construction and engineering sectors.

Ellie is an Associate based in our London office.

Tom holds an MEng in Materials Science from the University of Oxford, where he developed a strong foundation in the study of diverse materials and their degradation mechanisms. His Master’s research focused on the influence of hydrogen on the mechanical properties of metallic systems, utilising a range of advanced characterisation and testing techniques.

During his academic career, Tom completed internships with the Warwick Manufacturing Group, where he investigated steel production processes, and with an aerospace company, where he worked as a materials engineer examining electric motor failures.

Tom joined Hawkins in September 2025 as an Associate, based in our Birmingham office.

Yvonne is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers with over 25 years of experience in the UK and international construction industry. Her career has encompassed leadership roles across major infrastructure and energy projects, combining technical expertise with strategic and operational management. She has extensive experience in geotechnical design and construction, risk management, HSEQ improvement and business operations.

After graduating from RWTH Aachen University in Germany with a first-class degree in Civil and Structural Engineering, Yvonne began her career with WS Atkins (now AtkinsRéalis) before moving into specialist piling and geotechnical contracting. Over 16 years she held senior technical and operational roles with Cementation Skanska, Bauer Technologies, Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering and JRL Civil Engineering, delivering complex foundation and retaining wall projects such as Battersea Power Station, Whitechapel and Tottenham Court Road Stations, and the Newport and Pembroke Power Stations.

During this time, Yvonne developed specialist expertise in all aspects of piling and diaphragm walling, encompassing both design and construction. She became a recognised authority in resolving complex technical challenges and was frequently consulted on problematic or high-risk projects in the UK and internationally.

Yvonne later joined Gavin & Doherty Geosolutions (GDG) as Director, overseeing the design and delivery of geotechnical solutions for Energy-from-Waste and renewable energy schemes across the UK and Ireland. She was promoted to Managing Director (Onshore) in 2023, responsible for the strategic growth and performance of the business. In 2024, she became Business Unit Director for Taylor Woodrow’s South Region, leading a £40m infrastructure portfolio and a multidisciplinary team of over 100 staff.

Beyond her project work, Yvonne has contributed extensively to the wider geotechnical profession. She served on the British Geotechnical Association Committee between 2014 and 2023 and continues as a co-opted member. In 2024, she received the ICE John Mitchell Award and delivered the associated lecture “The Importance of the 6Ps in Geotechnical Engineering”. She is also a ROGEP Adviser and ICE Reviewer, mentoring the next generation of civil engineers.

Yvonne joined Hawkins in 2025 as Principal Associate. Her expertise spans design and construction methodologies, failure investigation, and risk assessment in complex ground engineering environments.

Madeleine joined the South African Navy in 2001, where she completed both basic and officer training. This included practical courses in maritime damage control, firefighting onboard vessels, and sea survival. She was stationed in Simon’s Town at the Naval Engineering Bureau, where she conducted feasibility studies and technical investigations for engineering changes on military vessels.

In 2009, Madeleine left the Navy as a Sub-Lieutenant to join the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor). She worked in the Fluids and Mechanical Engineering Group (Flamengro) as Chief Engineer. Her primary responsibility was to develop, maintain and expand experimental and computational mechanics capabilities for the development and testing of weapon systems and subsystems, such large calibre canons, missiles, rocket nozzles and warheads.

Madeleine graduated with a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from Pretoria University in 2017. She has both national and international experience, applying her skillset across military, defence, academia, and oil & gas sectors. Following this, she relocated to the UK and joined Northumbria University as an Assistant Professor. She lectured at post-graduate level in Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Statics and Design Optimisation. Her research focus shifted towards waste-to-energy solutions for which she was awarded a grant from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy to investigate hydrogen production from waste wood.

Her work led her to DNV Spadeadam, which she joined in February 2023. DNV Spadeadam is a research and test facility specialising in fire and explosion hazards, full-scale hydrogen testing, CCS and natural gas infrastructure qualification, and safety awareness training. As Principal Consultant and Engineering Team Lead, Madeleine was responsible for the design, build and commissioning of complex test rigs for full scale testing. In this role she gained experience in explosion chamber design and maintenance, gas explosions, pipeline ruptures, dense phase CO2 testing, pigging operations and general welding and pressure systems construction.

Madeleine is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. She joined Hawkins as an Associate in October 2025 and will based in our Glasgow office, also covering Cumbria and the surrounding regions.
 

Minesh is a Chartered Engineer with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), bringing a diverse background in structural design and forensic investigation to Hawkins.  He graduated in 2014 with a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Civil Engineering and began his career at Mott MacDonald in the UK, where he worked as a bridge and railways engineering consultant. During his time there, Minesh contributed to a range of bridge projects, focusing on the design, inspection, and assessment of structural systems.

Following this, Minesh pursued a Master of Applied Science (MASc) at McMaster University in Canada. His research centred on developing a framework to quantify the demands on elastomeric bridge bearings throughout their service life, considering various load types including thermal, traffic, and seismic. His work also accounted for structural deterioration due to corrosion, differences in bridge types (reinforced concrete vs. steel), and span configurations. He successfully defended his thesis in 2019.

Minesh briefly worked as a Construction and Engineering Loss Adjuster, investigating insurance claims related to structural failures, water ingress, construction and manufacturing defects, and storm damage. He completed his Certificate with the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). Leveraging his civil engineering expertise and experience in loss adjusting, Minesh transitioned into the role of Structural Forensic Engineer at Thornton Tomasetti. Over three years, he led and contributed to numerous structural investigations. 

Notable projects include:

• Analysis of structural cracking in a high-rise tower in the Middle East
• Investigation of a steel frame hangar collapse during construction
• Assessment of water intrusion causes and damage quantification in a volumetric modular building during installation
• Evaluation of the design adequacy of a reinforced concrete building with irregular and offset columns
• Technical justification for using UK reinforcement standards over US standards in the design of a critical infrastructure project in the UK

Andrea ha completato una Master of Science (equivalente della laurea magistrale) in Metallurgia e Scienze dei Materiali presso l’università di Cambridge. In questo periodo ha preso parte in un progetto al centro universitario di Rolls-Royce (UTC Cambridge) studiando le proprietà di leghe metalliche prodotte attraverso la stampa 3D per la riparazione di componenti dei motori jet danneggiati.

In seguito, Andrea ha completato un dottorato di ricerca nell’ambito dei materiali ceramici, in particolare nello sviluppo di ossidi porosi a base di cromo e la loro applicazione nella pirolisi e gassificazione di plastiche e rifiuti legnosi, oltre che nei rivestimenti in vetro-ceramica.

Durante gli studi ha acquisito competenze in varie tecniche di fabbricazione e cottura delle ceramiche a partire dalle polveri, la gestione dei cilindri e le condutture di gas ad alta e media pressione, l’analisi gas-cromatografica e varie tecniche di microscopia ad elettroni.

Andrea ha cominciato a lavorare come associato ad Hawkins nel 2025.