Marie Hayward

Marie is a Chartered Engineer with a varied portfolio of automation design, implementation and testing experience across multiple industrial sectors. She graduated from the University of Leeds in 2003 with a Masters Degree in Mechatronics, a discipline focused on engineering principles for electromechanical devices. This enabled her to launch her career with a role configuring and testing robotic assay platforms for pharmaceutical high throughput screening. From there she progressed into a project engineer role for Siemens Industrial Automation, designing high power drive systems for heavy industries such as power stations and steel plants in the UK and overseas. Whilst at Siemens Marie broadened her expertise in automation to include electrical and network design for Distributed Control Systems, serving clients such as food & beverage manufacturers and utilities providers. In pursuit of more hands-on engineering work Marie transferred her industrial knowledge to the University of Manchester, where she provided technical leadership for the Chemical Engineering Pilot Plant facility. This involved full ownership of automation projects from concept to installation and troubleshooting. Marie’s next role used her expertise to support UK businesses and academics in the advancement of robotics innovation and adoption. She became a trusted advisor to key stakeholders in the […]

Ahmad El Ghor

Ahmad is an Associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineering (A.M. ASCE). After graduating from Beirut Arab University (BAU) in 2014, Ahmad started his civil engineering career as a Research Assistant at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He then pursued further studies at AUB and got his Master’s degree in 2017, followed by a PhD in 2021. Ahmad’s research focused on the behaviour of steel and steel-concrete composite structures when subjected to fire. His research had both computational and experimental aspects, as well as focused on improving the design standards for structural resistance to fire loads. During both his Master’s and PhD degrees, he collaborated with experts in the field of Structural Fire Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin). Working with UT-Austin, Ahmad implemented two extensive, experimental elevated temperature testing programs at the Ferguson Structural Engineering Laboratory. As part of his PhD, Ahmad also investigated the time-dependent and post-fire behaviour of welds in steel connections when subjected to fire, as well as took part in other structural fire related research. This mainly focused on the performance of shear-tab connections with composite beams in fire, and both the time-dependent and post-fire behaviour of bolts and […]

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 […]

Chris Dennis

In 2003, after completing his Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, Chris began work as a Design and Project Engineer at a small start-up engineering company. During this time he helped develop a revolutionary form of liquid disinfection equipment that utilised microwave-powered ultraviolet lamps. Due to the small size of the company, Chris was heavily involved in virtually all aspects of the projects, including liaising closely with suppliers and customers that were based both in the UK and overseas. In May 2007, the company was acquired by Severn Trent Services, allowing Chris to gain valuable experience working in a large multi-national engineering company. During this period, Chris continued to work on the ongoing development and testing of the different variants of the core technology. The work involved regular travel abroad, including helping to plan and run large scale field trials in the USA. After almost 7 years working on the same overall project, Chris decided he needed a new challenge, and so in 2010 he joined Hawkins as a Fire and Explosion Investigator. Since then, he has investigated several hundred incidents, ranging in scale from minor domestic fires, to multi-million pound losses involving industrial premises, commercial […]

Yang Dang

Yang graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2008 with a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering. He was award Lee Kuan Yew gold medal for graduating as the best student. After graduating, Yang joined Arup as a Graduate Engineer in Singapore, where he has designed the steel connections for the hotel atrium of integrated resort Marina Bay Sands. In 2009, Yang studied for a Masters degree at Stanford University.  As part of his study, Yang undertook research to review constitutive modelling of engineered cementitious composites for earthquake engineering applications. Yang returned to Arup in Singapore following the completion of his study at Stanford University.  During his 2 years with Arup, Yang has worked on the Fusionoplis Phase 2A project, where he was responsible for the design of superstructures consisting of post-tensioned systems, and the Capitol project where he was involved in the design of basement structures. For the following 7 years, Yang predominately worked on the design and site management of a number of large-scale projects with roles as both a consultant and contractor.  During this time, he was stationed in Dubai periodically to work with local consultants and clients for projects in the UAE. Yang has […]

Jonathan Dance

Jonathan graduated from The University of Exeter with a degree in Physics in 2019. During his time at university, Jonathan’s MPhys degree covered a wide range of topics including advanced quantum physics, condensed matter physics, electromagnetism and biophysics. He completed a master’s thesis focused on producing a 3D finite element analysis model of a section of the human spine from CT imagery, in order to better understand the role the endplate plays in distributing loads in the spine. Jonathan also spent a year living in Christchurch, New Zealand studying at Canterbury University as part of his degree. He now works alongside Ros Lambert-Porter with architects, manufacturers, facilities managers, and end-users to supply the following services: noise impact, room acoustics assessments, noise at work assessments, design consultation, vibration measurement, and consultation for product development. Jonathan joined Hawkins in November 2019 and is a Senior Acoustics Consultant based in our Cambridge Office.

Tom Dale

Since graduating in 2013 with a first-class bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Warwick, Tom has pursued a career in fire safety and risk management. His first position was as a Safety Engineer at DNV, completing quantitative risk assessments, estimating the likelihood and consequence of potential fire and explosion events within onshore, offshore and floating assets in the Oil & Gas industry. Results from these assessments allowed clients to evaluate the fire and explosion risk arising from their sites, to support design decisions ensuring compliance with legislative requirements. Whilst at DNV, Tom also acted as an environmental auditor for the Safety Health and Environmental (SHE) audit team. Tom completed several site investigation, land remediation and gasholder demolition projects in the UK to support managing onsite hazards. This also provided Tom with experience in conducting health and safety investigations of lost time injury incidents, which can occur at construction sites. Tom began a part-time Masters in Fire and Explosion Engineering at the University of Leeds, balancing work and studies for three years, before graduating with a Distinction in 2017. His dissertation involved research into ‘boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions’ (BLEVE), specifically involving liquified propane gas (LPG) aiming to further […]

Graham Cooper

Graham obtained his first degree in Materials Technology from Coventry Polytechnic and his Masters degree in Advanced Materials Technology from the University of Surrey. He has been a Chartered Engineer since 1991 and is a Professional Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining. After graduation, he spent 10 years with British Aerospace where he was primarily involved with materials development, manufacturing support and aircraft defect investigation. He went on to work for British Airways in 1995 as their company metallurgist and defect investigation specialist before joining Burgoynes in 1998. Graham has investigated over 500 mechanical and materials related cases including aircraft accidents and incidents, marine accidents and losses, road traffic accidents, rail accidents, oil and gas production and pipeline incidents, industrial process plant incidents and power generation turbine failures. He has previously worked in Singapore and has undertaken investigations in the UK, Ireland, Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Far East and Australia. He has acted as an Expert Witness and Single Joint Expert in litigation cases and has given expert evidence in civil and criminal court cases, arbitrations and mediations. Graham joined our Leeds office as a Principal Associate in August 2014, and is now based in our […]

Darren Cook

Darren was sponsored through his MEng degree at Strathclyde University by NACCO Materials Handling Group, designer and manufacturer of Hyster and Yale forklift trucks, where he spent four summer placements working in Special Products Design, Test and Development, Manufacturing Engineering, and Production. After completing his degree, Darren worked for BAE Systems Surface Ships, based in Glasgow. He worked there for four years, most recently as a Lead Research and Technology Engineer, leading a wide range of novel research projects within the Naval Ship industry. Projects have included a Concept Capability Demonstrator Programme of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle and sea trials onboard HMS Bulwark aimed at improving the operability of UK Amphibious Warships. He also has experience of test and commissioning of Type 45 Destroyers and spent four months on secondment to Babcock Integrated Technology in Rosyth. Darren joined Hawkins in 2011 as a fire and explosion investigator. He has since investigated over 650 fires and explosions, ranging from small domestic incidents to large multi-million pound losses involving plant, machinery, agriculture, retail premises, industrial premises and buildings of international historical significance. Darren is also an A2 Certificate of Competence (A2CofC) certified drone pilot and can assist clients with aerial surveys on […]

James Clarke

James is a fire investigator specialising in fire engineering design, fire safety management and fire risk assessment. Since graduating from The University of Huddersfield in 2017 with a first-class honours degree in Mechanical Engineering, James has worked in a number of industry sectors across project management, mechanical engineering, and fire safety engineering. James’ degree covered a range of topics, including Mechanical Design, Manufacturing, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Finite Element Analysis, and Business Management. When given the option to specialise, James focused on a live industrial dissertation subject covering asset utilisation and six sigma manufacturing techniques, coupled with technical assessment on the design and analysis of helicopter landing gear and the optimal design of trailer aerodynamic devices. During his time at university, James also held a project engineering position with a Yorkshire based pharmaceutical company where he assisted with the development and introduction of new production and packaging facilities. James quickly developed the ability to assess both products and components involved with flammable and explosive environments, advising the internal engineering and Health & Safety teams. As part of a summer internship, James continued in operations development with a national telecommunications company, to help increase efficiency in maintenance processes and data analysis. During […]