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 […]
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 […]
Ross Clarke
Ross graduated from Loughborough University in 2013 with a master’s degree in Automotive Engineering. During his time at university, Ross worked on a joint venture project with JCB to propose a design for a new vehicle to be included in the JCB range. In his final year, he worked in a team to design the drive train system for the University’s Formula Student 2013/2014 vehicle. Since then he has gained over 5 years of engineering experience. Upon graduating from university, he accepted a role as an Engineer at Millbrook Proving Ground. His work included all aspects of testing from components to full vehicle crash safety. His time at Millbrook gained him valuable experience in vehicle collision investigation, and mechanical failure analysis. He was also trained in the use of 3D metrology equipment. In April 2016, Ross setup his own company to provide crash safety consultancy services to OEM’s. He was in a contract with Nissan from March 2016 until December 2018, where he developed their new and existing vehicles’ crash safety performance. He was based in Bedfordshire, but worked throughout Europe. Ross joined Hawkins in January 2019 and is a Senior Associate based in our London office.
Niralee Casson
Niralee is a Chartered Architect with over 10 years of construction industry experience. She has been appointed as an architect expert witness on a variety of technical issues and has supported the named expert on numerous occasions. Niralee’s experience in architectural practice covered the RIBA Plan of Work Stages, including building contracts, consultant appointments, feasibility studies, statutory approvals, developed design, site inspections, and the CDM Principal Designer role. She has broad experience of designing different building types with a specific focus on Build to Rent, co-location and mixed-use residential projects. Niralee has been responsible for other architects and technicians, including design coordination across multi-disciplinary project teams. Niralee specialises in the forensic investigation of building defects, including fire safety and basement waterproofing, where she has undertaken site investigations, reviewed other experts’ reports, re-constructed building models from architectural drawings and produced multiple expert reports for disputed claims. These claims include allegations of architectural professional negligence and regulatory compliance with the Building Regulations and other jurisdictions’ building codes. She is also experienced in opining on the intersection between different design consultants’ responsibility and scope. Niralee is registered with the Architect’s Registration Board (ARB) and is a member of the Royal Institute of British […]
Nick Carey
Nick joined Hawkins in June 2012 after a 27 year career with the London Fire Brigade. During the last 16 years of his fire service career he was a full-time Fire Investigation Officer. In 2009 Nick was awarded a PhD with the University of Strathclyde for his research into the interaction of fire and electrical circuits and the metallic damage to electrical conductors located within fire scenes titled “Developing a reliable systematic analysis for arc fault mapping”. He has undertaken a number of electrical examinations within the UK. This has included multi-agency teams investigating several firefighter fatality incidents and the investigation into the cause of the Cutty Sark fire in Greenwich. Nick has investigated a number of electric shock & electrocution incidents and electrical product failures. He has investigated shipping fire and explosions on behalf of P&I Clubs and cargo interests. He has also investigated a number of fires involving yachts and superyachts overseas. Nick has provided firefighting advice for shipping incidents on a number of occasions. He has given evidence as an expert witness at arbitrations, Coroners’, Crown and Civil courts. He has delivered electrical training to Fire Brigades, Police Forces and Forensic Laboratories and presented at training conferences […]