Nuclear Power Committee

Nuclear Power Committee
Image courtesy of Rolls-Royce SMR

The Nuclear Power Committee is served by influential individuals speaking for the salient parts of a diverse sector.

The Committee meets three times a year and acts as a technical advisory panel to the Power Industries Board, representing all sectors of power generation.

Committee members represent the following areas:

  • Nuclear regulation
  • New build
  • Power generation
  • Research (fission & fusion)
  • Defence
  • Fuel cycle
  • Decommissioning
  • Contractors and construction
  • Academia.

Committee members

Esther Barratt - Chair

Jacobs

Chris Bennett

Chris BennettReactor Thermal Hydraulic Specialist – Amentum

Chris is a nuclear reactor thermal hydraulic specialist within AT&R at Amentum and a Chartered Engineer with the IMechE. His experience in the nuclear industry is reactor thermal hydraulics and method development with focuses on safety case analysis (PSA, DSA), method development for current and future plants for both the defence and civil applications, bespoke code development and validation, safety case author and thermal hydraulic design support.   

Chris Cheater

Principal Consultant, Abbott Risk Consulting Ltd

Chris is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IMechE, working in the nuclear industry with expertise in nuclear and radiological safety. He is experienced in all stages of nuclear safety case production including hazard identification and analysis, mechanical, electrical and radiological design substantiation, safety case authorship and independent review. He has worked in decommissioning and fuel cycle industries. He also has expertise in nuclear site licence compliance, nuclear safety assurance safety cultural improvement and leadership.

Jennifer Gilmour - CEng FIMechE

Managing Director & Principal Consultant - Hawk Safety & Engineering Limited

A Chartered Mechanical Engineer and Fellow of the IMechE with nearly two decades of experience in engineering industries; spanning nuclear decommissioning, defence, and Renewable Energy along with Oil & Gas and Electrical Transmission. Core competencies include Safety Engineering, Technical Governance, and Accident Investigation, supported by a broad foundation in mechanical and structural design, systems engineering, and project delivery.

Demonstrated expertise in lifting operations, pressure systems, and process safety, with a strong focus on legislative compliance, human factors, forensic engineering, and psychological safety. Technical leadership includes the application of Intelligent Customer principles and delivery of robust Technical Assurance across complex, safety-critical programmes.

Currently serves as Chair of the IMechE Nuclear Lifting Committee, contributing to industry standards and best practice in engineering safety.

Peter Gillard

Engineering Manager
Frazer-Nash Consultancy Ltd

Peter has 25 years of experience working within the Power Industry. This has included work on steam turbines, gas turbines and, for 20 years, civil nuclear power stations. His technical experience covers analysis (fluids, heat transfer, nuclear reactor thermal-hydraulics), safety (authoring nuclear safety cases) and technical lead roles on nuclear projects. In his current role he manages a department of 60 consultant engineers working mainly in the nuclear industry.

John Hulme

NRS

Shaun Kelso

Head of Decommissioning Planning, Sellafield Ltd

Shaun is a Chartered Physicist and Fellow of the Institute of Physics; his doctoral research was into ‘Developing wicked strategy: the case of Sellafield Ltd’. Joining BNFL at Sellafield in 1989, Shaun has held senior EHSQ, operations, commissioning, and technical positions across the site – including Magnox reprocessing and MOx fuel manufacture - before becoming a senior policy adviser, leading on post-Fukushima stress testing, and introducing lean thinking into the site’s nuclear operations. Following a 4-year secondment to NDA, leading support to the industrial strategy and nuclear sector deal, Shaun is currently back with Sellafield where he is leading on ‘Remediation 2045’ to enable more effective decommissioning.

Philip Kolodziejczak

Engineering Manager, Amentum

Phil is an Engineering Manager who joined Amentum in 2020. Chartered with 18 years’ experience in oil & gas, nuclear and automotive engineering industries. His experience spans the full engineering, procurement and construction lifecycle from concept, design, build, testing and delivery. Phil has been working with nuclear fusion research, new build, decommissioning and small modular reactor clients. He is also an active member in STEM activities with the IMechE visiting schools to highlight engineering as a career path.

Stephen Nesbeth CEng FIMechE FIET MAPM MCMI

Stephen NesbethSenior Engineering Manager, AWE Nuclear Security Technologies

In addition to his day job as a Senior Engineering Manager, Stephen is Head of Profession (HoP) for Mechanical Engineering with over 37 years’ experience with AWE in nuclear, explosives and conventional engineering applications. This spans design, manufacture, construction, commissioning and through life maintenance. A Fellow of IMechE and IET respectively and a senior mentor in AWE’s mechanical engineering professional development programme. Stephen has responsibility for the performance and CPD of circa 100 mentors, all of whom are professionally registered and the development of around circa 360 developing engineers (DE). 

IAB engagement with Universities.

AWE Independent Industry Assessor for UWE Bristol on End point assessment for Nuc Scientist & Nuc Eng Apprenticeship Standard.

Judge for the annual AWE Defence Industry Early Career prize.

An ambassador for AWE in these activities and uses these acquired experiences for the benefit of AWE’s DE in professional registration application reviews for IMechE and IET, as well as internal AWE mock interviews supporting IMechE and IET professional registration interviews.

Externally, Stephen is an IMechE Professional Review Interviewer of applicants world-wide, applying for professional registration from Defence and other industries such as Nuclear, Manufacturing, Motor Sport, Aircraft, Railway, Oil & Gas, Academia and the like.

IET Professional Review Interviewer of applicants world-wide applying for professional registration from Defence e.g. HVAC systems for Anti-submarine surface ships, Manufacturing and other industries such as Power Transmission, Power Generation, Power Network, Mechatronics i.e. Drone technology, Sewage Treatment e.g. abroad in Qatar, Hongkong, India, some African countries and the like.

Andrew Paton-Crockett

Engineering Manager, Assystem

Andrew has been involved in projects in the civil and defence industries and has also been involved in nuclear new build projects in the UK and internationally. His experience has involved roles in design, acting as an intelligent customer as well as project management.

Andrew is currently working on an SMR project as a design manager on the conventional Island.

Tom Pritt

Jacobs

Andy Pyle - Past Chair

Andy Pyle Technical and Safety Support Manager, Heysham 2 Power Station, EDF Energy Ltd

Responsible for technical governance and oversight of the broad range of safety and security (approximately 90 staff), including nuclear site licence compliance, quality management, and provision of technical conscience to senior leadership team. The role involves significant external regulator interaction, and management of a range of station and corporate stakeholders. Previous Experience within EDF in a variety of engineering roles, and external experience includes Fellow of the World Nuclear University, WANO technical support mission as a technical expert in engineering. Previous chair of the Nuclear Power Committee.

Phil Rogers

Phil RogersEquilibrion, Director

Phil’s has a broad range of technical and commercial experience in nuclear including operating reactors, new build, advanced reactors, the role of nuclear in net zero, and electric and non-electric applications. This covers roles in consulting, government and national laboratory settings. His recent specialism has been in the application of nuclear for hydrogen, synthetic fuels and direct heat for decarbonisation and the technical, policy and economic enablers for projects to deliver on this opportunity. Phil is now owner and director of Equilibrion Limited, an SME founded in 2021 to develop and deliver compelling cross sector propositions for decarbonisation with nuclear energy.

Matt Rooney CEng MIMechE

Engineering Policy Manager, Institution Of Mechanical Engineers

Sadia Samas

Assystem Energy & Infrastructure

Colin Tait

Colin TaitMechanical Engineering Professional Lead

Colin leads ONR’s team of mechanical engineering specialist inspectors, overseeing regulatory decisions and providing impartial technical advice. As head of capability, Colin is accountable for maintaining and developing ONR’s mechanical engineering talent, capability and knowledge management.

Colin joined ONR over fifteen years ago, and has undertaken a variety of regulatory roles including: design assessment; oversight of major construction/commissioning projects; and inspection of civil nuclear facilities.

Gordon Tait - CEng FIMechE

Innovation Manager, DSRL

Gordon started his engineering career at the Prototype Fast Reactor at Dounreay moving quickly up the operations chain to become a shift manager until the final reactor shutdown and de-fuelling was complete. With the research work finished, he transferred to nuclear decommissioning, preparing and implementing decommissioning plans and programmes for the wide range of site facilities. This gave him a fantastic opportunity to pioneer new approaches and explore innovative techniques to achieve cost effective decommissioning solutions. After 40 years in operations, he has now become the site Innovation Manager which allows him to focus fully on technology and strategy development while still maintaining the training and development support to our young engineers.

My objective on the committee is the promotion of knowledge sharing across the industry.

Shona Tait MEng AMIMechE

Mechanical Engineering Graduate System Engineering – SIXEP, Sellafield

Shona joined Sellafield in 2022 as a graduate Mechanical Engineer after graduating with a Masters from the University of Strathclyde. She has so far gained experience in Data and Asset Management and Plant Engineering through the scheme. She has also taken on a number of additional roles including Secretary for the Management Safety Committee at Sellafield and sits on the Support Office for the Nuclear Engineering Directors' Forum.

James Wilson

Senior Systems Engineer, MOD

Over 10 years of experience working within the nuclear sector and IEng status. The majority of this time has been based within defence nuclear sector and focusing on acting as an intelligent customer on infrastructure safety cases.

Dan Wolff - CEng IMechE

Dan WolffHead of Business Strategy, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions Ltd 

Dan Wolff is the Head of Business Strategy at UK Industrial Fusion Solutions (UKIFS), where he plays a pivotal role in shaping the UK’s pathway to commercial fusion energy through the STEP programme. A Chartered Engineer with a background in both fission and fusion, Dan leads strategic planning for STEP, the UK’s prototype fusion powerplant programme which will be built at West Burton, Nottinghamshire. 

Simon Rees

Jonathan Bates

 

What we do

  • Ensure that good engineering practice and exciting innovation in the nuclear sector is propagated to all interested members of the Institution
  • Ensure that the Institution listens and responds to topics members want to hear about
  • Communicate with a wider audience on nuclear engineering matters of public and national interest
  • Arrange events, talks, and web content. Visit our webinar hub to see a library of past talks
  • Engage with the Institution's regional centres 
  • Publish reports and contribute to Institution policy statements and responses to questions from the government, media or the general public.

Objectives

  • Promote the safe use and application of engineering in all aspects of nuclear energy together with its standards 
  • Influence decision makers on the merits of nuclear energy and to advise our Institution on nuclear energy matters 
  • Stimulate debate over the engineering issues which arise in nuclear power generation and provide training/ professional development opportunities, especially for younger engineers 
  • Promote a willingness to share with, inter alia, the engineering institutions, BNES and BNIF in the management and organisation of nuclear related activities, to avoid duplication and to maximise interest and value.

Prizes and awards

Power Industries Division awards the following prizes:

Arthur Charles Main Prize

Edwin Walker Prize

Harold V Disney Prize

View our scholarships and awards

Get in touch

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