Are We Nearly There Yet?

“Take every day as it comes.” Dr Sue Ion, Independent expert and advisor on nuclear power

Dame Sue Ion, is an independent expert and advisor on nuclear power.
Sue initially started life in Carlisle before moving to Preston at the age of eight.  Sue went to  Penwortham Girls Grammar School where she enjoyed the science subjects and learnt things that weren’t in the syllabus in the science club. Her chemistry teacher introduced her to materials science, a mixture of physics and chemistry which explained while materials failed. Following this inspiration, it encouraged Sue to go to Imperial College, in London to study Materials Science.
Sue found Imperial College a very different environment from an all-girls school to a mainly male environment and from being the top of a class to be with other very clever people. Sue stayed on to do a PhD. as she’d had a very supportive supervisor and knew all the technicians so realised this would help her complete her studies within three years.
After university Sue went on to work for BNFL as a Technical Officer in the chemical engineering at Springfields. From here, Sue went to Sizewell B in the sales and marketing department to bid for fuel commercially before moving back to Springfields as their Head of Research and Development. In 1992, Sue was successful in being promoted to Executive Director of Technology. Sue is now a high-profile, independent advisor in nuclear providing expert advice.  
Sue is a passionate advocate of women in science and engineering. She is strong supporter of increasing diversity of the nuclear workforce featured in the Nuclear Industry Strategy.

"Take the opportunities that come your way and do not feel scared” Robert Alford, Senior Strategic and Economic Advisor, NIRO.

Robert is the Senior Strategic and Economic Advisor for the Nuclear Innovation Research office (NIRO) within the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Robert was born in Vancouver, Canada and now lives in Cumbria and is a qualified Sub-Aqua Ocean Diver and enjoys walking and cycling in his free time as well as volunteering.
Robert enjoyed school and was always inquisitive, wanting to learn more, with a why and more mindset.
He was inspired from the age of 14 by URENCO giving a talk at school on atoms, which made him decide to take the chemistry route in to nuclear.
He studied at chemistry, maths and physics at A-Level before studying for a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Analytical Chemistry at Loughborough University.
Robert’s first experience of industry was during a placement year where he worked at Croft Engineering Services.
After university he started with NNL on the graduate programme in Chemical and Process Modelling Team before becoming a deputy technical lead Post Irradiation Examination. From here, Robert was seconded to NDA in 2019 to be a Technical Assistant to the NDA group Strategy and Technology Director, Adrian Simper. Robert currently works for NIRO.
Robert has won the NNL IMPACT award for social responsibility and the YGN Young Excellence Prize.
For more information visit: Robert Alford | LinkedIn

Keep an eye on the changing landscape. Suzy Hobbs Baker, co-founder of the Good Energy Collective

Suzy Hobbs Baker is co-founder of the Good Energy Collective. Suzy has experience in communications, with reference to advanced nuclear policy and governance and is committed to community-centred clean energy adoption.
Suzy grew up in Tokyo then Atlanta Georgia before spending 10 years in western North Carolina. Suzy is now based in Washington DC with her husband Ted and two boys.
She studied fine art at the Appalachian State University, where she became interested in Mel Chin, a conceptual visual artist motivated largely by political, cultural, and social circumstances. And, luckily for Suzy she was offered a year-long apprenticeship with Mel after university where she worked on a community-based project leveraging arts-integrated educational resources to teach kids in lead contaminated environments on how to stay safe from exposure.
Using skills learnt from Mel, Suzy set up PopAtomic Studios and the Nuclear Literacy Project, a non-profit organisation. She had always had an interest in nuclear through her father working in the industry. She was really interested in the environment and how ‘we’ care for the world and how nuclear can play a role in this.
Suzy then joined Idaho National Laboratory focusing on science public information working  on special projects.
From here, Suzy then spent time in the United States Department of Energy in the Office for Nuclear Energy before spending three years with Third Way in the Clean Energy Programme as an advisor and visiting fellow.
Suzy now works at the University of Michigan focusing on geospatial mapping and socio technical approaches to energy deployment.
For more information on Good Energy Collective visit: www.goodenergycollective.org

Say yes to new opportunities and keep every door open, because you never know which one you'll end up going through. Ismaeel Patel, NNL

Ismaeel Patel is an Electrical and Instrumentation Technical Support Engineer at National Nuclear Laboratory.
He lives in Blackburn, Lancashire with his family.
At school Ismaeel enjoyed playing football and also enjoyed creative subjects including IT. After his GCSE’s he studied for an ONC in Electrical Engineering at Blackburn College.  Having been offered places to study Electronic and Electrical Engineering at a number of universities, he decided to go down the apprenticeship route.
Ismaeel started on a three-year Control, Electrical and Instrument (CE&I) Design Apprentice at the National Nuclear Laboratory where he was involved with a variety of activities including developing an understanding of instrument systems; testing, fault finding and maintenance of existing instruments and assisting in maintenance and operation of control, electrical and Instrumentation systems across NNL’s Preston facility.
After his apprenticeship he was seconded into the Security Modelling Team as an analyst for three months looking at ways to make buildings more secure including Small Modular Reactors.
Ismaeel is now back at Preston working in the Engineering and Compliance Team to broaden his skill set.
For more information see: www.linkedin.com/in/ismaeel-p-47a38610a/

Everyone within an organisation is responsible for the success of that organisation. Colin Bailey, President and Principal,

Colin Bailey is President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London.
Colin grew up in Hillingdon and went to Abbotsfield Boys School where he loved playing football resulting in a spell with QPR youth team.
Colin started studying engineering from a young age and attended Slough College to study civil engineering as part of an apprenticeship. After completing his ONC, Colin secured a job at Cameron Taylor Partners, where he got a lot more training on his drawing to become a professional draftsman. After leaving Cameron Taylor Partners, Colin worked for Clarke Nicholls Marcel where he designed buildings.
Surprising family and friends, Colin decided to go the University of Sheffield for a BEng and PhD. Following his PhD his career progressed, and he became a Senior Engineer at the Steel Construction Institute.  He then moved to the Building Research Establishment as a Principal Engineer.
In 2004, he joined the University of Manchester as a Professor and Head of Dynamics.  He was encouraged by his academic peers to be the Head of School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering and then the Vice President and Dean of Engineering and Physical Sciences.  In 2014, he became the Deputy President and Deputy Vice Chancellor of University.
In 2017, Colin became President and Principal of Queen Mary University.
Colin is a lead expert in fire engineering and has worked on some world-famous buildings including the Shard, The Pinnacle, Heron Tower and Leadenhall and following defining events such as 9/11 and the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Colin has experience as Chair, Trustee, Non-Executive Director and advisor on a number of Boards. He was co-chair and trustee of ‘Find a Better Way’, a charity he helped found with Sir Bobby Charlton to clear landmines globally.
To find out more visit: www.linkedin.com/in/cgbailey/?originalSubdomain=uk
 

I can't advise or emphasise enough how important is it to pursue a career in something you enjoy as opposed to something you're good at. Annalise Beddard, Nuclear Skills Strategy Group

Annalise Beddard is a Project Management Degree Apprentice at the Nuclear Skills Strategy Group, where she is also a member of the Nuclear Institute’s Young Generation.
Annalise lives in Culcheth in Warrington, which is where she grew up and went to high school. It was at high school that she realised her passion for engineering as she loved being hands on and practical.
After successfully completing her GCSEs, Annalise went to UTC Warrington where she studied Engineering and after a year decided to specialise in Aeronautical Engineering. Whilst at UTC Warrington, she also joined the board of directors as one of the students.
After finishing at UTC Warrington, Annalise briefly went into dentistry for a year but then saw the apprenticeship opportunity open with the NSSG. Within the YGN, she is part of the ‘Exciting the Next Generation’ theme, which is a project within the programme that the NSSG are delivering, to excite the next generation to join the nuclear industry.
To find out more visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annalise-beddard-8b9820197/

Enjoy the journey as you don't know where it's going to take you! Paul Howarth, CEO, NNL

Paul is Chief Executive of the National Nuclear Laboratory. He is also Chair of the Association of Innovation, Research and Technology Organisations (AIRTO), Chair of BHR Group and a Non-Executive Director at the National Physical Laboratory.  If that wasn’t enough, he also holds a professorial position at the University of Manchester in nuclear technology.
Paul lives in Cheshire with his wife Victoria and three boys.
He studied Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Birmingham before beginning his career working on the European Fusion Programme where he completed his PhD in nuclear physics.
He then moved to BNFL Instruments at Sellafield and subsequently worked in Japan on technology transfer in the semiconductor industry and also the Japanese nuclear programme and later worked for BNFL product development. Following this Paul went to work for Dame Sue Ion in the Energy Unit.
Paul co-founded the Dalton Nuclear Institute and worked for the US organisation Battelle alongside US National Laboratories on management and operation (M&O) contract development. In 2009, he was part of the M&O team that was awarded the contract to run NNL. Paul was appointed as Chief Executive for NNL in 2011.
He has extensive experience in the nuclear industry working on sites in the UK and overseas covering operations, commercial and research portfolios. He has worked with a broad range of stakeholders across Government, industry and academia and more recently has worked in the research, technology, and innovation sector beyond nuclear.
In his spare time Paul enjoys riding his bike and playing hockey.
To find out more visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/paul-howarth-35322048

Take time to reflect on what you have done and what you have gained from that. Sheila Rae, Internal Regulator for Nuclear Integrity, NNL

Sheila is an Internal Regulator for Nuclear Integrity in the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory.
Having grown up in Fort William Sheila now lives in West Cumbria with her husband Ian and their teenage son.
At school, Sheila enjoyed science and music and went on to study maths, chemistry, and physics at A-Level. Sheila then studied for a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde and after finishing university, she joined BNFL as a graduate trainee chemical engineer. 
After her graduate training, Sheila worked on a project with Hanford in the USA and in 2000 she became a Deputy Team Manager and two years later became a Technical Manager for the Hales plant.
In 2004, Sheila became the special assistant to the Director of Technology in BNFL and in the same year became the Head of Technology Services and in 2007 became the Technology Commercialisation Manager for NNL.
In 2014, she became the Head of Facilities Strategy Delivery and in 2018 assumed her current role of Internal Regulator
Sheila is also a mentor for Women in Nuclear and works directly on equality and diversity in the nuclear industry.
Sheila has achieved chartership and fellowship for IChemE as well as founding and chairing the Innovus steering group.
To find out more visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sheila-rae-abb87223

Never assume you know what someone's motives for doing something are! Mark Salisbury, Senior Technical Advisor, NIRO

Mark is a Senior Technical Advisor at NIRO (Nuclear Innovation and Research Office).
He initially grew up in the North Yorkshire Dales before moving around the UK and Germany owing to his Father being in Airforce. He now lives in Anglesey with husband Bob and their two cats.
Mark had a love for Chemistry at school and he attended the University of Warwick where he completed a BSc in Chemistry with Industrial Environmental Chemistry.
Mark started out in nuclear as a year in industry Chemistry Student at the Berkeley Nuclear Laboratories before joining the graduate scheme at PowerGen in the Power Technology Division, including time at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Energy Station. In 2004, he began working at the Sizewell B power station working as an assistant chemist and then part of the operations team before, in 2009, he moved on to E.ON as a Subject Area Manager where he was responsible for operations spanning across the UK, Finland and Germany.
Marks next move was to Horizon Nuclear Power to help progress the UK design for Advanced Boiling Water Reactors. He also committed a lot of his time to developing various training programmes, including apprenticeships and bespoke training for the business.
Mark is currently working at NIRO as a Senior Technical Advisor.
For more information visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-salisbury-3120a613

Don't be afraid of opportunities! Stuart Crooks, Managing Director, Hinkley Point C

Stuart is Managing Director of Hinkley Point C, the new nuclear power station being built in Somerset. He lives in Worcester and is married to Alison and they have three grown-up children and five grandchildren. 
Stuart grew up in the village of Standish Lower Ground near Wigan and went to Shevington High School. From here, he started an electrical apprenticeship at the local mail order factory Great Universal Stores.   
After finishing his apprenticeship, Stuart joined the nuclear industry at Heysham 2 power station on the Lancashire coast, where he worked on the installation and commissioning of the main computer control and protection systems. Whilst here, Stuart continued to further his education part-time, and gained an honours degree in Applied Physics at Manchester Metropolitan University and then successfully completed an MBA at Lancaster University which allowed him to progress from a technical and engineering role to become a leader.
Stuart has overseen the safe operation of the UK fleet of nuclear, coal, gas and renewables during his time as Managing Director of Nuclear Generation at EDF Energy and under his leadership the nuclear fleet generated their best ever output in 2016  along with overseeing the life-extension programme for the UK nuclear fleet. 
In 2017, Stuart became Managing Director of Hinkley Point C, the largest engineering project in Europe, with an international supply chain, delivery team, and workforce.
Stuart was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2019 for services to Nuclear Energy. 
To find out more visit: https://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/hinkley-point-c 

Just try different things. Your first job doesn't have to be your forever job! Susan Binnersley, Founding director of H2H

Susan grew up in Harrogate and now lives in York with her husband Mick and has two grown-up children. 
Susan attended Rosett High School where she enjoyed learning and sport and feels privileged to have had excellent teachers and very good friends.   
She completed a bachelor’s degree in Modern Languages and Politics at Northumbria University and is multilingual. Susan spent many times abroad on foreign exchange trips and learnt to grow as a person. 
After leaving university Susan was unsure of the path she wanted to take so took time experiencing a few different roles before settling at BAE Systems as a graduate. She went on to successfully become the HR director looking after the HR functions of multiple shipyards, 
After being at BAE for over 15 years, in 2002 she joined Hibernia Foods as the UK HR Director. After a while, she moved on to become the Director of Newleaf Ltd. providing support and coaching before making a bold move in 2004 to become a founding director of H2H, a company offering bespoke organisational interventions so businesses are better placed to achieve commercial advantage through strong ethical leadership and engaged, committed and high performing teams. 
To find out more visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/susan-binnersley-592175a 

Make a decision and just go forward then drive it in the direction you want! Air Chief Marshall Sir Simon Bryant, a former Royal Air Force officer

Air Chief Marshall Sir Simon Bryant, is a former Royal Air Force officer, who served as Commander-in-Chief of Air Command, and who now runs his own company, Simon Bryant Consultancy Ltd.  
Simon lives near Chichester, with his wife Helen and has two grown children and went to Stamford School in Lincolnshire.    
He attended Nottingham University to study Geography and from here, following in his father’s footsteps, Simon joined the RAF which spanned a 35-year career.  
He was commissioned as a university cadet in 1974, was regraded on graduation and then promoted to flying officer before his promotion to flight lieutenant in 1978. 
Simon then trained as a fast jet navigator, completing two tours on the F-4 Phantom in the Air Defence role before an exchange tour with the US Navy, instructing on the F-14 Tomcat. 
In 1985, Simon was promoted to squadron leader and flew the Tornado F3.  
Simon was finally promoted to Chief of Staff Personnel in 2006, taking responsibility for the human resources side of the RAF and then in 2009 promoted to the Deputy Commander Personnel and Training.  
In his final years with the RAF, Simon was responsible for over 40,000 people as the Commander-in-Chief.  
During his RAF years, he even found time to complete a Master of Arts in Defence Studies.  
Simon let the RAF in 2012, to join BAE systems as the Vice President in Oman and in 2018 took the role of Vice President of Military and Business (Middle East) before becoming their CEO for Strategic Aerospace.  
After a remarkable career, in 2020, Simon set-up Simon Bryant Consulting Ltd.  
To find out more information visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sir-simon-bryant-8187a6b 

Be the person you should be in a moral and ethical context. Jane Hawes, Pharmacist, Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester

Jane is a pharmacist at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. She lives in Didsbury, South Manchester, with her husband Steve and has two grown-up children. 
Jane grew up on the border of Sheffield and Derbyshire where her family had lived for generations. 
Jane enjoyed secondary school, where she gravitated towards the sciences which led her to London to study clinical pharmacy at London University before completing her pre-registration year at St George’s Hospital, and then a two-year Basic Grade Pharmacy at Kings College Hospital. 
Jane then went overseas to work in a Christian hospital in Northern India which had a focus on supply and quality of products coming into the country. 
From there, Jane came back to the UK and worked in a number of different hospitals before settling at Wythenshawe Hospital in Greater Manchester, where she works on a part-time basis. 
To find out more visit: https://interserve.org.uk 

Everyone around the world should be given the same opportunity! Allan Simpson, Nuclear Scientist, NNL

Allan was brought up in Essex and Somerset. He enjoyed his time at school and went on to college to study physics, maths, further maths, computing and geology, just to stretch his boundaries! He then went on to Exeter University to study physics, which included an industrial placement.
After finishing university, Allan went on to join British Airways as an infrastructure Engineer where he worked in the big city of London, a time in his life he cherishes.
Allan now works at The National Nuclear Laboratory as a nuclear scientist in the nuclear physics team.
Allan has a love for travel and the fact that it connects people and brings communities together. He’s a great believer in giving everyone the same opportunities in life, especially when it comes to energy.
To find out more visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/allandsimpson

Most things really do happen for a reason! Eilidh Dougan, Finance & Project Development Analysts, Sizewell C

Eilidh grew up in a small village near St Andrew’s on the East coast of Scotland, where she scooped ice cream at Anstruther Fish Bar.
She started languages at university but found this wasn’t for her and so she left early and spent a year in America as an Au Pair working with children with ADHD. This role taught her to be organised, focussed and above all patient.
Eilidh returned to the UK and decided to study Business and Marketing at the University of Stirling.  Whilst here, she got involved with Greenpeace and began an intern doing their social media.  
After leaving university, Eilidh was unsure what career path to take. She discovered the graduate scheme on offer from EDF Energy and successfully gained a place on it. She’s since moved to work on the Sizewell C project where she continues to develop her career.
Eilidh’s hobbies include DIY projects, cooking and country music.
To find out more visit: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/eilidh-dougan

If you finish the workday happy it has a huge positive impact on your personal life! Jo McDonnell, Independent Consultant

Jo lives with her partner in Johannesburg in South Africa, but she grew up in Cornwall on a farm and experienced a very outdoor type of childhood. 
Jo found comprehensive school nurtured her to achieve better things in the future. She enjoyed maths and the sciences, in particular biology and chemistry where her teachers inspired her love of the subjects through their enthusiasm. 
Jo went on to study for a BA (Hons) in Natural Science natural science at Cambridge University, something she never thought she would do. But with the encouragement of her teachers she did so! 
University offered Jo lots of sporting, social and academic opportunities which brought her out of her shell. She had enjoyed playing rugby at college where she was captain of the team, and her love of the sport went on throughout university.  
After graduating, Jo didn’t feel ready to move into the world of work, so she moved to Lancaster to do a masters in the science of the environment, before starting work for Black & Veatch doing Environmental Impact Assessments. She did this for two years before moving to PwC to do environmental assessment work. 
With a passion for travel, Jo moved to Cape Town via a secondment with PwC working on the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) Africa. From here, she moved to Johannesburg on a short-term project as an independent consultant. This role has spiralled to become seven years and counting and has taken her to the UK and South America. 
Jo now lives in Johannesburg working in sustainable finance and social and economic development for Adam Smith International and operating on a programme to seek water infrastructure into the area. She finds working as young, white woman is often difficult and needs political manoeuvres to find her way through the barriers to success!