John Baxter, (born 1951) is a British nuclear engineer, and currently the Group Engineering Director at BP.

Education

Baxter was educated at Strathclyde University, reading mechanical engineering. He studied for a postgraduate degree at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, then trained as a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

Submarine Officer.

Career

Baxter was a Submarine Engineer Officer, and served on a Polaris nuclear submarine carrying out refitting. His subsequent career with the

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ...

included running the

Dounreay Dounreay (; gd, Dùnrath) is a small settlement and the site of two large nuclear establishments on the north coast of Caithness in the Highland area of Scotland. It is on the A836 road west of Thurso. The nuclear establishments were create ...

and Windscale nuclear sites, and forming Hunting BRAE plc which ran the UK Atomic Weapon plants. In 1996 he was appointed to the UKAEA Board by the

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The incumbent is a memb ...

. Prior to BP he was the Group Engineering Director of the UK electricity utility Powergen plc. Baxter is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh. He is also a Fellow of a number of engineering institutions and was the President of both the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

and The Welding Institute. He is the Master of the

Worshipful Company of Engineers The Worshipful Company of Engineers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The company was founded and became a livery company in 1983 and was incorporated by royal charter in 2004. The company is for chartered engineers of EC(U ...

and a Court Assistant of the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers. He has been awarded

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s from

Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU, is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon (philanthropist), ...

in 2008 and Strathclyde University in 2011. He advises the

UK Ministry of Defence The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to d ...

on oil industry matters and holds the rank of Colonel in the Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. From 2000 to 2013 he was a member of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee advising the Secretary of State on the safety of the UK nuclear weapon and nuclear submarine programmes. He is a Fellow of the

and the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

and a Liveryman of the

. He advises the MoD on the oil industry concerns. Baxter was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to engineering, education, and the energy sector.

References

External links

1951 births Living people Alumni of the University of Strathclyde BP people British nuclear engineers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Royal Navy officers Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers {{UK-engineer-stub