Laurence Glynn Williams, (born 14 March 1946) is a British

nuclear engineer Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of breaking down atomic nuclei ( fission) or of combining atomic nuclei (fusion), or with the application of other sub-atomic processes based on the principles of n ...

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...

expert, and academic. He specialises in

nuclear safety and security Nuclear safety is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The achievement of proper operating conditions, prevention of accidents or mitigation of accident consequences, resulting in protection of workers, the public and the ...

. From 1998 to 2005, he was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations. From 2010 to 2014, he was Professor of Nuclear Safety and Regulation at the

University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

. He has served as Chairman of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management in the

Department of Energy and Climate Change The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions related to energy of the Department for Busin ...

since 2012, and Chairman of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee in the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

since 2013. He has been described as "one of the world's leading experts in nuclear safety regulation".

Early life and education

Williams was born on 14 March 1946 to Hugh Williams and Ruby Williams (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Lawrence). He studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

Liverpool Polytechnic , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(BSc) degree. He later undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

in nuclear reactor technology at

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first c ...

, and graduated with a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(MSc) degree in 1972.

Career

From 1970 to 1971, Williams was a

design engineer A design engineer is an engineer focused on the engineering design process in any of the various engineering disciplines (including civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, textiles, aerospace, nuclear, manufacturing, systems, and structural /buil ...

with the Nuclear Power Group and worked on high temperature reactors. From 1973 to 1976, he worked as a

with the

Central Electricity Generating Board The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was responsible for electricity generation, transmission and bulk sales in England and Wales from 1958 until privatisation of the electricity industry in the 1990s. It was established on 1 Januar ...

(CEGB). His work included modelling

nuclear flask A nuclear flask is a shipping container that is used to transport active nuclear materials between nuclear power station and spent fuel reprocessing facilities. Each shipping container is designed to maintain its integrity under normal transport ...

s, the containers in which active nuclear materials are transported, and investigating the thermal performance of nuclear fuel. During this time, he trained towards registration and qualified as a

Chartered Engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...

(CEng) in 1976. Having spent the first six years of his career working as an engineer, in 1976 Williams moved into

. From 1976, he was an inspector with the Nuclear Installations

Inspectorate An inspectorate or inspectorate-general (or general inspectorate) is a civil or military body charged with inspecting and reporting on some institution or institutions in its field of competence. Inspectorates cover a broad spectrum of organizations ...

(part of the

Health and Safety Executive The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a UK government agency responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in Great Britain. It is a non-depar ...

(HSE)). He was promoted to principal inspector in 1978 and superintending inspector in 1986. From 1991 to 1996, he was Deputy Chief Inspector of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. He then spent the next two years as a divisional head of the Safety Policy Directorate, HSE. From 1998 to 2005, he served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations. From 2005 to 2008, he was Director of Nuclear Safety, Security and Environment at the

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from the Coal and Nuclear Liabilities Unit of the Department o ...

(NDA). Between 2007 and 2008, he was also the NDA's

Chief Engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "ChEng" or "Chief", is the most senior engine officer of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department..Chief engineer's ...

. From 2008 to 2010, he worked as a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

in nuclear safety and security. In February 2010, it was announced that Williams had been appointed to the United Kingdom's first

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

ship in nuclear safety, and became Professor of Nuclear Safety and Regulation at the

later that year. He stepped down form the professorship in 2014 and was appointed

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. Since at least 2013, he has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

in nuclear safety, security and regulation at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. Since 2014, he has been a

senior research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for Academic rank, academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the super ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. Williams was Chairman of the

International Nuclear Regulators Association The International Nuclear Regulators' Association (INRA) was established in January 1997 and is an association of the most senior officials of the nuclear regulatory authorities of the following countries: https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/ip/intl-organ ...

between 2000 and 2002. He was a member of the Nuclear Safety Committee,

Office for Nuclear Regulation The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) is the regulator for the nuclear industry in the United Kingdom.< ...

from 2006 to 2013, and of the

Civil Nuclear Police Authority The Civil Nuclear Police Authority ( cy, Yr Awdurdod Heddlu Niwclear Sifil) is the police authority that oversees the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. A police authority is a body corporate in the United Kingdom that defines strategic plans for a polic ...

from 2007 to 2008. Since 2011, he has served as UK member of the High Scientific Council of the

European Nuclear Society Since being founded in 1975, the European Nuclear Society (ENS) has grown to become the largest society in Europe for science, engineering and research in support of the nuclear industry. ENS’s membership consists of national nuclear societies fro ...

. In November 2012, he was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management in the

; the appointment is for four years. In 2013, he was appointed Chairman of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee in the

Personal life

In 1976, Williams married Lorna Susan Rance. Together they had two children; one son and one daughter. Williams and Lorna

divorced Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

in 1997.

Honours

Williams was elected a

Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Fellowship of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE) is an award and fellowship granted to individuals that the Institution of Mechanical Engineers judges to be a "professional engineer working in a senior role with significant autono ...

(FIMechE) in 1991. In 1998, he was elected a Fellow of the

Institution of Nuclear Engineers Institutions are humanly devised structures of rules and norms that shape and constrain individual behavior. All definitions of institutions generally entail that there is a level of persistence and continuity. Laws, rules, social conventions a ...

(FINucE): the Institution merged with another body in 2009 to become the

Nuclear Institute The Nuclear Institute is the professional body representing nuclear industry, nuclear professionals in the UK. It is a charity independent of the industry that promotes knowledge of Nuclear power, nuclear energy amongst its members and the public ...

, and so he became a Fellow of the Nuclear Institute (FNucI). In 2004, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK and from aroun ...

(FREng), the UK's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

of engineering. As part of the Queen's 2018

Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dynastic ...

, Williams was awarded the title of OBE for services to Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Waste Management.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Laurence 1946 births Living people British nuclear engineers Academics of the University of Central Lancashire Alumni of Liverpool John Moores University Alumni of Aston University Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Academics of King's College London Academics of Imperial College London Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers