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

nuclear engineer Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide ...

health and safety Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work (i.e., while performing duties required by one's occupation). OSH is re ...

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 The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

. 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 Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the government of the United Kingdom created on 3 October 2008, by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the ...

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

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

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

'' Lawrence). He studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

Liverpool Polytechnic Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

, graduating with a

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

(BSc) degree. He later undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

in nuclear reactor technology at

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public 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 College of a ...

, and graduated with a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(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 struct ...

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 Ionizing radiation#Nuclear power, active nuclear materials between nuclear power station and spent fuel reprocessing facilities. Each shipping container is designed to maintain its ...

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 thr ...

(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 British public body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare. It has additionally adopted a research role into occupational risks in Great B ...

(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 Energy Security and Net Zero (formerly the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) formed by the Energy Act 2004. It evolved from ...

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

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

. From 2008 to 2010, he worked as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

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 tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

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/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

. Since at least 2013, he has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, 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 fo ...

in nuclear safety, security and regulation at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. 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 staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

. Williams was Chairman of the International Nuclear Regulators Association between 2000 and 2002. He was a member of the Nuclear Safety Committee, Office for Nuclear Regulation from 2006 to 2013, and of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority from 2007 to 2008. Since 2011, he has served as UK member of the High Scientific Council of the European Nuclear Society. 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 reorganising 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 autonom ...

(FIMechE) in 1991. In 1998, he was elected a Fellow of the Institution of Nuclear Engineers (FINucE): the Institution merged with another body in 2009 to become the

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

, 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 Scholarship, fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in United K ...

(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, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

of engineering. As part of the Queen's 2018

Birthday Honours List The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are p ...

, Williams was awarded the title of

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for services to Nuclear Safety and Radioactive Waste Management. In 2023, Williams was elected a

Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh nation. The Learned ...

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 Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire