Mike has been carrying out research for the plastics industry for over 30 years, and at TWI, he is responsible for co-ordinating all R&D, consultancy and training activities in the area of plastics.  Mike’s main areas of expertise include the welding, inspection and mechanical testing of polyethylene (PE) pipes, on which he has written over 30 technical papers, and he is also the editor of the Handbook of Plastics Joining – A Practical Guide.  Mike has managed over 150 research and consultancy projects for clients around the world, he is Chairman of the British Standards Committee on plastics welding, and is also a member of various ISO, CEN, ASTM, IIW, AWS and ASME committees on the welding of plastics and plastics pipes.

Isabel is a Technology Fellow, recently semi-retired from TWI. Her work focuses on the development of analytical flaw assessment techniques, and their application to safety-critical welded structures and pressure equipment. She has a particular involvement in the development and validation of structural integrity procedures and standards such as:

• BS 7910 (UK flaw assessment procedure); Chair of the committee, 2008-2021
• R6 (UK nuclear assessment procedure); member of the panel
• FITNET (European fitness-for-service procedure); co-author.

She is also Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in Integrity Management at the University of Bristol, as part of an initiative to transfer industrial know-how to engineering undergraduates.

Chris is an expert in composite materials and a Consultant and Technology Fellow at TWI. His 35 year career covers: joining, mechanical behaviour, fire testing, finite element analysis, electromagnetic surface waves and metamaterials. Chris started his career in the oil and gas industry participating in the Marinetech North West project, and also spent 10 years working in Japan in the automotive, aerospace and energy sectors. He has presented guest lectures at Cambridge, Liverpool and Surrey University, and holds the position of ‘Engineer in Residence’ at Liverpool university. Recently, Chris has been supporting the Non-metallic Innovation Centre (NIC) in providing non-metallic solutions for the oil and gas industry.