Meet Our Team
Our Directors
Dr John Yates
EIS Chair
I joined the EIS around 1990 on the advice of Rod Smith, our late President, who was then Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield. The Durability and Fatigue Group was my natural home and I soon got involved in organizing events, workshops, the fatigue conferences and was Honorary Editor of the EIS Journal. Encouraging young engineers to take on such responsibilities is, I think, one of the great strengths of the EIS. Since 2016, I have been delighted to be chair of the society.
My technical background is originally as a metallurgist and materials scientist having studied Natural Sciences at Pembroke College Cambridge. It was here that my tutor G.C. Smith first interested me in fatigue as a subject of study, rather than as a practical consequence of driving cars too quickly! After a brief period at Cranfield studying fracture under Peter Hancock, I joined the University of Sheffield in 1982 to study for a PhD, where I was supervised by one of the great characters of the fatigue world, Keith Miller.
My research has covered quite a wide range of topics in fatigue and fracture, always with the underlying principle that it is all about cracks and their formation and growth. My Ph.D. was sponsored by NEI Parsons in Newcastle upon Tyne and I went on to do postdoctoral research for AWE and Rolls Royce before joining the academic staff at Sheffield. I stayed there until 2010, becoming a professor and serving as Head of Department. During this time I became a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. In 2008, I was delighted to become a Higher Education Academy National Teaching Fellow in recognition of the work that we had done at Sheffield in educating professional engineers. I moved to the University of Manchester to be the first Director of the Modelling and Simulation Centre, leaving in 2014 to pursue other interests.
I now split my time between running the Sheffield Fracture Mechanics training course, supporting the EIS, being a governor at my local secondary school, tinkering with cars, doing metalwork projects, encouraging my granddaughters to be creative and walking my boisterous flat coated retriever, George.
Dave Fish
EIS Deputy Chair
Dr Alex O’Neill
I earned an undergraduate/Master’s degree in Astrophysics, then briefly worked in banking before starting an EngD in tyre and friction modelling with Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Surrey. This led to a career in the automotive industry, beginning with 3 years at Siemens as Product Manager for the Simcenter Tire portfolio, where I engaged with a wide range of automotive and tyre customers. I then joined GCAPS as Product Manager for software solutions, collaborating closely with customers on tyre testing, simulation, and research, including work with the motorsports industry.
My introduction to the EIS came in the shape of my first ever presentation on my PhD/EngD work, at the 2018 ‘Tyre/Road Interaction’ seminar. I really enjoyed the mix of the audience, and I was encouraged by the EIS to get even more involved – shortly after this first presentation, I joined the Simulation, Test & Measurement Group (STMG). As years went by, I was asked to become a Director, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. It’s been such a privilege to help steer the society’s direction (for the better, I hope!).
Outside of engineering, I have played guitar in bands for many years, although with a busy work life and a young family to support my time is limited! We have a golden retriever who loves the outdoors so we try to get out as much as we ca
Robert Cawte
I started my engineering career in 1980 with a sandwich course in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Leeds and industrial training at Dunlop Aviation. I then worked in the aero stress office before changing to work for Lucas Diesel in R&D injection, so fatigue life prediction and test at short and long lives had got my attention. Since 1992 I have worked for nCode, now part of HBK. Barely a day goes by when I don’t use what I learnt in those early years.
I attended EIS seminars and over time became a fatigue group committee member and then a director and charity trustee (I have been a Director of the EIS since 1996). My work involved an interesting mix of analytical and test-based projects and customer support cases. It involves some lateral thinking, applying methods from other industries; who would have thought a truck disc brake and a gas turbine have so much in common?
Outside of the EIS and engineering I have several interests and was Treasurer of my ski club for many years. I also captained my university parachute club (it is useful to have a tensile test rig when a safety notice is issued due to a potentially faulty batch) a nice example of theory meets practice. I now seem to have reached the age where neighbours send their children round for help with maths and physics homework. I take that as a compliment and after well over 30 years a sign that engineers are adaptable. The time has flown by.
Connor Bligh
I began my career in the off-highway sector, spending five years as part of a structural validation team focused on data acquisition and analysis. This work gave me a solid foundation in capturing and interpreting complex performance data to support engineering decision-making. In 2024, I joined DEWESoft UK Ltd as Education Business Development and Training Manager, where my main area of interest lies in helping people move from the initial question to the data that provides the answers they need. I am passionate about enabling engineers to make better, data-driven decisions.
I became involved with the Engineering Integrity Society in 2019 and joined the Board of Directors in March 2024. I chose to take on this role because the EIS does outstanding work in sharing and developing engineering knowledge across the UK. The Society’s seminars, exhibitions, and networking opportunities have been invaluable to my own career, and I wanted the opportunity to give back by helping to deliver more events to more people. I believe strongly in the EIS’s mission and am committed to supporting its growth for many years to come.
Outside of engineering, I am an avid sports fan and spend much of my free time working on music projects. I perform lead vocals and drums with the rock cover band Crosshair and also sing lead vocals and play guitar in the acoustic duo Walters & Bligh.”
Jamie Shenton
Dr Peter Bailey
Graham Hemmings
I left school in 1967 and started my 5 year engineering apprenticeship with Delta Metals Ltd which included sandwich courses in City and Guilds, ONC and HND mechanical engineering. I then spent 5 years in several departments in the company, plumbing product design, jig and tool and then machine design before joining GKN Technology working in the automotive component test facilities. In 2002 this facility closed and I then worked for one year at Roell Amsler Ltd, selling servo hydraulic equipment. My final jobs included part time teaching technology in a senior school and lecturing in vehicle design and transmission systems at Wolverhampton University.
I have been involved with the EIS since the early 1980’s in particular with the GVIG and subsequently the STMG chairing both groups for a time. I have also been an EIS Director for many years.
I have been fully retired since 2013 enabling me to enjoy family time and my hobbies which include golf, swimming, snooker, DIY and playing the guitar. My wife and I also enjoy open top motoring in my 23 year old Mazda MX5 when the weather permitting!
Communications Team
Sara Atkin, Marketing & Events Manager
I am an experienced Events and Marketing professional with over 20 years expertise in a variety of sectors. Since joining the Society in 2012, I have overseen all events activity, marketing initiatives, and the management of the Society’s social media channels and website.
I work closely with both corporate and personal members, coordinating the activity of the Society’s groups whilst ensuring the smooth delivery of activities and events. I am also responsible for the day-to-day management of the Society, serving as the main point of contact.
Spencer Jeffs, Editor, Engineering Integrity
I have been the Honorary Editor for the Engineering Integrity journal for five years alongside being an active member of the EIS community. I am an academic at Swansea University where I am the head of the aerospace department as well as being based in the Institute of Structural Materials as part of the Materials Research Centre. My research interests align predominantly to the fundamental characterisation of materials for gas turbine applications, with a particular focus on ceramic matrix composites material systems investigating relationships between processing, microstructure, and properties. Research is conducted employing a range of advanced experimental, analysis and computational techniques including acoustic emission, digital image correlation, and X-ray CT alongside close collaboration with industrial and academic partners.
Rochelle Stanley, Managing Editor, Engineering Integrity
Rochelle has been Managing Editor of the Society’s journal, Engineering Integrity, since 2019. She is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and the full production cycle of the technical magazine, from initial planning through to publication.