Staff and NCC
Here you can find out a little bit more about (most of) those who work for SGR, where we've come from and the various routes we've taken to get to where we are today. The page is divided into Staff, National Coordinating Committee members, and Advisors. (The latter two groups are voluntary.)
Staff
Stuart Parkinson BEng PhD
Executive Director
Dr Stuart Parkinson began his career studying for a degree in physics and electronic engineering. During an industrial placement, he worked on military engineering projects, and this caused him to question the ethics of his career path. On completing his degree, he changed direction and enrolled for a PhD in mathematical modelling of global climate change at Lancaster University. After obtaining his doctorate, he worked on a number of voluntary programmes in environmental and social areas, both in the UK and abroad. Stuart then took a postdoctoral post at the Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES) at the University of Surrey, where his research mainly involved work on climate and energy policy, and environmental systems analysis. During this time he became an expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and provided advice to UK negotiators to the UN climate change convention. He then spent a year working for Friends of The Earth, co-ordinating research and policy work highlighting the link between environmental problems and social injustice.
Stuart became Executive Director of SGR in 2003, having spent the previous five years volunteering on SGR's National Co-ordinating Committee. He is co-author of a book on the Kyoto Protocol, co-author/editor of SGR's acclaimed reports Soldiers in the Laboratory and Science and the Corporate Agenda, editor of the SGR Newsletter, and co-ordinator of SGR's ethical careers programme. He has also authored numerous popular science articles and academic papers, and given lectures and presentations to a wide range of audiences.
Barnaby Pace is a freelance research consultant working with SGR on security and research and development, investigating government spending on research and development and whether it could be better used to make a more secure world.Barnaby holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with Alternative Technologies from the University of Warwick. While at Warwick he coordinated Weapons out of Warwick, an active anti-arms trade group. He has also been an elected member of Campaign Against Arms Trade's Steering Committee since 2008. Barnaby acted as a primary researcher for The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade by Andrew Feinstein, a groundbreaking book on the arms trade and corruption. He also co-authored a chapter on a similar issue for the 2011 Yearbook of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). He has also worked on film documentaries looking at subjects ranging from the Iraq War to Egyptian government corruption to test cricket.
National Coordinating Committee
Philip Webber BSc PhD DIC
Chair
With SGR Philip continues to contribute to material about Trident, new weapons systems, the pervasive influence of the military, and pathways towards a low carbon society.
Alasdair Beal BSc CEng MICE FIStructE
Treasurer
Alasdair Beal is a chartered civil and structural engineer, working for consulting engineers in Leeds.
After graduation (Glasgow) he worked initially on long span bridge design at Freeman Fox and Partners in London before moving to design factories, schools and houses at WG Curtin & Partners. Since moving to Leeds Alasdair has worked on a wide variety of projects, from small domestic to major commercial buildings and has investigated problems ranging from cracks in houses to fires, floods and landslides. A particular area of current interest is work on renovating and converting historic buildings. He has carried out research on various aspects of structural design, engineering and also construction health and safety, with over 20 published papers, including an account of the life of Thomas Young (of Young's Modulus and Young's Fringes).
Before joining SGR Alasdair was a member of AESR and its predecessor organisation Engineers for Nuclear Disarmament. He has been a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) since the 1970s and used to design badges for Leeds CND (including the legendary 'Well-Meaning Guardian Readers Against The Bomb').
Apart from his role as Treasurer, his interests within SGR include nuclear weapons, alternative energy, transport and assisting with editing the SGR Newsletter.
Harry Tsoumpas MPhys MSc PhD DIC MIEEE
Secretary
Harry Tsoumpas obtained his doctorate from Imperial College London, in 2008. His main research interest focuses on the quantification with positron and single photon emission tomography in biomedical imaging. His main degree is in Physics and he also holds a masters degree in the field of Biomedical Engineering. At the moment, he is working at the Division of Imaging Sciences at King's College London as Research Associate.
Harry joined SGR initially as student representative of SGR in 2006 promoting the spirit and beliefs of SGR to several student groups and individuals across the country. He was elected as Secretary in 2009.
Other Committee members
Martin Bassant is a retired deputy headteacher and physics teacher with a background in writing bids and giving talks to organisations and schools. Besides teaching, he was a principal examiner in A-level physics. Martin’s MPhil was in solid state physics, investigating conducting long-chain polymers, at Queen Mary College. His membership of SGR goes back to the days of Scientists Against Nuclear Arms (SANA) and he was then, briefly, a member of the NCC. Having spent two and half years teaching in Zambia, he is acutely aware of the money wasted in supplying arms to emerging economy nations as well as the detrimental effect that multinational conglomerates have on the countries of the south.
Roy Butterfield DSc DIC CEng MICE MIStructE
Professor Roy Butterfield graduated from London University in 1949 with a 1st Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering; he obtained a DIC in concrete technology from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, in 1950.
Roy spent two years on overseas service in East Africa, as a Commissioned Officer in the Royal Engineers. After eight years' construction management in Civil Engineering and Building, he joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Southampton in 1963, specialising in Geotechnical Engineering. In 1974 he gained a DSc from the University of Southampton, where he was appointed Professor of Soil Mechanics in 1976 and then became Head of Department from 1979-1989.
He played a leading role in developing MEng (4 year) undergraduate engineering courses in the UK; initiated schemes for such students to spend their final year studying full-time in France. Roy is a pioneer of Boundary Element Methods; consultant on Venetian subsidence and Professor (Emeritus) of Civil Engineering, University of Southampton, UK. His main publications are Piled and Pad Foundations, Mechanics of Mohr-Coulomb Materials, Electro-osmosis and Dimensional Analysis. He has supervised 19 successful PhD Theses; authored/co-authored over 100 technical publications and 8 books. He was honorary Editor Géotechnique from 1994 -1996.
Tim Foxon BSc PhD
Dr Tim Foxon did his PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge, before a growing awareness of the severity of environmental impacts from human activities led him to switch to research on environmental systems and policy. He spent nine years as an academic researcher at Imperial College London, where his research covered urban energy and water systems, ecological footprinting, renewable energy and sustainable innovation policy.
He is currently at the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds, undertaking research on energy modelling and policy.
He was Secretary of SGR from 2000-7, with responsibility for organising committee meetings, and assisting the other officers with the management of the organisation. He is the author of the SGR ethical careers briefing Cleaner technologies: a positive choice and and has given several talks on this issue.
Dave Hookes BA MSc PhD
Dr Dave Hookes is an honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Computer Science Department at Liverpool University. He holds a degree in Natural Sciences and an MSc in Digital Electronic Engineering. Dave has a doctorate in Molecular Biology.
Dave has carried out research into: Molecular structure of bio-membranes; Physics of motile protein mechanisms; Statistical mechanics of membrane transport; Ultra-thin molecular films for bio-sensing; Robot tactile sensing; Computer-interactive physics workstation. He is currently researching: How to save the planet from the threat of global warming; renewable energy technologies; application of ideas from physics to political economy and computer networks; Computer-interactive educational technology.
He was a founder member of The British Society for Social Responsibility in Science (BSSRS) and a member of Scientists Against Nuclear Arms (SANA).
Genevieve Jones studied architecture in Birmingham and ecology with the Open University. Since then her professional focus has been in social and ecological building. Work included several housing associations, she was resident architect at Colquhoun Street self-build project which, with both tenemental upgrades and new build, was the first council sponsored self-build in Scotland. She was quinquennial architect at Church of the Good Shepherd in Liverpool and sat on the advisory committee for conservation for Liverpool Planning. Latterly she was a lecturer and unit leader at Liverpool School of Architecture and then Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen specialising in technology and sustainable design. She has retired from RGU and is now setting up a consultancy in Sustainable Building and Education along with running a small farm where the priority is on enhancing and maintaining biodiversity along with prototyping sustainable building and technology.
Genevieve has built houses for co-operatives in Nicaragua with APSNICA (Architects and Planners in Support of Nicaragua) and lived and worked on commercial narrow boats.
She is a member of a number of local and national environmental organisations including being a member of Scottish Ecological Association’s steering group.
Between times she plays several instruments badly, enjoys orienteering, skiing and sailing.
Tom Woolley is an architect and environmental researcher living in County Down Northern Ireland. He was Professor of Architecture at Queens University Belfast from 1991 to 2007 but now works as a freelance educator and environmental consultant for Rachel Bevan Architectsand is currently Visiting Professor at the University of Central Lancashire. He has been Visiting Professor of Architecture at the Centre for Alternative Technology Graduate School of the Environment in Wales, and also Professor of Sustainable Rural Architecture at the Countryside and Communities Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire. Tom is the UK representative on the board ARC-PEACE, a UN accredited organisation.
Tom was a founder of the UK community technical aid movement and was chair of ACTAC. He is well know for his work on low cost housing and community participation. He is chair of design reviews for the Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture (Northern Ireland) and has been chair of the Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee. He is vice-chair of the Northern Ireland Co-operative Party.
Tom has published widely on community participation, housing and green architecture. He was editor of the Green Building Handbook and author of Natural Building (Crowood Press) and Hemp and Lime Construction (BRE/IHS Press). He is one of the founder members of the Alliance for Sustainable Building Products, UK, EASCA (Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association - Ireland) and the Living Building Institute in Ireland.
Advisors
Chris Langley BSc PhD
Dr Chris Langley worked as SGR's Principal Researcher from 2003 to 2009, with his main focus being the issues of military and corporate involvement with science and technology. He is the author/ lead author of several SGR reports, most notably Soldiers in the Laboratory and Science and the Corporate Agenda.
Chris is a freelance consultant and writer (operating as ScienceSources) and has undertaken a variety of projects for non-profit organisations in Europe and North America. He has more than 20 years experience as a science communicator and facilitator for both lay and academic audiences. His first degree is from University College London in physiology and neurobiology and a PhD from the University of Cambridge where he also held a post-doctoral research post in neurobiology. He has held senior posts as Communications Manager, at the Leverhulme Trust and was Head of Information Services at the Novartis Foundation, during which time he established the Media Resource Service which widened and improved the access to science, medicine and technology for those working in the media throughout Europe. He was science advisor to the University of Cambridge, for National Science Week in 1999-2000.
Chris has made numerous presentations and given invited lectures on science communication, ethical science and the military influence in science, technology and engineering.
