Council / Office Bearers
The direction and management of the affairs of the Institution is confined to Council, which consists of a President, a Vice-President, an Honorary Treasurer, the Immediate Past President and fifteen Councillors.
The President presides over all meetings of the Institution and Council at which he is present, and regulates and keeps order in the proceedings.
Councillors hold office for three years and thereafter are ineligible for election for one year. The members of Council are elected at the Annual General Meeting.
Each year therefore there are around five vacancies for new members on Council, and Members, Fellows and Companions are encouraged to put their names forward to participate in the future direction of the Institution.
Elected Members for the Current Session
President
Graeme Fletcher
Read BioAfter completing his studies at Southampton Institute of Higher Education and an engineering cadetship with BP Shipping Ltd in the 1980’s, Graeme spent the next 20 years on various ship types trading worldwide. This culminated in service as Chief Engineer on Irish Sea Ro-Ro ferries and attainment of an Open University Honours Degree. Since coming ashore he has been responsible for safety and technical operations both ashore and afloat during a period of great advancement and technical development at Western Ferries (Clyde) Limited and has overseen the design and build of the current fleet of vessels and supporting infrastructure. He Chairs the Ro-Ro Subgroup of the MCA’s Domestic Passenger Ship Steering Group and represents IES on the Lloyd’s Register Technical Committee. Graeme has a passion for all things mechanical and connected with the water. He fully supports all efforts to promote the teaching of STEM subjects and the application of sound engineering principles in all walks of life. He respects and appreciates good engineering design coupled with art and aesthetics. In his spare time, he is an enthusiastic Masters rower and Coach for Castle Semple Rowing Club, Lochwinnoch.
Vice-President
Dr Malcolm Robb, FIES
Read BioDr Malcolm Robb, Engineering Manager, responsible for the Afloat Capability Theme of the Naval Ships Research and Technology Department at BAE Systems Naval Ships. He has worked at Naval Ships for the past 24 years in a variety of roles in Concept Design and Research and Technology.
Treasurer
David Westmore, FIES
Read BioDavid is a Naval Architect. He studied Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne graduating in 1976. He spent 35 years working with Clark & Standfield, a subsidiary of the Lobnitz Marine Group. Clark & Standfield is one of the leading experts in the design of floating docks having designed, since formed in 1873, more than 200 floating docks ranging in lift capacity from 300 to 110,000 tonnes including some 60 Admiralty Floating docks.
Past President
Dick Philbrick, FIES
Read BioDick studied Naval Architecture and worked in a shipyard before studying for a second degree in Industrial Relations. He started Clansman Dynamics in 1994 with 3 other engineers.
Clansman designs and makes a range of heavy duty robots and manipulators and sells 95% for export to all 5 continents and 50+ countries; 70+ employees and £15m sales.
In 2009 90% of employees bought shares in the company and the change to Employee Ownership was made. The new structure provides a solution for both the long term ownership of the company and for engineering. Engineering needs constant development, constant risk taking and prodigious efforts when developments go wrong; employee ownership provides patient shareholders who understand the business.
Clansman was successful before the change and that is what allowed it to happen, but the enthusiasm and commitment is now even greater. A 60% increase in sales and 100% increase in profit supports the claim.
As Managing Director of Clansman, he was deeply involved in overall management, in the design and manufacture of products and in sales. In the latter role he travelled the world and found that his foreign languages skills - German, French and some Italian - were invaluable.
Dick recently retired from Clansman Dynamics, although he remains as Chairman of the Clansman Trust (which makes focuses on the long term prosperity of the company) and will always own a majority of the shares in the employee-owned company. He campaigns directly for greater attention to be paid to the importance of foreign languages and to spread the word for the benefits of employee ownership. He is a trustee for the Islay Energy Trust.
Company Secretary
Dr Andy Pearson, FIES
Read BioAndy is the Group Managing Director of Star Refrigeration, a Glasgow-based industrial refrigeration contractor, and he lives in Cathcart. He spent time as a University of Strathclyde undergraduate working for the Ford Motor Company in Essex and IBM in Spango Valley, Greenock, and joined Star after graduating in 1986. He returned briefly to the University of Strathclyde to research his PhD thesis on the use of Carbon Dioxide as a refrigerant, receiving his doctorate in 2006. Andy is currently chair of the BSI committee on Refrigeration Safety and represents the interests of UK industry in the technical committees and working groups in CEN and ISO. He served as the President of the Institute of Refrigeration from 2010 to 2013 and currently chairs their International Committee. When he is not engineering refrigeration and heat pumps systems, Andy can be found singing in the Strathclyde University Chamber Choir or playing sax with the Heart and Soul Swing Band, a fund-raising venture on behalf of the Church of Scotland’s HIV programme.
Andy’s advice to young engineers is “develop your communication skills, particularly in writing and presenting your ideas. Whether you like it or not, most of your job is about “selling”, whether it is promoting your company to prospective customers or simply persuading your boss that you are doing a good job and deserve a pay rise.”
Members of Council
Captain Ali Ashour, FIES, FRINA, FIMarEST
Read BioCaptain Ali Ashour is a Senior Engineering Officer in the Naval branch of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior/Coast Guard. With extensive experience in strategic engineering leadership and advisory roles, he has contributed to shaping maritime operations and policies that balance innovation with strategic feasibility. His work integrates academic research, technical expertise, and operational insights to address both immediate and long-term objectives.
Currently, he is a lead researcher working with BAE Systems and the University of Strathclyde’s PeriDynamics Research Centre (PDRC), advancing engineering, technical governance, and maritime capability as critical tools in geopolitical strategy.
Ali also contributes to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Maritime Cyber Security initiatives, including the IASME Maritime Cyber Baseline, where he has helped establish resilience frameworks against emerging cyber threats. By aligning research, regulatory requirements, and operational goals, his efforts ensure international standards are adaptable, redundant, and forward-looking.
As an internationally chartered engineer and a prominent figure in red-teaming vertical AI consulting, Captain Ashour brings together academic insight and practical applications to evaluate human interfaces in future AI strategies. His work facilitates the alignment of diverse stakeholders and drives impactful, cross-sector collaboration.
His work has earned him powerful peer-reviewed testimony, granting him fellowship status as FRINA (Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects), FIMarEST (Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology), and FIES (Fellow of the Institution of Engineers in Scotland). He currently serves as a council member of IES and contributes to consultations, shaping technical and strategic policies. He is a thoughtful and eloquent speaker at senior-level conferences in both Arabic and English.
In 2024, Ali became the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Fellow of RINA, an honour chartered by His Majesty King Charles III. His role as an Anglo-GCC think tank node bridges technical expertise and strategic dialogues between academia, industry, and international stakeholders, reflecting Kuwait’s leadership’s focus on global collaboration, through innovation, and sustainable progress.
“The multiple hats I wear today: academic scholar, officer, policy designer, were shaped by childhood tinkering that sparked a lifelong journey into engineering. Along the way, wise mentorship and the power of teamwork have fuelled my passion to critically assess and implement ideas that make a meaningful difference in the world.”
Maurice Barr
Read BioCurrently Non Executive Director at Star Refrigeration, Maurice is an entrepreneur with a proven record of improving business performance through customer centric solutions, and with particular strength in modelling the financial consequence of strategic options to maximise business growth .
With a Master's in Engineering and a post-graduate qualification in Accounting and Finance, Maurice is a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in the UK. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of Scottish Engineering.
Maurice lives in Scotland on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, but spent much of his time ‘on the road’ visiting Babcock & Wilcox employees and locations around the globe. He says ‘Strong leadership teams and great people at each location meant that I could much of my work remotely via a laptop and internet connection – but I really looked forward to meeting our customers, employees and partners face to face – I always learned something new and the key was to share best practices and experiences from one location to another’.
Craig Clark
Read Bioto follow
Amro Heikal
Read BioAmro is an industrial expert and scientist with more than 27 years of experience working in the oil and gas industry for such companies as Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes. Currently, he is the global Technology and Sustainability leader for AK Well Services based in Aberdeen. He has worked in most Middle East countries, the United Kingdom, all North Africa, and Azerbaijan. During his career, he has focused on new technology developments that reduce pollution, and emissions and optimize operations. His contribution resulted in winning several industrial awards and winning 2020 and 2021 Gold Stevie Awards. Amro's work has been highlighted by the UK Science Council in an article prior Cop26 in Glasgow.
Amro is a Fellow of The Institution of Engineers in Scotland (FIES), Fellow (FRSC) and Chartered Chemist (CChem) of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Fellow (FIScT) and Chartered Scientist (CSci) of the Institute of Science & Technology, a full member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, Fellow (FCMI) and Chartered Manager (CMgr) of the Chartered Management Institute, and Fellow (FEI) of the Institute of Energy. He is also a researcher and writer in multiple newspapers and magazines across the Middle East focusing on new technology adaptation. On a personal level, he was on Science Council shortlist for CPD Awards 2022.
Amro was nominated to be an industrial judge for several global awards like The Golden Bridge Award and the Software & Information Industry Association CODiE Awards and did chair the Stevie Award in 2021. IChemE in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
He is a Science editor and art collector, recently received an award from the Kuwait government for returning a very valuable painting which he found after it was stolen.
Richard Horrell
Read BioRichard is a retired Electrical and Mechanical Engineer who enjoyed a long and rewarding career in the Royal Navy, specialising in industrial marine engineering systems
David MacGregor
Read BioTo follow
Dr Carol Marsh
Read BioCarol is the Head of Digital Systems, expanding the digital systems capabilities for satcoms, signal processing algorithms and distributed platforms which augment Celestia UK’s RF and antenna expertise. She was previously Deputy Head of Electronics Engineering at Leonardo, an executive role, overseeing the business’ electronic processes, tools and resource planning. I have over 30 years of industrial experience at senior engineering levels.
Alongside receiving the degree of Doctor of Engineering in System Level Integration from the Universities of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt and an HND in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Edinburgh Napier University, she has won several technology and diversity awards and was awarded an OBE in 2020 for services to diversity and inclusion in Electronic Engineering. She is a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University,
Carol is a Fellow of IET, and has been Treasurer and Chair of the Scotland South East (SSE) Local Network (LN), Chair of IET Scotland and Chair of IET Council. She is currently a Vice President, Trustee, Chair of the Volunteer Engagement Board (VEB), Chair of the Engineering Policy Group Scotland (EPGS), a Fellow Advisor, and a Professional Registration Advisor and Interviewer.
She is a member of the Hammermen of Edinburgh and sit on the Deacon’s committee, a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts (RSSA), Engineering Scotland, Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES), National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE) UK Advisory boards, Past President of the Women’s Engineering Society (WES), a Burgess of the City of Edinburgh, a Chartered Engineer, EUR ING, Fellow of the IET, IES, RSSA and WES and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
I enjoy presenting on both technical and diversity topics and have presented at over 30 conferences in Europe and the USA. I have published 8 papers, including 2 journal papers and several articles for journals.
Ryan Murphy
Read BioRyan Murphy is a Chartered Engineer and a registered European Engineer. Ryan currently serves as the Technical Director of the Evolution Group, which is a group of companies in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Netherlands who manufacture façade retention systems, engineering fasteners and components. Ryan is a Member of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and is currently the vice-chair of the Engineering Council Working Group. Ryan has won several awards in the field of Non-Destructive Testing, including the 2022 Bob Service Award for an outstanding achievement by a Scottish Engineer and the 2021 NEMET Award for an outstandingly effective use of NDT, where his speciality lies in FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red) and XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) spectrometry.
Prof Erkan Oterkus
Read BioProf. Erkan Oterkus is a professor in the department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering of University of Strathclyde. He is also the director of PeriDynamics Research Centre (PDRC) and the director of Ocean Energy Research Unit (OERU). He received his PhD from University of Arizona, USA and was a researcher at NASA Langley Research Center, USA before joining University of Strathclyde. His research is mainly focused on computational mechanics of materials and structures by using some of the state-of-the-art techniques including peridynamics and inverse finite element method. Some of his recent research is focusing on multiscale modelling of stress corrosion cracking, underwater shock response of marine composite structures, failure analysis of electronic packages, collision and grounding of ships and real-time monitoring of ship structures.
Angus Pinkerton
Read BioAngus studied Aeronautical Engineering at Glasgow University, and after a year of post-graduate engineering training with Ferranti, Y-ARD, and SSEB, he joined SSEB's Engineering Applications team within their IT department. Some years later he was one of the small group selected to form the foundation of the new Scottish Nuclear IT department during the privatisation of the Electricity Supply industry. After leaving British Energy, he worked in IT and Information Security with a number or organisations for the remainder of his professional career. Angus made use of his Aeronautical education while learning to fly hang gliders, and worked on a part-time basis with a Scottish hang glider and microlight manufacturer. He has been the Director of Safety and Training for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association for over 30 years, which includes responsibility for the testing standards and test equipment used to ensure the safety of hang glider designs. He is currently the Convenor of CEN/TC 136/WG 6, the European Standardisation working group responsible for paragliding equipment testing standards.
His interest in wind-powered sports extends to sailing, where he is an RYA Coastal Skipper.
Angus' advice to young engineers is, "Learn to ask good questions, both of yourself and others. The right questions are often hard to establish, but they frequently prompt discoveries."
Jemma Quin
Read BioChartered Civil Engineer, STEM Ambassador and Author of “The Little Civil Engineer and Friends” books. Currently Temporary Works Manager at Robertson Construction Group and Director of the Temporary Works forum.
Paul Sweeney, FIES
Read BioBorn and raised in Glasgow, Paul Sweeney graduated from the University of Glasgow prior to joining BAE Systems in 2011. Coming from a family of Clyde shipbuilders, his passion for the industry – both historical and contemporary – was fostered at an early age. Paul worked in a diverse range of roles at BAE; from international business development, the fitting out and sea trials of the Type 45 Destroyers, to helping develop the company’s Lean Learning Academy. Latterly, Paul was Operations Strategy Coordinator at BAE Systems, which oversaw the long-term development of all manufacturing and production activities across the Clyde shipyards.
Paul also led the development of an innovative Virtual Reality design system that was voted as one of the top 16 projects in BAE Systems during 2014. His sustained work in driving BAE Systems' involvement in the creation of the new Fairfield Heritage Centre at Govan Shipyard received a Manufacturing Champions award for Community Engagement in Engineering.
Paul then joined Scottish Enterprise as an Account Manager, where he works intensively with the leadership of companies across the Defence, Marine, Shipbuilding and Aerospace sectors based in Scotland, ranging from start-ups with high growth potential to established first tier global firms, in order to enable them to identify and deliver key projects to grow sustainably and better compete within the global marketplace - maximising value for those firms and the wider Scottish industrial base.
Paul is also actively engaged in a number of initiatives aimed at conserving and promoting Glasgow’s architectural and industrial heritage; including serving as Secretary of the Springburn Winter Gardens Trust, which aims to restore the landmark A-listed Hothouse originally built at Springburn Park in 1900 by the family of James Reid, the locomotive manufacturer and past president of IES.
Paul is currently a Member of the Scottish Parliament
Prof Zhibin Yu
Read BioProf. Yu is currently Professor of Thermal Energy at the James Watt School of Engineering. He joined the School in September 2012 as a Lecturer, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2017, and then to full Professor in 2019. Prior to this, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Manchester (2006–2011) and the University of Leicester (2011–2012).
He is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES), a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Member of Institute of Refrigeration (IOR), and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He is currently the Research Theme Champion for Heat Energy within the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) of Scotland and the Net-Zero Challenge Champion of the James Watt School of Engineering.
Honorary Members of Council
President 2016 -2018
Karen Dinardo, FIES
Read BioKaren graduated with BEng Civil Engineering, Glasgow University, in 1987 and commenced her career with Sir Murdoch MacDonald & Partners, Cambridge, having carried out summer vacation work with Dinardo's, and in USA and in Germany with other organisations. Karen then re-joined her father to work at Dinardo Partnership in 1988. Projects have included a variety of civil/structural designs with Dinardo's, including numerous variety in Aberdeen, Highlands and Islands, and Moray in the North, from 1993, ongoing. Karen has also toured Asia/China/Australia visiting Dinardos projects and contacts, and carried out PR / monorail research work there for 4 months.
Interesting past projects include 2 storey multiplex 7 screen cinema and retail (Shiprow, Aberdeen) for Contractor, and £9m extension and complex alterations to HMT Theatre, Aberdeen, for City Council, and live news printing press alterations / envelope raising extensions during continuous newspaper production, Aberdeen.
Karen achieved Chartered Engineer status in 1992 and 1999 with IStructE and ICE respectively, and CIHT in 1993. She joined IESIS in 2000, and became a fellow in 2009. Karen was elected Vice-President in 2014.
Karen has served with ICE Highlands as Treasurer, and with Aberdeen Association of Civil Engineers, since 1990's. She has assisted on "AMG & S ICE" committee before that, in Glasgow (with Gordon Masterton - in our younger days!).
Her current role is as Director of Dinardo Partnership, Consulting Engineers, based in Paisley.
Input with IESIS colleagues is both very interesting and horizon-broadening, in her view. Visiting schools / universities and informing young people on the engineering profession, is a keen interest.
President, 2010- 2012
Prof Gordon Masterton, OBE FREng FRSE FIES
President 2006 -2008
Ernest Chambers, FIES
President 2004 - 2006
Crawford Gorrie, FIES
President 2001 - 2004
Prof Anthony Slaven, CIES
Past Presidents of the Institution are ex-officio honorary members of Council.