Bio Richard Nielson

Richard is the director of the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) and has a mechanical engineering background having undertaken his PhD with the aeroengine division of Rolls Royce. He has 41 years’ experience in engineering research and development within the University sector.  From 1998-2002 he spent four years part-time industrial secondment to an oil services company. He has led or had substantial involvement in 13 major joint industry/University projects and has initiated or led the development of 3 major industry focused research/knowledge exchange centres, most recently the NDC. Most of his research has involved the application of design and dynamic analysis to solving engineering problems. Much of this has been in the context of oil and gas and subsea engineering. Since 2008, his primary focus has been on decommissioning including underwater laser cutting which is currently being developed with an industry partner.
In his current role he leads an interdisciplinary team undertaking research into the technical, environmental, regulatory and financial challenges of decommissioning and the energy transition. He was one of the instigators of the MSc in Decommissioning run by the University.