
Professor Harry Eccles
Professor of Nuclear Materials, Director, Research Centre for Smart Materials
School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences
Harry employs his vast experience as a scientist to demonstrate the theoretical components of chemistry and the involvement of other disciplines required to commercialise technology. He is one of a very few academics who has seen his research employed commercially in nuclear reprocessing
Harry has more than fifty years industrial experience in the steel and nuclear industries as a chemist. He is an international recognised expert in the development and application of separation sciences in particular solvent extraction, ion exchange and biosorption, He has combined this industrial experience with more than fifteen years involvement with academia. He published the first biosorption book that address the use of bacteria, fungi etc for remediating environmental challenges more than 35 years ago.
Harry has largely worked in a research and development environment, first in the Sheffield steel industry later as the Works Chemist for British Ropes Ltd near Doncaster. He left industry in 1968 to study full time at Hull College of Technology to attain Graduateship of the Royal Institute of Chemistry. He joined Sheffield Polytechnic one year later to undertake PhD developing a chelate ion exchange resin for the extraction of uranium from sea water. He subsequently joined Salford University in 1971 to continue his PhD studies as his supervisor had transferred to the university. Whilst at the university he taught chemistry at Stretford Technical College, Salford College, Warrington Technical College and the university gathering more than 7 weeks/year total teaching time and within 3.5 years obtained MPhil and PhD degrees. He was appointed a Research Fellow at Birmingham University (1973)developing a copper extraction process for Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines (Government owned). He was offered, although had secured a three year EPSRC appointment, a position with BNFL, Sellafield R&D Department. here he developed the chemical flowsheets for the THORP reprocessing plant. He was promoted within the first 15 months with BNFL but could not transfer down to Springfields until the end of his graduate trainee scheme (24 months). At Springfields he was responsible for establishing an environmental group in the Technical Department, which built on his experience at British Ropes Ltd some 20 years earlier. He held most senior technical posts at Springfields namely: Principal Scientist - he introduced the first green eco book into BNFL Springfields and BNFL corporate: deputy Head of Company Research Laboratory Environmental Biotechnologist Commercial Manager -He was accredited with introducing BNFL to environmental biotechnology in the early-1990s that involved a team of more than 50 scientists and engineers, the majority working in 17 UK universities and with the National Nuclear laboratory: Head of External Technical Links, his final position as the External Technical Links Manager, which required him to engage with external bodies such as academia, companies, EU funding bodies etc.. before retiring in 2012. By then he had been encouraged to join UCLan part-time) as Professor of Nuclear Materials and was subsequently appointed Director, Research Centre for Smart materials (2019)
- Rotherham College of Technology ONC and HNC 1960 -1966
- Sheffield Polytechnic (part-time) 1966-1968 Part 1 & 2 GRIC
- Hull Technical College 1968-1969 Part 2 GRIC
- Sheffield Polytechnic 1970-1971 M. Phil
- Salford University 1971-1973 PhD
- Life Time Achievement Award,NNL 2012
- separation technologies for irradiated fuel
- chromatographic separation of radionuclides
- decontamination processes for nuclear wastes
- bioavailability of radionuclides
- He is a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry,CChem, MRSC
- For a short spell ~ 2yearsvisiting lecturer, Nuclear Waste Management at UMIST (e1990s)
- He was for about ten years a visiting Reader in nuclear chemistry at the University of Manchester (1991-)
- Prof Eccles for more than fifteen years was a Visiting Professor at the University of Dundee (Bioremediation/biodecontamination) [1992-]
- For ten years a Royal Academy of Engineering Visiting Professor in sustainable design at Edinburgh University (land remediation) in the Department of Infrastructure and Environment).[1995 -] and for about ten years the Chairman of a DTI/UK Research Council research committee (Biological Treatment of Soil and Water).[1995 -]
- Harry has assisted various organisations such as NSAN, COGENT, NDA, UKNARIC in promoting nuclear skills and education.
- Over the years, he has been actively involved with Royal Society of Chemistry; Past Chairman of the Lancaster and District Section, Chairman of the Process Technology Group
- BBSRC Engineering and Biological Systems Network Group
- CIA member of the Biotechnology Sector Group
- Society of Chemical Industry: Past Chairman of the Separation Science and Technology Group (on two occasions), Member of the Council and Technical Affairs Committees
- Member of the Editorial Board ‘Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange Journal’
- Past Member of the Frameworks NW Advisory Board.
- Member of the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNETP) Strategic Research Agenda Working Group
- Co Chairman of the SNETP Education, Training and Knowledge Management Working Group
- Prof Eccles has been an independent technical advisor to the BBSRC, EPSRC, EURATOM, various companies (Viridian Bioprocessing Ltd, CAMECO Ca.)
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- View their unique and persistent identifier on the ORCiD registry
- Full list of publications and articles on CLoK
- UCLan Nuclear
- Decontamination of irradiated-graphite
- Continuous Chromatographic Separation of Metals
- Bioavailability of radionuclides in encapsulated nuclear waste
- Silica templates for selective extraction of radionuclides (SiTSER)
- The Post Disposal Behaviour of C-14 in Irradiated Graphite
- Alternative reprocessing Technology (ART)
- PACIFIC CARBOWASTE
- Nanostructured Hybrid Composites (NaSHC) EPSRC
- EPSRC 2015 £183,809
- EPSRC 2014 £30,000
- EPSRC 2011 £129,000
- EU FRAMEWORK 2013 EURS 42K
- EU FRAMEWORK 2016 EURS 71K
- Harry over many years has developed/organised numerous meetings, conferences for the Society of Chemical Industry, Royal Society of Chemistry and other organisations
- He has attended many more, as invited speaker/speaker, he is still highly sought after
Telephone:44(0)1772 893550
Email: Email:Professor Harry Eccles
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