Ian Gillett
(Chemistry 1971-78, Health and Safety Director 1987-present)
celebrates 20 years of service with Health and Safety Services at Imperial
Ian Gillett is an alumnus of Imperial, having studied at the College from 1971-78, starting off in the Chemistry Department and ending up in the Department of Materials. He was elected President of the College Chemical Society in 1974. He explained: “By default I became the undergraduate representative on the Department of Safety Committee, so that’s where it all started. I went on to become the student representative on the College Safety Council (as it was then known) from 1976-1978. At the end of my last meeting the Council wished me well in my future career – little did they know, I’d be back!”
Photo above right: Ian Gillett
Ian later joined the College as a member of staff as Assistant Safety Director, arriving from his previous job with the Health and Safety Executive where he had been a Specialist Inspector in Occupational Hygiene.
In 1990 he was appointed as Safety Director and since then the Safety Department has grown along with the rest of the College and he now leads a team of 14 staff, some of whom are specialist advisors of biological and radiation safety, while others deal with more general safety matters.
Over the last 20 years Ian feels that the main changes have been the mergers with the other institutions, particularly the medical schools, and the expansion of health and safety legislation. He said: “When I first came to the College there was little more than the Health and Safety at Work Act to deal with; now we have regulations on all sorts of matters, ranging from work equipment to hazardous substances.” Asked what has kept him at the College, Ian said: “The variety of the work, the challenges that it brings, and the people. I am proud to be part of one of the top universities in the world.”
© 2007 Imperial College London
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