Professor Laurence Williams was awarded an OBE for services to radioactive waste management and nuclear safety in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Laurence has a long history of engagement with research to underpin the safety of nuclear installations both in the UK and overseas. He also has interests in nuclear security, nuclear safeguards, governmental organisation for the regulation of nuclear industries; international nuclear safety standards harmonization; nuclear licensing; nuclear emergency planning, the management of radioactive waste; the tolerability of risk, the societal impact of the use of nuclear energy and the safety and regulation of fusion power plants.

Laurence was Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations; Chief Engineer of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority; Chair of the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee where he was responsible for advising the Secretary of State for Defence on the safety of the Defence Nuclear Programme; and Chair of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management where he was responsible for advising the UK Government and the Governments of the Devolved Administrations on radioactive waste management.

Laurence is Emeritus Professor of Nuclear Safety and Regulation at the University of Central Lancashire; a Senior Research Investigator in the Centre for Nuclear Engineering at the Imperial College London; an Honorary Professor at Bangor University; the Ser Cymru Professor of Nuclear Policy and Regulation, a Member of the Singapore Nuclear Safety Advisory Panel, a Member of the Higher Scientific Council of the European Nuclear Society; a Senior Visiting Fellow at the National Nuclear Laboratory; the Chair of the Nuclear Institute’s Editorial Committee and the Chair of Tokamak Energy’s Regulatory and Safety Committee.

For over four decades, Laurence has contributed to improving nuclear safety in the United Kingdom and internationally. As Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Nuclear Installations, he was responsible for licensing all civil and some defence related nuclear installations in the Great Britain. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in nuclear safety regulation.

Laurence was a member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s International Advisory Group for the Chernobyl New Safe Confinement project since its inception in 1998. He continued to provide advice on nuclear safety and radioactive waste management to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development up until 2018 when the Chernobyl new safe confinement project was completed

He has extensive knowledge of working with Government and the Senior Civil Service on nuclear safety, security and radioactive waste matters. He was a member of the UK’s Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board (NIRAB).

1. A Licensing Authority View on Molten Fuel Coolant Interactions in LMFBR Safety; Williams L.G. et al, Proceedings of the International Meeting on Fast Reactor Safety Technology, Aug. 19-23 1979, Seattle USA.

2. Sizewell B: A Review by HM Nuclear Installations Inspectorate: Supplement 5 on Fuel Clad Ballooning; NII01(SUPP5) January 1983 ISBN 0717601323.

3. The Use of Hazard Ratings and Safety Performance Indicators in the Regulatory Inspection of BNFL Sellafield Site; Williams L.G. et al, OECD/NEA Paris 1991.

4. Regulating an Ageing Nuclear Programme; Williams L.G. Nuclear Energy Dec 1994, vol. 33 no. 6.

5. Review of Regulatory Activities Associated with Safety Culture and Management of Safety at UK Nuclear Installations; Williams L.G. et al, International Topical Meeting on Safety Culture in Nuclear Installations, Vienna 24-28 April 1995.

6. The Millennium Bug and Nuclear Safety; Williams L.G., Nuclear Engineer Jan/Feb 1999 vol. 40 no. 1.

7. Maintaining Public Confidence in UK Nuclear Safety Regulation, OECD/NEA Investing in trust, Nuclear Regulators and the Public, Workshop Proceedings, 29 November- 1 December 2000.

8. A Regulatory View on Long Term Passively Safe Storage of Radioactive Waste in the UK; Williams L.G. et al, IAEA, International Conference on Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Cordoba, March 2000.

9. The Nuclear Safety Challenge in the 21st Century; Williams L.G., Nuclear News, Nov. 2000 vol. 43 no. 12.

10. UK Regulatory Perspective; Williams L.G., Nuclear Europe Worldscan, Spring 2002 vol. 21.

11. Nuclear Decommissioning in the UK; Williams L.G., INGENIA, June 2009 Issue 39.

12. Fukushima, The design of nuclear power stations, Williams L.G., FST Journal, July 2011 Vol 20(6)

13. Safety and Security–essential ingredients in the use of atomic energy; Williams L.G., Energy World, Nov 2013

14. Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards: the need for Greater Integration, Williams L G, Nuclear Future, Volume 9 issue 3 2013

15. Nuclear Power the “Triple Lock” that Protects Society, Williams L G, UK-South East Asia Nuclear Science and Technology Conference, Singapore, June 2013 16. Why Should we go Nuclear, Williams L G, Angle, http://anglejournal.com/article/2016-05-why-nuclear/ May 2016

17. Don’t forget nuclear in the global warming challenge, Nuclear Future, Nov 2018

18. Nuclear safety and nuclear security regulatory challenges facing a country embarking on a nuclear power programme, The Journal of World Energy Law & Business. Volume 12, Issue 1, March 2019, pages 69-88. http://doi.org/10.1093/jwelb/jwy034

19. Nuclear safety issues for Nuclear Power Plants, Lukacs, M and Williams LG, Fusion Engineering and Design, Vol 150, January 2020.

20. A Sensitivity Analysis of the Factors that Influence the Hazard Potential of Fusion Power Plants, Lukacs, M and Williams, LG Fusion Engineering and Design. Vol 164, January 2021