IoR names 10 new fellows

UK: The Institute of Refrigeration (IoR) has announced 10 new fellows in recognition of their leadership, voluntary work and contribution to improving the standing of the RACHP industry.  

IOR fellows are long-term members of the IoR with a commitment to leading and advancing the industry that goes beyond their day-to-day work responsibilities.

This year’s fellows are:

Ian Giles
Refrigeration and air conditioning lecturer, City of Liverpool College

Starting out as an apprentice and subsequently working in all fields of the industry, Ian Giles ended up as an industrial engineer and in 2002 moved into training at Grimsby Institute where he eventually became responsible for 200 apprentices and 11 staff.  He now works as a lecturer supporting students at City of Liverpool College and as a technical expert for City & Guilds on assessment. Giles has shared his training expertise internationally and nationally by providing input to industry SkillFridge competitions and the development of technical qualifications for City & Guilds, SummitSkills and individual employers. He regularly contributes to IoR work on education and training, providing technical advice on apprenticeships and taking part in educator forums and events.

Christopher Green
Engineering director (heat pump solutions) at Vital Energi

Previously engineering director at Arctic Circle, which he joined straight from school as an apprentice engineer, Christopher Green is a member of the technical committee of the IoR. He has chaired the IoR Annual Conferences, presented papers and hosted SIRAC tours as well as contributing to the IoR Beyond Refrigeration environment work. Green received the Cooling Industry Environmental Pioneer of the Year award and the ACR Journal Awards Environmental Champion in 2012 for his work on supporting the transition towards natural refrigerants, carbon reduction and heat recovery from refrigeration.

Mark Hughes 
Business development manager, Chemours UK

Mark Hughes has held numerous volunteer positions within industry groups including chairman of BRACES (the BRA Equipment and Components section statistics gathering and processing group), chair of the BRA equipment and components section, and most recently has been appointed president of the BRA. In these roles and as an IOR member he has helped coordinate activity between the IOR and BRA in key technical and legislative areas. Hughes also contributes to safety standards through membership of the BSI Safety Standards Committee RHE18 and CPL61

Bruce Nelson 
Retired past president and director of innovation at Colmac Coil

Bruce Nelson built his career in Colmac Coil in the USA, starting as an engineer and eventually becoming President. He has served on various ASHRAE national technical committees and continues to be active in his local ASHRAE Chapter. He was recently given the ASHRAE Distinguished Service award. He is an individual member of the International Institute of Refrigeration and is active in the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration first as chair of its research committee and later as chairman. He helped set up the Ammonia Refrigeration Foundation (ARF) which supports engineering scholarships and research projects. 

John North 
Lecturer, City of Portsmouth College

John North has served as a member of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board (ACRIB) education committee, and provided responses to IoR consultations on apprenticeships. He encourages students to register for membership of the IoR and to further develop their skills beyond what is required to achieve a qualification by taking part in national skills competitions. North currently advises City and Guilds in the development of qualifications and assessments.

Chris Playford 
EU development director, Foster Refrigerator and Gamko

Chris Playford has been an active participant in the refrigeration section of the Food Service Equipment Association (FEA) since 2002 and has represented FEA at ACRIB board meetings providing input from a food service refrigeration perspective on key legislation and standards developments.  He has given various presentations on Eco-design standards internationally and for the IoR.

Robert Unsworth
Global sustainability manager, GEA Heating and Refrigeration Technologies 

Throughout his career at Sabroe and GEA, Rob Unsworth has shown commitment to promoting careers and sharing his expertise in sustainable refrigeration. He regularly gives talks on refrigeration-related subjects in schools, universities and colleges, writes and presents papers at IoR conferences, gives technical presentations at the International Institute of Refrigeration and the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration conferences. Last year he received an international award within GEA for sustainability and helped a customer achieve a sustainability award from the Irish government. Within GEA he supports and encourages graduate engineers and mentors younger members. He is also an engineering ambassador and promotes engineering as a career choice at a local girls grammar school.

Damian Wiszniewski 
Business development manager, Samsung Climate Solutions UK. 

Damian Wiszniewski is active in the south and southwest organising events for the Hampshire Refrigeration Society and is currently its vice-chair as well as being involved in setting up an IoR South West Branch. Since 2018 Damian has served on the IoR membership committee which he currently chairs. He was elected to serve on the IoR board in 2022. 

Ross Cawte
Managing director, RJC (Mechanical) Ltd 

Ross Cawte is committed to developing the company’s workforce through partnership with their local college where it sends technicians each year to follow the apprenticeship programme. He actively promotes the industry and mentors new trainees entering the business. His first involvement with the IoR was through the service engineers section 15 years ago and is now an active member of the IOR membership committee.

Stewart Woolston
Head of UK projects, Digital Realty

Having worked in datacentre and consultancy roles since leaving the Royal Navy, Woolston has had involvement in IoR education initiatives through support for the REAL Zero training programme, past membership of the ACRIB education committee and contributing to the development of City & Guilds qualifications and assessments.  He continues to raise awareness of careers in RACHP as a registered STEM ambassador and runs events promoting STEM engineering including Lunar Mission One where he helped developed an online interactive platform for schools. Woolston has assisted at schools as an advisor on facility management and providing quality assurance to projects and solutions presented to them by contractors – including cooling solutions for an ICT suite and ventilation for a sports hall.