Tuesday 16th February 2021
Safe to Breathe? – A Short History of Gas Detection’
Speaker – Martin Willett
Martin’s talk will touch upon a historical point of view, exploring the very old methods (canaries, Davy lamps, etc) as well as talking about the latest miniature sensors using semiconductor, optical and electrochemical methods.
Martin Willett
After completing a BSc in Physics at Birmingham University in 1978, Martin joined the UK National Coal Board research establishment to work on sensors for challenging underground coal mine environments. He was awarded a PhD from Nottingham University in 1987 for studies of the surface chemistry and electrical behaviour of tin oxide semiconductor gas sensors.
In 1994, he moved to City Technology in Portsmouth, a world leader in electrochemical gas detection, which was acquired by Honeywell in 2006. He has led development of successful optical, catalytic and electrochemical sensor products for toxic and flammable gases and managed research programmes in Corporate Laboratories and Universities.
Martin has published over 40 papers and patents and is a member of the Institute of Physics, holding both Chartered Physicist and Chartered Engineer status. He was appointed a Honeywell Technology Fellow in 2014.