Catherine Hedger CSci MNucl
Catherine Hedger, Integrated Project Team Leader within the Core Design and Manufacture business of Rolls Royce, has a very clear view on what it means to be a nuclear professional and member of the Nuclear Institute. For Catherine, nuclear professionalism is all about nuclear safety and security, embodied in the Nuclear Delta®.
“From the earliest days of my career at Golder Associates, working on site at Sellafield and other nuclear licensed sites,” she says, “I was made aware of the Nuclear Delta and the importance of safety within a nuclear context.” Catherine achieved her professional member status with the Nuclear Institute in 2012. She is also a Chartered Scientist, which she likewise gained through the Nuclear Institute. Achieving both of these was important to her as recognition of professionalism and technical validation within the industry. She recalls that the assessment process for membership at the Nuclear Institute was a very positive and enjoyable experience.
“It [the Assessment Panel] allowed me to draw on both my environmental background in contaminated land investigations, as well as my experience as a Safety Engineer. It was clear to me that the Nuclear Institute membership route was the best fit for my career.”
Route into nuclear
Catherine graduated with an MSci in Geology from the University of Birmingham and commenced her career with environmental consultants, Golder Associates. Golder provided her induction into the high standards of nuclear and safety culture. When she joined Rolls-Royce several years later she did so as a Safety Engineer, working in that role for five years within the Safety Team writing Nuclear Reactor Plant safety case documents, before joining the Integration Team.
Following a period of maternity leave, she then joined the Operations Team where she achieved Senior Engineer. Catherine says the diverse work she’s been involved in has been invaluable in giving her an understanding of the whole reactor plant and its interfaces and has been able to use this knowledge to help trial an Operator Lite training package for the Submarine Maneuvering Room simulator.
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