Peter Mullinger Email & Phone Number

I retired after 61 years in the workforce, 40 years in industry and 21 in academia, so I am not looking for a new job!I have been very fortunate, basically being paid for pursuing my hobby. I started aged 16 on the burner test facility at Hamworthy Engineering in Poole, UK in my school summer holiday. I worked every school holiday and university break until I graduated from the University of Leicester in 1967. After 6 months in electronics, I returned to Hamworthy Engineering and became responsible for the development of oil burners for large power stations and steam powered ships. In 1970, I worked in the Dept. of Fuel Technology & Chemical Engineering at the University of Sheffield. The work concerned improving the knowledge on the atomisation of fuel oil for combustion and built on my experience at Hamworthy. I completed my work just as the price crude oil increased 400% as a consequence of the OPEC oil embargo. I needed to find a new career.With no new career apparent, I worked on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway for 5 years where I was responsible for a number of engineering tasks and got to drive a steam locomotive. In 1977 I joined Rugby cement where I was tasked with reducing the coal consumption of the company’s kilns. Hearing of their work to improve the combustion performance of cement kilns, I formed an alliance with the fuels group at the University of Surrey and met Dr Barrie Jenkins. We have collaborated ever since.After 5 years at Rugby, during which all the achievable improvements had been completed, I became Technical Director of Airoil-Flaregas Ltd, then the largest European supplier of burners and flares for the chemical industry. Barrie joined me, responsible for R&D. By a combination of establishing better relations with customers and improved products, we turned the company from loss making to profitable within 12 months. In 1984 Barrie and I established, Fuel and Technology Ltd (FCT) . We pioneered the use of modelling to match the heat release pattern of the flame to the process requirements. In 1988 we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model the suspension of alumina particle in a flash calciner and used on-site measurement to validate the model, a vital task. In 1999, following design of the Olympic torch and main stadium flame for the Sydney Olympics, I left the business and I joined the University of Adelaide for the start of the 2000 academic year. My teaching was based on my industrial experience and centred around design, process safety and engineering materials. FCT continues to thrive and grow.