Winner: Atanas Tomov

Atanas Tomov is Technical Facilities Manager in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences and a Chartered Chemist. He is also the School's Health and Safety Coordinator.

Atanas was nominated for his pivotal role in leading major change projects in the School. Most notably, his recent study on fume hood sash height and its effect on energy consumption has initiated a university-wide sustainability campaign. The outcomes are projected to save the university hundreds of thousands of pounds annually while advancing our environmental goals. His efforts have far-reaching implications for research sustainability and institutional efficiency and feed into key research funder environmental considerations. He has also introduced innovative, accessible updates to the health and safety tools used across the School, and created a chemical inventory database and sharing platform, significantly reducing waste and unnecessary purchasing by enabling researchers to locate and reuse surplus chemicals across labs. 

The panel were impressed not only with Atanas' professional achievements as a lead technician and chemist, but with his outstanding contributions to his colleagues and in fostering an inclusive, safe and effective research environment at Queen Mary, including organising the annual technical staff symposium and his role as a Mental Health First Aider.

Highly Commended

Petra Ungerer is Technical Facilities Manager in the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences. She was Highly Commended for her extraordinary commitment to sustaining and enabling research activities within her School. She manages the School’s technical staff (approximately 15 people) and has been a cornerstone of operational continuity, especially during times of transition and staff shortages.

Luke Gammon is Screening Facility Manager at the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models. He was Highly Commended by the panel for consistently going above and beyond in his role, independently working to continue develop his skills and putting in place innovative and creative solutions for his cross-campus users. The large volume of testimonials in support of his nomination were a tribute to the high regard in which Luke is held by his colleagues.

Shortlisted

Chris Pearse, Douglas Thomson, Charlie Millership, Blizard Lab Management Team