Mr Dan Kitson

I graduated in 2000 with a degree in Analytical Chemistry and started working for a soil testing laboratory in Doncaster. I was mainly involved in soil stress analysis for embankment construction but gained experience in many techniques used to determine the suitability of soil for particular building applications. This work also gave me an excellent understanding of how a modern laboratory operates, the accreditation and audit processes involved and, fundamentally, how to achieve this in a safe manner.

After a few years, I secured a job with an analytical testing company.  During my degree, I found inorganic trace analytical techniques to be extremely interesting and I was able to continue this interest. I began learning and later specialising in ICP-OES and ICP-MS to determine the concentration of elemental contaminants in various effluents.

I continued this work for several years, moving to a number of laboratories around the country but I moved back home in 2008 when I was offered a position with a local company to develop ICP-MS methods to determine impurities in the metal powders they produced. This work was extremely rewarding and, after two years, I was promoted to laboratory manager. 

I secured a position elsewhere to build a testing facility for another local metal producer. It was a great experience to put together a laboratory but what was even more rewarding was writing and developing the analytical methods, writing the safe systems of work and carrying out all the COSHH and risk assessments associated with the laboratory activities. I handed over a fully functioning laboratory that had received accreditation to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.

After this I was offered a position as Senior Engineering Technician in the school of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering. I worked in this school for two years assisting PhD students with their technical issues as well as carrying out all manner of health and safety duties. 

I joined MEE in November 2024, the role allows me to expand my knowledge and work with new people in an interesting and innovate part of the University.