C. B. Besant
1973 Bio Note [1]
C. B. Besant, PhD, MINucE, Member, was educated at Plymouth College in Devon and at the Plymouth Polytechnic where he gained HNCs in mechanical and electrical engineering with Institution prizes.
He completed a student engineering apprenticeship at Tecalemit Ltd. and subsequently obtained a Degree in Mechanical Engineering as an external student of London University at Plymouth Polytechnic.
He was awarded a University of London studentship in 1962 and subsequently carried out research in the field of reactor physics obtaining a PhD at Imperial College in 1965. He then worked on the design of pressurised-water reactors for nuclear submarines while at Rolls-Royce and Associates. He joined the UKAEA as a Senior Scientific Officer in 1966 concerned with development of the Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor at Winfrith Heath in Dorset. He returned to Imperial College in 1968 as a lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering Department where he led a team on research in the field of fast breeder reactors which has resulted in a number of research contracts between the College and the UKAEA. He is currently carrying out research in computer aided design.