Peter Verrall

About

Pete is a technical specialist within the Technical Operations team in Campus Services, dealing with the technical side of scheduling contracted servicing visits, managing safe contractor access to controlled environments (in compliance with Martyn’s Law) across all 10 Schools, defect reporting, liaising with maintenance and SHE staff, etc.
Martyn’s Law - or the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 - is currently in a 2-yr implementation phase and his team will be involved along with Campus Security and SHE with ensuring that is rolled out and implemented in a secure & workable manner.
From 1990 to 2024, he worked within the Physics lab/School of Physical
Sciences/Division of Natural Sciences, supporting research groups with electronics design/build, repairs, and PAT testing, along with general H&S. He was also responsible for developing and maintaining a safe shipping process for novel chemical samples.
Pete is a long-term advocate for EDI issues having been a Harassment contact from 1998-2012, and the EDI representative for the School of Physical Sciences since 2001, and was involved in all of the School's Athena Swan submissions. He's also been a Mental Health Ally since Dec 2021.
At the beginning of 2024, Pete took on the Technician Commitment role of Career Development champion. As a long-time technician within the university, he is well aware of the difficulties of finding and getting funding for specialist technical training, and is hoping to find a more flexible means of providing such training for technical staff.
Outside of work Pete has a range of activities to keep him occupied.
- He is part of the leadership/management team of his church in Broadstairs.
- He is a singer and percussionist who plays with a local Gospel choir and previously a world music choir, as well as with a local folk/blues combo, and also at his church.
- He is a keen swimmer and archer and is the club secretary at Thanet Archery Club.