Pat is the Director of the Camborne School of Mines, part of the University of Exeter where he lectures and undertakes research into the health, safety and working environment aspects of mining and quarrying. His particular research interests are in safety and risk management systems, human factors and ESG. He is a Council Member of the Mining Association of the UK and was a part of the trailblazer group that developed and submitted a specification for a degree apprenticeship in mine management.

He graduated in Mining Engineering from the University of Nottingham and continued there to undertake a PhD looking into safety risk assessment in the mining industry supported by British Coal. He then joined International Mining Consultants Ltd as a Mine Safety Consultant where he was involved in health & safety management system audits, risk assessment training and research in the UK, India and South Africa.