After a degree in Engineering at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, I completed my doctoral degree in Materials Science at Exeter College Oxford. After teaching and research jobs in Oxford. I moved to Imperial College where I was a Lecturer in Aeronautical Engineering. I moved to the USA in 1985, first as a Senior Research Associate at NASA Langley Research Center and then as Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech. Returning to the UK in 1993, I was appointed Director of the Structural Materials Centre in the Defence Research Agency. With the creation of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency, I became Director of the Mechanical Sciences Sector. This agency became QinetiQ Ltd through a Public Private Partnership and an Initial Public Offering. In QinetiQ, I was Chief Operating Officer and Strategy Director of the Future Systems Technology Division. I left QinetiQ in 2005 to become Chief Executive of the Engineering and Technology Board. I moved to Oxford in 2009, taking up my current position at Brasenose in 2019. I am a Professor and Supernumerary Fellow in Engineering Science at University College and Stipendiary Lecturer at Brasenose where I tutor students in the Engineering in Society course.

I teach third year students Engineering in Society (B2) for Brasenose.
The Engineering in Society course consists of six topics – Teamwork and Project Management, Technology Strategy, Project Finance, Safety and Risk, Sustainability, and Engineering Ethics.

I also teach Structures and Mechanics (P3) and Calculus (P1), to first year students, and Structures, Materials and Dynamics (A3) and Control Theory (A2) to second year students at University College.

I am interested in the mechanics of composite materials, how we can create materials and structures with properties that are not feasible with single-constituent materials. Composite materials combine elements at different scales, for example, micron-level diameter carbon fibres in an epoxy resin matrix. My main focus is to identify and understand the scale which must be considered to achieve desired properties.

While most of my research was on man-made composite materials for aerospace applications, I have recently collaborated with colleagues in Spain who are interested in biological materials which can be considered as natural hierarchical composite materials and structures. This has resulted in the publication of a book entitled the Mechanics of Biological Materials in 2025.

While not, strictly research, my career in the public and private sectors has created an interest in business strategy for technology-based start-ups.