John is accredited as an International Welding Engineer (IWE) under the International Institute of Welding (IIW) qualification scheme. He obtained his academic qualifications from The University of Adelaide, and began his career in Australia with CSIRO, working as a postdoctoral research fellow and subsequently as a Research Scientist in welding process technology. In this role, John undertook contract research projects and consultancy work for both government and industrial clients. After seven years with CSIRO, John moved to the UK in 2005 to take up a post as a Research Fellow in the School of Materials at The University of Manchester. In 2009 he moved to The Open University to work as a Lecturer in Materials Engineering, before returning to The University of Manchester in 2011, where he is currently a Reader.
John’s work has been closely aligned with the power generation sector over the past 15 years. His research interests focus on understanding how welding processes and procedures impact on the long-term performance of high integrity thick section welds. His research interests span from microstructural evolution in welds and weld overlays, to residual stress development in welds and overlays, including the influence of solid-state phase transformations on the development of residual stresses and they also include the creep performance of welds.