Professor John Morton
I have enjoyed a varied career in the academic, public and private sectors, in the UK, USA, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.
Having tried Engineering at Cambridge, I came to Oxford to do a doctorate. I had so much fun that I stayed on to do research in the Department of Engineering Science while tutoring students at Keble. Following a University Lectureship in Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College, I took sabbatical leave at the NASA Langley Research Centre and then stayed on in the USA as Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech.
Returning to the UK, I joined the public sector as a Senior Civil Servant in the Defence Research Agency (part of the Ministry of Defence) which was eventually privatised as QinetiQ. My last roles were Chief Operating Officer and Strategy Director of the QinetiQ Future Science and Technology Division. I was then appointed Chief Executive of the Engineering and Technology Board which had the mission of promoting the contribution that Engineers, Engineering and Technology make to the economy and society in general.
Returning to Oxford, I now tutor Pembroke students in the third year Engineering in Society (B2) paper. When I am not teaching, I enjoy research into the damage mechanics of composite materials, primarily for aircraft application but recently I have become interested in the mechanics of biological materials – Nature is full of hierarchical composites, which provide clues as to how we can improve on our rudimentary synthetic materials and structures.
Building upon my private sector science and technology management experience, I am also interested in technology strategy- turning technical innovation into business opportunity through Oxcomp Ltd.
I maintain my links with friends at Imperial College through a Visiting Professorship and shared research interests on damage mechanics.
Chartered Engineer (C.Eng)
Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM)
Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS)
Fellow of the City and Guilds Institute (FCGI)
Engineers’ Company of London
Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA)
- J. Zhou, A. Pellegrino, U. Heisserer, P.W. Duke, P.T. Curtis, J. Morton, N. Petrinic, V.L. Tagarielli. “A new technique for tensile testing of engineering materials and composites at high strain rates.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Proc.R. Soc.A 475: 20190310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2019.0310
- J. Zhou, U. Heisserer, P.W. Duke, P.T. Curtis, J. Morton, V.L. Tagarielli. “The sensitivity of the tensile properties of PMMA, Kevlar® and Dyneema® to temperature and strain rate.” Polymer, 225 (2021) 123781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2021.123781
For full list of research publications and citations see:
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=V-AvVNgAAAAJ
Professor John Morton
I have enjoyed a varied career in the academic, public and private sectors, in the UK, USA, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.
Having tried Engineering at Cambridge, I came to Oxford to do a doctorate. I had so much fun that I stayed on to do research in the Department of Engineering Science while tutoring students at Keble. Following a University Lectureship in Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College, I took sabbatical leave at the NASA Langley Research Centre and then stayed on in the USA as Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Virginia Tech.
Returning to the UK, I joined the public sector as a Senior Civil Servant in the Defence Research Agency (part of the Ministry of Defence) which was eventually privatised as QinetiQ. My last roles were Chief Operating Officer and Strategy Director of the QinetiQ Future Science and Technology Division. I was then appointed Chief Executive of the Engineering and Technology Board which had the mission of promoting the contribution that Engineers, Engineering and Technology make to the economy and society in general.
Returning to Oxford, I now tutor Pembroke students in the third year Engineering in Society (B2) paper. When I am not teaching, I enjoy research into the damage mechanics of composite materials, primarily for aircraft application but recently I have become interested in the mechanics of biological materials – Nature is full of hierarchical composites, which provide clues as to how we can improve on our rudimentary synthetic materials and structures.
Building upon my private sector science and technology management experience, I am also interested in technology strategy- turning technical innovation into business opportunity through Oxcomp Ltd.
I maintain my links with friends at Imperial College through a Visiting Professorship and shared research interests on damage mechanics.
Chartered Engineer (C.Eng)
Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM)
Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS)
Fellow of the City and Guilds Institute (FCGI)
Engineers’ Company of London
Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA)
- J. Zhou, A. Pellegrino, U. Heisserer, P.W. Duke, P.T. Curtis, J. Morton, N. Petrinic, V.L. Tagarielli. “A new technique for tensile testing of engineering materials and composites at high strain rates.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. Proc.R. Soc.A 475: 20190310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2019.0310
- J. Zhou, U. Heisserer, P.W. Duke, P.T. Curtis, J. Morton, V.L. Tagarielli. “The sensitivity of the tensile properties of PMMA, Kevlar® and Dyneema® to temperature and strain rate.” Polymer, 225 (2021) 123781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2021.123781
For full list of research publications and citations see:
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=V-AvVNgAAAAJ