I graduated from Coventry Polytechnic in 1991 after I studied combined engineering. I specialised in manufacturing and materials science. I worked in the site investigation side of civil engineering for nearly twenty years. This included both laboratory work and site visits across the British Isles. In 2012 I obtained a new appointment at Sandvik Hyperion, where I worked in research & development. I was involved with developing new materials for applications such as wear parts and process lines, aviation and drill bits. In 2017 I started work at WMG at the University of Warwick where I initially started work with carbon fibre in the Automotive Composites Research Centre. I currently work in the Energy Innovation Centre which is concerned with developing batteries for electric vehicles. I am working with testing frames that test the mechanical strength of materials associated with the electrical batteries being developed.