I retired in 2001.

My Fellowship project focused on materials education for engineers and naval architects. The purpose was to compare the UK and Japanese approach to the subject and to investigate the relationship between universities and industry. Japan was then a broad high-productivity industrial powerhouse, unlike the UK's motor, shipbuilding and other industrial sectors.

The attitude towards technology transfer between education and industry was considered relevant. Meetings with various universities and a range of industries were held. The lack of collaboration between the sectors was unexpected. The difference in manpower in domestic and exporting enterprises was evident. The pride and loyalty of staff towards their employer was a revelation. The findings were shared with professional institutes (Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) etc) and business, industrial and social groups. Later the major beneficiaries were probably my undergraduate and postgraduate students.

As my earliest memories are of World War Two, visiting Hiroshima and Nagasaki was crucially important – and the images are still vivid. However, the lasting memory is the co-operation and friendship displayed by everyone that I met in Japan.