David J. Fisher

Dr Fisher has wide knowledge and experience of the fields of engineering, metallurgy and solid-state physics, beginning with work at Rolls-Royce Aero Engines on turbine-blade research, related to the Concord supersonic passenger-aircraft project, which led to a BSc degree (1971) from the University of Wales. This was followed by theoretical and experimental work on the directional solidification of eutectic alloys having the ultimate aim of developing composite turbine blades. This work led to a doctoral degree (1978) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Lausanne). He then acted for many years as an editor of various academic journals, in particular Defect and Diffusion Forum. In recent years he has specialised in writing monographs which introduce readers to the most rapidly developing ideas in the fields of engineering, metallurgy and solid-state physics. His latest paper will appear shortly in International Materials Reviews, and he is co-author of the widely-cited student textbook, Fundamentals of Solidification.