John is an Industrial Statistician with expertise in developing and applying statistical and stochastic methods to build decision support models. In particular, he has extensive experience in developing models for reliability growth analysis.  For example, with his colleague Professor Walls, they were actively leading activities in the DTI/aerospace industry funded project, Reliability Enhancement Methodology and Modelling (REMM) which was awarded the Simms Prize by the Royal Aeronautical Society.  He has been involved in consultancy and applied research projects for reliability growth with, for example, Aero-Engine Controls, Rolls Royce, Irving Aerospace, BAE SYSTEMS and the MOD. The model developed as part of the REMM project is included in the industry standard for reliability growth analysis methods, BS/IEC 61164 as well as contributing to the Strathclyde Business Schools impact cases for the Research Enhancement Framework.

Beyond defence, John has experience of developing decision support models for asset management for energy utilities (e.g. Scottish Power, SSE), water utilities (KTP with Scottish Water) and critical infrastructure (e.g. anchorage condition assessment of Forth Road Bridge).  Wider modelling has been in support of risk analysis (e.g. supplier risk analysis with Rolls Royce as part on a major ongoing EPSRC research project, risk of train derailments with Railway Safety and Standards Board). 

John has worked with the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) training staff for elicitation and quantification of expert uncertainty as well as leading the COST Working Group on Processes and Procedures for eliciting expert judgment.  The COST project resulted in the book Elicitation: The Science and Art of Structuring Judgement.

John is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Chartered Statistician, and a member of the Safety and Reliability Society.  He has a Bachelor of Mathematics in Actuarial Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada and a PhD in Management Science from the University of Strathclyde. 

John provides specialist teaching for a number of programmes at various levels.  These have included teaching Management Science at all levels of undergraduate and postgraduate as well as Executive Education.  John has taught in 10 different international centres across Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia, as well as Executive Education in Canada. 

John is committed to making effective use of technology to support teaching and learning.  He has been involved in managing, developing and teaching on pedagogically successful online and distance courses, as well as investigating the effectiveness of using virtual reality environments to support teaching.