Gordon Williams was a giant in the field of fracture and fracture mechanics. He was born on the Wirral, near Liverpool, UK, on 13 June 1938. His father, John, was an engineer at the local Cadbury’s chocolate factory and he inspired Gordon to take an interest in engineering. (Gordon always said later that if had not become an engineer then he would have wished to take up farming.) However, it was to be an engineering career for him and in 1951 he went to the Toxteth Technical Institute in Liverpool and then in 1956 onto the Farnborough Technical College, Hampshire. During this time he served an apprenticeship with the National Gas Turbine Establishment at Pyestock which was part of the Royal Aircraft Establishment.
In 1958 he joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College, as an undergraduate student and began what was to be a sixty-six years long association with the Department until his death in October 2024. He obtained his BSc (Eng) degree (1st Class Honours) in 1961 and his PhD in 1963. He joined the staff in 1962, having finished his PhD after only two years of research, and rose very rapidly to be appointed a Chaired Professor in 1975. He served as Head of Department from 1990 to 2000. The Department thrived under his leadership with a new MSc course being initiated, which is still running today, and with several new areas of research starting in the Department. He also led the Department into the first of the continuing UK research assessment exercises, with it being judged as the leading Mechanical Engineering Department for research activities in the UK, a position which it still holds today.
His research interests included all mechanical properties of polymers but over time Gordon’s emphasis moved towards fracture and particularly fracture mechanics, then a rapidly developing field when he was a young member of staff. He was a pioneer in the application of linear-elastic fracture-mechanics for analysing brittle failure in polymers and its use as a characterising scheme for the toughness of polymers. He published a definitive book ‘Fracture Mechanics of Polymers’ in 1982. His interest then broadened to include the fracture of composites and adhesives and to providing standard test methods. This standards work was of major importance in ensuring that industry adopted fracture mechanics methods and he oversaw the introduction of many new ISO Standards via his Co-Chairmanship of the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) Sub-committee (TC4) on ‘Polymers, Adhesives and Composites’ which met in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. TC4 also launched a triennial conference, held in Les Diablerets, on this theme which continues to thrive. Gordon also became involved in cutting theory as a method for measuring the toughness of soft materials, including polymers such as polyethylene but also applied to foods such as cheese.
His outstanding contributions to his research field, and to engineering in general, were recognised by many prizes, awards and appointments. He was awarded a DSc degree in 1974, and elected a Fellow of both ESIS and the International Congress on Fracture (ICF). He was invited to serve on many Committees by the UK Government, The Royal Society and numerous Conference organisations and also acted as a consultant to several international companies. He was appointed as a Visiting Professor at the EPFL, Switzerland, and at the University of Sydney, Australia. Most notably, he was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) in 1982 and to The Royal Society (FRS) in 1994. Finally, he was a true gentleman and a good friend and colleague to so many. He will be sorely missed.
Professor A.J. Kinloch, FREng FRS
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial, UK
