David was Professor of Healthcare Engineering from 2003 and retired as Emeritus Professor in October 2019. For 10 years he was Director of the cross-campus Loughborough Research School of Health and Life Sciences and then University Academic Lead in Defence Medicine, a similar cross-campus role.

This appointment followed roles as Manufacturing Technology Director, Bespak Europe, and then Technical Director, Bespak Group Operations. Bespak is a supplier of drug delivery devices to the pharmaceutical industry. This was preceded by ten years as Professor of Manufacturing Processes at Loughborough including four years as the Head of Department of Manufacturing Engineering. His early career, while including industrial jobs with GKN and Metal Box, was primarily in Cambridge University Engineering Department. This culminated in a tenured lectureship and included Fellowships at Sidney Sussex and Downing Colleges.

David holds a First Class Honours BSc in Mechanical Engineering from UMIST, Manchester, the PhD degree of Cambridge University and the UMIST DEng higher degree. He has been a Chartered Engineer and Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers since 1982 and Fellow since 1990, joining as a student member in 1972. He has been a member of the Institute of Directors since 2000, a Fellow of CIRP since 2000 (Emeritus 2018), and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (USA) since 1998 (Member since 1988, Life Senior Member 2020).

He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2002 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2014 for services to science and engineering. He was awarded the 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers Donald Medal in 2017 for outstanding services to biochemical engineering in particular substantial contributions to the rapidly growing regenerative medicine sector.

David has also been Honorary Historical Consultant to the Royal Armouries since 2009 and Honorary Editor of the Journal of the Arms and Armour Society since 2015 and was elected President of the Arms and Armour Society in April 2021. He was made a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2015.

Recent research has focussed on the manufacturing of cell-based therapies and on defence medicine and rehabilitation.

This has included the leadership of large user and challenge led research and training consortia and cross-institutional initiatives such as the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine and the EPSRC/MRC Doctoral Training Centre/Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative Medicine and the associated EPSRC ETERM 12 Postdoctoral Fellowship programme.

David remains active in healthcare, manufacturing and heritage research.

He is Chief Investigator of the MOD funded project “Optimising Rehabilitation Pathways in Severely Injured Personnel: An ADVANCE Study Extension” which is a collaboration between Loughborough University, The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Stanford Hall, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine and Imperial College.

Long-term strands of heritage research are in the history and economic growth of the Birmingham gun trade and in the development of interchangeable manufacturing in Britain.

Shariatzadeh, M, Chandra, A, Wilson, S, McCall, M, Morizur, L, Lesueur, L, Chose, O, Gepp, MM, Schulz, A, Neubauer, JC, Zimmermann, H, Abranches, E, Man, J, O’Shea, O, Stacey, G, Hewitt, Z, Williams, D (2019) Distributed automated manufacturing of pluripotent stem cell products, The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 106, ISSN: 0268-3768. DOI: 10.1007/s00170-019-04516-1.

Thurman-Newell, J, Petzing, J, Williams, D (2019) Establishing the variation of blood metrics within UK Biobank to inform cell therapy manufacturing processes, Regenerative Medicine, 14(11), pp.1029-1046, ISSN: 1746-0751. DOI: 10.2217/rme-2018-0168.

Rothwell, D, Fong, D, Stapley, S, Williams, D (2019) A clinically applicable tool for rapidly estimating muscle volume using ultrasound images, European Journal of Applied Physiology, 119(11-12), pp.2685-2699, ISSN: 1439-6319. DOI: 10.1007/s00421-019-04242-2.

Ford, M, Hodgetts, TJ, Williams, D (2017) Innovation strategies for defence: the successful case of Defence Medical Services, RUSI Journal, 162(2), pp.52-58, ISSN: 0307-1847. DOI: 10.1080/03071847.2017.1301216.

Archibald, PRT, Chandra, A, Thomas, D, Chose, O, Massourides, E, Laabi, Y, Williams, D (2016) Comparability of automated human induced pluripotent stem cell culture: a pilot study, Bioprocess Biosyst Eng, ISSN: 1615-7591. DOI: 10.1007/s00449-016-1659-9.

Naing, MW, Gibson, DA, Hourd, P, Gomez, SG, Horton, RBV, Segal, J, Williams, D (2015) Improving umbilical cord blood processing to increase total nucleated cell count yield and reduce cord input wastage by managing the consequences of input variation, Cytotherapy, 17(1), pp.58-67, ISSN: 1465-3249. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2014.09.003.

Soares, FAC, Chandra, A, Thomas, RJ, Pedersen, RA, Vallier, L, Williams, DJ (2014) Investigating the feasibility of scale up and automation of human induced pluripotent stem cells cultured in aggregates in feeder free conditions, J Biotechnol, 173, pp.53-58, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2013.12.009.

Hourd, P, Ginty, P, Chandra, A, Williams, DJ (2014) Manufacturing models permitting roll out/scale out of clinically led autologous cell therapies: regulatory and scientific challenges for comparability, Cytotherapy, ISSN: 1465-3249. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcyt.2014.03.005.

Nikolaev, NI, Liu, Y, Hussein, H, Williams, DJ (2012) The sensitivity of human mesenchymal stem cells to vibration and cold storage conditions representative of cold transportation, J R Soc Interface, 9(75), pp.2503-2515, DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0271.

Williams, DJ, Thomas, RJ, Hourd, PC, Chandra, A, Ratcliffe, E, Liu, Y, Rayment, EA, Archer, JR (2012) Precision manufacturing for clinical-quality regenerative medicines, Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci, 370(1973), pp.3924-3949, ISSN: 1364-503X. DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2011.0049.

Williams, D and Harding, D (2021) The manufacturing of Manton’s Pattern 1833 Carbine lock, a late Ordnance flintlock, and Lovell’s Pattern 1842 Percussion lock, the first purpose-designed Ordnance percussion sidelock, Journal of the Arms and Armour Society, 23(6), pp.474-492, ISSN: 0004-2439.

Williams, D, Abbott, P, Harding, D (2021) ‘A lock so tallying in all its parts, that any part of one lock may fit another’: exploring the standardisation and interchangeable manufacturing of New Land Pattern Musket Locks, Arms & Armour, pp.1-50, ISSN: 1741-6124. DOI: 10.1080/17416124.2021.1883915.

Williams, D and Harding, D (2018) The Enfield Lock barrel mill of 1815 and moves to replace musket barrel grinding by turning c1780 to c1840, Arms and Armour, 15(1), pp.22-57, ISSN: 1741-6124. DOI: 10.1080/17416124.2018.1436494.

Williams, D (2016) Henry Nock, Walter Dick and Charles Lennox, The Duke of Richmond, and the Journey to the Final Designs of the Nock screwless lock, Arms & Armour, 13(1), pp.28-47, ISSN: 1741-6124. DOI: 10.1080/17416124.2016.1191742.

Williams, DJ and Godwin, B (2014) Dual-Ignition Musket Locks Including a Matchlock — a Note on their Design and Utility, Arms and Armour, 11(1), pp.4-16, ISSN: 1749-6268. DOI: 10.1179/1741612414Z.00000000028.

Williams, DJ (2013) Greener, William (1806-1869). In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/ref:odnb/105126.

Williams, DJ (2013) Goodman, John Dent (1816-1900). In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/ref:odnb/101283.