Professor Hugh Spikes

Trustee

Professor Hugh Spikes is Emeritus Professor, Senior Research Investigator and Head of the Tribology research group within Imperial College London.  He has published over two hundred and fifty refereed papers and patents in the field of Tribology, spanning many aspects of liquid lubricant behaviour ranging from boundary to hydrodynamic lubrication.  In 2004, Hugh Spikes was awarded the three major medals that are bestowed internationally for contributions to Tribology, the International Award of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers, the Mayo D. Hersey Award of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Tribology Trust Gold Medal.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Professor John Williams

Trustee

After graduating from Cambridge in Mechanical Sciences, John Williams completed his PhD in the Department of Physics working with Professor David Tabor.  He worked for a number of years for Tube Investments on a variety of industrial projects including early work on spiral groove seals before returning to an academic post in Cambridge in 1979. He has been Professor of Engineering Tribology since 2005.  He is a Fellow and Director of Studies at Robinson College, Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Professor H P Evans

Trustee

Pwt Evans is an Emeritus Professor at Cardiff University. He joined the Mechanical Engineering Department as a postdoctoral researcher having completed a PhD in Exeter University. His post took him into the field of Tribology and he spent his career at Cardiff University researching in the field of elastohydrodynamic lubrication where he has published widely. He became a Professor in the Cardiff School of Engineering in 2003 and was the recipient of the Tribology Trust Silver Medal in 2009. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

Professor Martin Priest

Trustee

Martin Priest joined the Industrial Unit of Tribology at the University of Leeds (UK) as a research engineer in 1987, an industrial interface group established as a direct result of the Jost Report (1966). In parallel, he completed a PhD in internal combustion engine tribology, under the guidance of Duncan Dowson and Chris Taylor, and moved to the academic staff at Leeds where he progressed to hold the Jost Chair of Engineering Tribology (2003-2015). He was awarded the Tribology Trust Silver Medal in 2015 for “outstanding contribution to tribology especially in the area of transference of tribology facility research to practical applications”. From 2015-2025 he was Professor of Tribology at the University of Bradford (UK) and served as Dean of Faculty. He is now Principal Consultant at ESR Technology (UK), which hosts the National Centre of Tribology, another group arising directly from the Jost Report, and the European Space Tribology Laboratory, of the European Space Agency (ESA). He also holds Visiting Professor appointments at the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and Lancashire (UK). Martin is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (UK), the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (UK), and the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (USA).

Robin Worby

Trustee

Robin is a long serving trustee of the Foundation. As a retired accountant, with more than 50 years of experience in the world of finance, Robin uses his experience to oversee the smooth running of the Foundation’s back office and numerous administrative requirements.

Caroline Ryan

Caroline Ryan is the Foundation’s Administration Manager