Applied Composite Materials - A Tribute to Professor Peter Beaumont
It is with great sadness that the Applied Composite Materials team is announcing the passing of Professor Peter W.R. Beaumont, Founding Editor of the journal and Special Issues Editor, on 5th of December of 2022.
Professor Beaumont was a world-renowned researcher, Emeritus Professor in Materials Engineering at Cambridge University and Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge University, who made innovative contributions to materials science in general and composite materials in particular. During his long and illustrious career as scientist and editor, Professor Beaumont worked to advance the in-depth understanding of the relationship between the processing and the structure, the properties and the behaviour of structural engineering composites. A major theme of his work was the application of the principles of materials science and the principles of engineering mechanics including modelling methods of all kinds to solving composite material problems that compromise their safety across a wide range of engineering composite structures and uses. His enthusiasm, brilliance, intellectual curiosity and vision are inspirational.
In addition to being Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Applied Composite Materials for more than 25 years, Professor Beaumont served on a number of editorial boards for other journals. He co-edited major volumes on composites such as “Multi-scale modelling of composite material systems” and “Structural Integrity and Durability of Advanced Composites”, which brought together top researchers in the field to explore and discuss the art of predictive damage modelling, innovative modelling methods and intelligent design of composites.
Professor Beaumont has been principal organizer of several prestigious international conferences including some unique scientific meetings sponsored by The Royal Society, EPSRC and the National Sciences Foundation (NSF) in the USA. Over two decades, he was on the steering committee of the prestigious Gordon Research Conferences in the USA. He also served as Vice-President of the International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM).
Professor Beaumont’s other published work include 200 scientific papers, articles in encyclopedia, engineering design books and material design guides. He has received a number of EPSRC research grants, including many others from the US and UK governments, and from industry. These grants supported research into the Structural Integrity of Composite Materials and Structures that has led to a new formulation of the principles of damage mechanics of composite materials for which he received the Distinguished Research Award of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Other prestigious awards include Distinguished Teaching Award of University of California (UCLA), award of Doctor of Science of the University of Sussex, England, as well as support of his international collaborations by The Daiwa Foundation, The Royal Academy of Engineering, The Royal Society, NATO, and the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development, among others. Professor Beaumont’s consulting activities included the Du Pont Experimental Station, Wilmington, DE (working with Dr Ben Epstein on fracture mechanics of Super Tough Nylon and fatigue of Kevlar fibre); and Rockwell International, Thousand Oaks CA (working with Dr David H Kaelble on the adhesive problems of space shuttle tiles) plus more than 75 industrial short courses at the University of California and throughout the USA; University of Surrey; University of Sydney; IIT Delhi; University of Monterey, Mexico; and numerous companies in the US and EU.
In commemoration of Professor Beaumont and his contribution to the composites community, the journal team will be planning a Special Memorial Issue, and looks toward arranging an editorial board meeting in his memory in the coming year.