Robert James "Roy" Crawford ( – 23 June 2016) was a university administrator and mechanical engineering academic, whose primary research interest has been in the mechanical properties and processing behaviour of plastics. From 1989 to 1999, he was Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the School of Mechanical and Process Engineering at the

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

in Northern Ireland. He was also responsible for establishing the Polymer Processing Research Centre at Queen's University. This centre included the Research Group on

rotational moulding Rotational molding (BrE: moulding) involves a heated mold which is filled with a charge or shot weight of material. It is then slowly rotated (usually around two perpendicular axes), causing the softened material to disperse and stick to the ...

of plastics, which he also established. From 1999 to 2001, he was Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in New Zealand. From 2001 to 2004, Crawford was Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at Queen's University Belfast. From January 2005 until December 2014, he was Vice Chancellor of the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

in New Zealand. Crawford published nine books and about 300 papers, and was a member of numerous government panels and research grant committees in the United Kingdom. He was an expert in the

of plastics, and gave keynote lectures, courses and seminars on this subject all over the world. During his tenure at Queen's in the 1990s, his school improved its rating in the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) from Grade 3 in the 1992 RAE to the top Grade of 5* in 1996. He was a member of the 2001 RAE Panel for assessing Mechanical Engineering in all universities in the United Kingdom. Crawford was born in Northern Ireland, and gained a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

and

DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

from Queen's University. In 1998, he was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

, and in 2005 he was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Only 227 Fellows have been elected worldwide to this Society since it was established in 1946. In the

2015 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, Crawford was appointed a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to tertiary education. A British national and permanent resident of New Zealand, Crawford was married with three children. He died on 23 June 2016, aged 67 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Roy 1940s births 2016 deaths British mechanical engineers Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Academics of Queen's University Belfast Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Academic staff of the University of Auckland Year of birth missing Academic staff of the University of Waikato Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit