David Muir Wood

David Muir Wood is an academic working in the field of geomechanics (the mechanics of geomaterials) and soil mechanics, famous for having pioneered advances in mathematical modelling of soils, informed by experimental observation. The hallmark of his modelling efforts has been to formulate elegant models that capture the essence of the material response while being accessible to practitioners of Geotechnical engineering.

David Muir Wood is author of a number of books for academic audiences as well as for the general public.

Education
David Muir Wood obtained his BA degree at Cambridge University in 1970, where he proceeded onto his MA.

Career
David Muir Wood obtained his PhD in Cambridge in 1974 under the supervision of Peter Wroth. The title of this work is 'Some aspects of the mechanical behaviour of kaolin under truly triaxial conditions of stress and strain' He then continued onto a Research fellowship between Cambridge and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute in 1975 followed by a lectureship, Cambridge (1975-1987). He was then appointed Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Glasgow, 1987-1995 (Head of Department, Dean of Engineering). He then moved onto Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, 1995-2009 (Head of Department, Dean of Engineering), retired 2009. Since 2009 he a Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Dundee, and Emeritus since 2014

Recent/current Visiting professorships:
 * Politecnico di Milano, Italy
 * Chalmers University of Technology Gothenburg, Sweden
 * University of Western Australia, Australia
 * TU Dresden, Germany
 * University of Innsbruck, Australia
 * Yokohama National University, Japan

Awards
He is a fellow of the following institutions:
 * Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (FICE), since 1992
 * Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), since 1998
 * International Honorary Member, Japanese Geotechnical Society, since 2010
 * Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), since 2012

Personal life
David Muir Wood is the son of Alan Muir Wood and Winifred Leyton Lanagan