Stan Lynch was born and grew up (sort of) in Liverpool, England, and obtained his B.Sc, M.Sc, and PhD degrees in the Dept. of Metallurgy, University of Manchester, Institute of Science & Technology (UMIST) (1963-1969). He was then transported (by ship) to Australia in 1970, and worked at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Melbourne, until ‘retirement’ in 2015 (with time off for bad behaviour for several sabbaticals in England). He is now affiliated with RMIT University in Melbourne (where he lives). Stan’s focus has been (and still is) on understanding the mechanisms of fracture using a variety of metallographic and fractographic techniques, and he has used this knowledge to carry out failure analyses for the aeronautical, maritime, automotive, and other industries. Understanding the effects of the environment on fracture has been a particular focus, and he has published widely on stress-corrosion cracking, hydrogen-embrittlement, and liquid-metal embrittlement (often using mercury – which could account for some character traits!). Stan has been an associate editor of several journals and has presented lectures and courses in numerous countries around the world. His other activities have included tennis, skiing, hiking, and cycling.
