While the staff of The Shot Peener is very sorry to lose a valued contributor to the magazine, we recognize that Professor Kirk deserves to retire at 92 years of age!
The following are quotes from some of the people that have been influenced by his advancement of our industry.
I am so grateful for the friendship and the mentoring that you have provided. You have been the most influential person in my career. Thank you for all you did for me and the shot peening community.
Jack Champaigne – Editor of The Shot Peener, President of Electronics Inc.
As Associate Editor of The Shot Peener, I have worked with Professor Kirk for almost 30 years. He has been a pleasure to work with as he always sent his articles before the deadline and they were free of typos! Preparing articles of his quality four times a year is no easy feat and I’ve often wondered how he did it. We will continue to run David’s older articles as many of our readers are new and haven’t had the benefit of his knowledge.
When you work with someone for as long as I did, you get to know them on a personal level—David’s beautiful garden was a favorite topic.
Kathy Levy – Associate Editor of The Shot Peener
I would like to express my heartfelt respect for Professor Kirk’s long-term contributions to The Shot Peener and his great support to those involved in peening.
As a leader of the shot peening society, he has supported international conferences for many years and given advice to many researchers, which has now led to many new findings.
We, as one of your successors, would like to follow your professor’s intention and make our efforts to research and public relations in order to perpetuate shot peening technology.
Yoshihiro Watanabe – TOYO SEIKO CO. LTD.
I observed Dr. Kirk’s training session at an Electronics Inc. workshop in Warwick, England. Even though he is a renowned academic in the field of shot peening, he was able to relate to Level One and Level Two students on a very basic level. I remember him using tennis balls to demonstrate how shot works. There was no question that the students were engaged and appreciated his class.
Tom Brickley – Vice President at Electronics Inc.
Professor Kirk has been a gift to the peening world by sharing his knowledge via a catalog of plain-spoken Shot Peener articles.
Dave Barkley – EI Shot Peening Training Director
ABOUT PROFESSOR DAVID KIRK
Professor David Kirk was born into a multi-generational steel-working family in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. His grandfather was the operational head of a rolling mill and his father was an open-hearth steelmaker and a part-time lecturer at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology. David won a scholarship to a local grammar school and his academic success secured three scholarships to the University of Birmingham where he studied Industrial Metallurgy. He was the first member of his family to attend university. Professor Kirk received a Department of Science scholarship after graduation. He then obtained a doctorate for a thesis titled “The Hot Working of Metals.”
Professor Kirk’s employment as a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham proceeded a short period as a Senior Research Metallurgist at the International Nickel Company’s Research Laboratory in Birmingham. Professor Kirk then joined Coventry University as a Senior Lecturer in Metallurgy. He was promoted to Principal Lecturer in Metallurgy and then Chairman of the School of Materials at Coventry University. His initial research focused on X-ray residual stress measurement. This work prompted him to establish Coventry Science Consultants Ltd. Professor Kirk installed a shot peening research laboratory at the university with active encouragement and advice by the late Jack Plaster.
Upon retirement from the university, Professor Kirk became a Visiting Research Fellow and then was a Visiting Professor of Materials at Coventry University. Following his organization of the 5th International Conference on Shot Peening, he was elected Chairman of the International Scientific Committee for Shot Peening. The International Scientific Committee has since granted him “Life Member” status.
Professor Kirk received the 2001 “Shot Peener of the Year” award for his significant contributions to the advancement of shot peening.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Most of my earlier articles in The Shot Peener were based on research carried out at Coventry University. A few years after I retired, both my X-ray and shot peening laboratories closed down. I was the only person using them and then only for about two hours a week. Small items donated to me personally, such as an Almen Gauge, Almen strips, and shot samples, I took home where I carried out further experimental work.
Years ago I was foolish enough to believe that I knew enough to write a textbook on “The Science of Shot Peening.” After a few months I realized that there was a very great deal that I did not understand. Subsequent articles in The Shot Peener were the fruit of my attempts to rectify that situation.
Editor’s Note: Professor Kirk is irreplaceable but we wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement from his lengthy and prolific writing career.
