Robin Roy has a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and an MSc and a PhD in Design Technology from the University of Manchester. After engineering apprenticeships in the UK and Sweden, and a short period of teaching in the USA, he joined the Open University in 1971 as one of the first lecturers in Design. At the OU he has contributed to many courses and led many research projects on design, innovation, and the environment, and in 1999 was awarded a personal chair in Design and Environment. After retiring in 2012 as one of the longest serving OU academics he became an Emeritus Professor and is still active in teaching, writing, and research.