David Wilkinson is internationally recognized as a researcher specializing in the effect of thermomechanical processing on the properties of metals and alloys, the incorporation of damage into models of deformation and ductile fracture and the creep behaviour of structural materials. He has authored over 200 scientific publications specializing in the mechanical behaviour of both metals and ceramics, as well as an undergraduate textbook published by Cambridge University Press. Dr. Wilkinson was the founding Director of the McMaster Center for Automotive Materials and PI of the Initiative for Automotive Manufacturing Innovation (iAMi). He has served both as University Provost and as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has received honours and recognition from the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CIM), the American Ceramic Society. He holds the title of Distinguished University Professor at McMaster.