Professor Roderick Smith, ScD, FREng., is currently Royal Academy of Engineering Network Rail Research Professor of Railway Engineering, Imperial College and Chair of the Future Railway Research Centre. He is an Honorary Visiting Professor at Central Queensland University, Australia & of the Academy of Railway Science of China and York and City universities in the UK.. He is Vice President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

He was previously a lecturer in the Cambridge University Engineering Department (1980-88) and Professor of Mechanical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield (1988-2000), including a period as Head of Department (1992-95). He was Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College (2000-2005). Professor Smith has undertaken consultancy work for Tech Director, British Steel plc (1987-90), was involved in crowd safety research assisting the Health and Safety Executive with investigations into the Hillsborough disaster, and has worked for the Board of British Rail (1992-96) and as an expert witness in many legal cases. He has also worked in Japan with Universities, Japanese railway organisations and manufacturers. He has published widely and is frequently invited to address international meetings and conferences.

More information can be found on his personal web page: rodericksmith.synthasite.com/.