David M. R Taplin

July 19, 1939 - May 31, 2022

David Michael Robert Taplin was born to a schoolteacher mother and journalist father in Chesterfield, England on July 19, 1939, and died on May 31, 2022, in Lynn Valley, BC, Canada. Educated at Christ's Hospital School in Sussex, England (1950-57), he became a materials engineer with a DPhil (Oxford), DSc (Aston), MA (Dublin) and was a university professor including in Australia, India, Canada, California, Ireland and Singapore. Coming from generations of teachers in Derbyshire, he derived great fulfillment in teaching and mentoring imaginative young people, resulting in amazingly warm and sustaining friendships around the world. David published some 200 books and research papers in the field of fracture mechanics, structural integrity, metallurgy, and industrial ecology. He was President Emeritus of the International Congress on Fracture (2010 Japan), Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin (1992 Ireland), and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials (1974 UK). Survivors include daughters Louise (Somerset), Alison (Devon) and Tessa (Madrid-Paco), sons Justin (San Francisco-Kate) and Toby (Vancouver-Ann), grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Sailing, rugby, bridge and poetry were amongst his passions, but above all, the immense joys of family and wonderful, enduring friends.