Professor Phil Picton did his degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Swansea University in 1979, and then went on to do his PhD in Digital Logic Design at Bath University in 1982. He then became a Research Fellow at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh where he worked on robotics and image processing. He was appointed as a lecturer in electronics at the Open University in 1984 where he contributed to the writing of courses in Control Engineering, Electronics, Mechatronics and Artificial Intelligence.
In 1994 he moved to Northampton University where he became Professor of Intelligent Computer Systems. In 2005 he became Head of Engineering, and began working closely with the British Institute of Nondestructive Testing, to produce a unique set of distance learning courses in NDT. His own contribution was to write the modules on Ultrasonic Testing, Radiographic Testing and Vibration Analysis. He then went on to be research Leader for the School of science & Technology. In 2014 he returned to being a Professor in the Engineering on a part-time basis. Over his academic career he has published over a hundred papers and written two books.