Roger Duckworth obtained the Bachelor in Technology degree in applied physics from Brunel University, West London, Eng., in 1968, and the Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the City University, London, in 1975.He started his career with BP in the Sunbury Research Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex, Eng., concentrating on the measurement and exploitation of environmental forces in projects such as breakwater development, wind and wave energy, and, since 198l, the loads exerted by ice on offshore structures.