David Lyons is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering and Technology at UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from the University of New South Wales in 1987 and a Graduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching. An accomplished consulting engineer and educator, Lyons specializes in naval architecture, composite materials, and yacht design. He was a key member of the academic team that established the Naval Architecture program at UNSW Canberra, welcoming its first intake of Level 3 undergraduate students in March 2022. His professional qualifications include Chartered Engineer status from the Engineering Council UK, Fellowship of Engineers Australia, Fellowship of The Royal Institution of Naval Architects, and registration as a Professional Engineer in Queensland.

Lyons' career encompasses extensive industry experience and academic appointments. Early roles included manufacturing engineering at Unilever (1987-1989) and composite engineering at DIAB Australia (1989-1992 and 1996-2004). He founded and served as general manager of EMP Composites within Nuplex Industries (2004-2011) and directed his consultancy, Seaflyer Pty Ltd trading as Lyons Chartered Engineers (1992-1996 and 2011-2014). From 2000 to 2020, he lectured in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at UNSW Sydney, transitioning in 2020 to develop and deliver the Naval Architecture program at UNSW Canberra. His research focuses on naval architecture, ships and boats, marine safety, navigation, composite materials, and mechanical engineering design. Key co-authored publications include 'Top hat stiffeners: A study on keel structures' (Ocean Engineering, 2010), 'Failure Characterisation of L-Bend curved composite laminates' (Transactions of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, Part B1, 2010), and 'Damage Analysis of Curved Composite Structures using Interface Elements' (Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on Computational Mechanics and Simulation, 2014). Lyons has contributed to committees such as the International Technical Committee of the Offshore Racing Congress (since 1997), the Special Regulations sub-Committee of the International Sailing Federation (2009-2016), and Yachting Australia's National Safety Committee (2010-2016). A competitive sailor, he won the 1993 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race overall aboard his own design, Micropay Cuckoo's Nest, and received the Australian Sports Medal for sailing in 2000. He has served as an expert witness in Australian and New Zealand courts on composite materials and naval architecture matters.

Professional Email: david.lyons@unsw.edu.au