Professor Stone is Emeritus Professor at the School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia. After completing his PhD on the topic of ‘Vibration absorbers for machine tools’ at the University of Bristol, Professor Stone worked for the British Machine Tool Industry Research Association (MTIRA)before returning to the University of Bristol, as a lecturer, where he continued his research on machine tool vibration. Professor Stone took up the position of chair of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Western Australia in 1981, where he worked to develop greater ties with engineers in Asia. In 1991, he was the first Australian to be invited as a visiting expert for the Japan Machine Tool Builders Association. Professor Stone's research has led to the award of two patents for the Suppression of Vibration in production processes and over 150 publications. Professor Stone has also authored several publications on the teaching of dynamics and was awarded the inaugural Australian National Teaching Award for Engineering in 1997 as well as the Carrick Citation Award for sustained and excellent contributions to teaching in 2007 – he is known for his innovative use of animation programs to help students visualise vibration.