Richard Crowder was educated at the University of Leicester, receiving a BSc in Electrical Engineering and a PhD for work on induction motor control. Prior to joining the University of Southampton he worked for a company manufacturing drive systems and advanced machine tools. At the University of Southampton he undertook research into robotics, including prosthetic hands and swarm robots. His teaching responsibilities included robotics, application of modern drive systems and design theory. He has published over 200 papers in both journals and conferences. Following early retirement, he currently holds the post of emeritus fellow in the School of Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom.