Andrew Levers received the M.Sc. degree in structural integrity from the University of Sheffield, U.K., in 1992, the M.Phil. degree in the application of axiomatic design principles from the University of Leeds, U.K., in 1998, and the Ph.D. degree in manufacturing engineering from Middlesex University, U.K., in 2001. He is currently an Executive Director of the Institute of Digital Engineering and Autonomous Systems (IDEAS), University of Liverpool. Prior to this, he was the Technical Director at the Survitec Group, a designer and manufacturer of personal survival equipment and oxygen systems for fixed and rotary wing military platforms. Until May 2013, he served as the Research and Development Integration Manager at Airbus Operations. In 20 years career held a variety of senior technical and strategic positions within Airbus Operations that has led to several cutting-edge technology development projects. He has been a Project Leader for the THERM Project co-funded by the U.K. Technology Strategy Board. He has delivered several keynote and prestige lectures, including the Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Lecture to the Royal Aeronautical Society and the Bi-Annual Dickinson Lecture to the Newcomen Society. Dr. Levers is a Chartered Engineer and a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is an Active Member of the International Scientific Committee on Shot Peening. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining, in 2004, for the implementation of the Creep Age forming process on the Airbus A380.