John returned to the Department in 1995 following a seven-year spell with PA Consulting Group's Technology Division where he was Manager of the Advanced Process Group. He was appointed director of the Engineering Design Centre in 1997 and a University Professor in 2004

John Clarkson’s research interests are in the general area of engineering design, particularly the development of design methodologies to address specific design issues, for example, process management, change management, healthcare design and inclusive design. As well as publishing over 500 papers, he has written and edited a number of books on medical equipment design, inclusive design and process management. John is Director of the Cambridge Engineering Design Centre (EDC)