Professor Richards after his second retirement.

Professor Richards, or Prof, as he liked to be called, had just come back from Loughborough University, where he was the Vice‐Chancellor. This was his second retirement. While searching for an appropriate research area, he identified machinery noise as an important issue. He formed the machinery noise group in 1975, which I joined in 1980. At the time the group had seven members. The main emphasis of the work was in the prediction and control of noise from impact machines—punch presses, drop hammers, etc. Prof wanted to take a new look at the parameters that control impact noise. A major contribution was the energy accountancy concept. Prof was a constant source of new and fresh ideas, he would question any result or conclusion, and always contributed new insight to the problem and the results. Prof certainly had a unique approach to get to the root of an issue. I was fortunate that I kept in contact with Prof after I came to the US, as a fresh Ph.D., to join the faculty at Florida Atlantic University. His enthusiasm, inquisitiveness, and broad experience were invaluable and had a significant influence on my career and I am sure that of others.