Professor Carlos Ruiz on "Designing for Strength: A Century of Solid Mechanics Research in Oxford". In 1908 C.W. Jenkin was appointed to the first chair of Engineering Science in Oxford University. He followed in the tradition, established by Hooke, to emphasise the practical application of research to the design of machines and structures. Thanks to his foresight, solid mechanics in Oxford has a strong scientific basis, combining theoretical formulation and exact experimental work to provide answers to problems formulated by Industry. In this lecture the historical development was outlined and some of the current work described.