David Porter studied materials science in Cambridge obtaining his Ph.D. in 1976. He subsequently moved to the University of Luleå, where he applied electron microscopy to materials research and taught courses on electron microscopy and phase transformations. He subsequently worked in the research and development departments of the Norwegian aluminum company Årdal og Sunndal Verk and the steel producers Rautaruukki in Finland, and Fundia Special Bar in Sweden. In 2011 he returned to academia as professor of physical metallurgy at the University of Oulu where he has been professor emeritus since 2019.