Richard Maughan graduated from the University of Birmingham, England with an honors degree in physics in 1970. He completed his PhD in Nuclear Physics at the same institution in 1974. From 1974 to 1983 he worked as a member of the scientific staff of the Cancer Research Campaign Gray Laboratory at Mount Vernon Hospital in England, where he was involved in basic radiation physics, chemistry, and biology research. He moved to the USA in the fall of 1983, where he took a position as a medical physicist and a member of the faculty in the Radiation Oncology Department of Wayne State University, in Detroit. He played a major role in the development and application of a superconducting cyclotron as a neutron source for neutron radiation therapy. During his time at Wayne State University the neutron therapy program developed to be the most active program in the world.
In July 2000 Dr. Maughan moved to the University of Pennsylvania where he was appointed Professor, Director of Medical Physics and Vice Chair in the Department of Radiation Oncology. In this role, he was a key member of the proton therapy development team, participating in the specification of the system, vendor selection, and overseeing acceptance and commissioning. Under his direction, the Medical Physics Division expanded from about 30 people to a staff of over 80. He stepped down as Division Director in June 2013 and is currently a Professor in the department. His research interests are particle therapy: neutrons, heavy ions, with the current emphasis on proton therapy.