[3] He has been a member of the academic staff at Imperial College since 1979, responsible for teaching the use of analytical methods in geomechanics and the design of slopes and earth retaining structures, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
His work concentrated particularly on the cyclic loading of clay, on the development of numerical methods for analysing the foundation behaviour of marine gravity structures, on the estimation of stresses in oil well casings, and on the stability of offshore pipelines.
In 1979 Potts joined the academic staff at the Department of Civil Engineering at Imperial College and was responsible for research and teaching in the field of numerical and analytical methods in geomechanics.
[5] His consulting work has been concerned with the design of piles, including tension piles for offshore anchored structures, the response of offshore gravity platform foundations to cyclic loading, retaining structures of various types, cut-and-cover tunnels, bored tunnels, culverts subject to mining subsidence, the stability of embankments on soft ground, the stability and deformation of earth dams, the behaviour of Reinforced Earth structures, the prediction of ground movements around deep excavations and the role of progressive failure in embankment and cut slope problems.
[10] Potts was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2001 and delivered the 42nd Rankine Lecture of the British Geotechnical Association, titled "Numerical analysis: a virtual dream or practical reality?".