Plackett was a co-author of the 1946 paper that introduced Plackett and Burman designs (see factorial design). Plackett graduated from Cambridge U in 1942, joining Barnard at the Ministry of Supply. In 1947 he joined the faculty at U Liverpool, moving, in 1962, to be the founding Professor of Statistics at U Newcastle upon Tyne. The RSS awarded him its Guy Medal in Bronze in 1968, in Silver in 1973, and in Gold in 1987. He was one of only three individuals to have the full set—the others being Armitage and Durbin.