Sir Alistair George James MacFarlane (9 May 1931 – 2 November 2021) was a Scottish electrical engineer and leading academic who served as Principal and Vice Chancellor of

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...

, Edinburgh, and Rector, University of the Highlands and Islands.

Early career

Born on 9 May 1931, MacFarlane was educated at the former Hamilton Academy described by Sir Tam Dalyell as "a remarkable school... acting as a magnet for the most academically gifted youngsters of Lanarkshire". He continued his studies at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from which he graduated BSc and was (thereafter awarded DSc), the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

and the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

, MSc.

Following working as an engineer with the laboratories of the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company Ltd., in 1959 Alistair MacFarlane was appointed Lecturer, Electrical Engineering, at Queen Mary College, University of London; promoted to

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

in 1965.Frost’s Scottish Who’s Who – Alistair MacFarlane
Retrieved 27 October 2010 Transferring to

University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research. On 1 Oct ...

in 1966 as Reader in Control Engineering, he was appointed Professor in 1969. Moving on to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, MacFarlane was there appointed Professor of Control Engineering (1974–1990) and served as Head, Information Engineering Division, and Fellow,

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn ( ...

, 1974–78, and as Vice-Master, 1980–88. He has been an Honorary Fellow of the college since 1978.

Later career

From 1993 to 1998, MacFarlane served as chairman, Scottish Council for Research in Education and as chairman, Scottish Library and Information Council, 1994–98. Other appointments have included, non-Executive Directorship,

British Nuclear Fuels British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a manufacturer of nuclear fuel (notably MOX), ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel (main ...

(1994–2000); Member, BT Advisory Forum in Scotland, 1996–98; Consultant Editor, International Journal of Control and Membership of the

Science and Engineering Research Council The Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and its predecessor the Science Research Council (SRC) were the UK agencies in charge of publicly funded scientific and engineering research activities, including astronomy, biotechnology and bi ...

Computer Board, Joint Policy Committee for National Facilities for Advanced Research Computing, Advisory Committee on Safety of Nuclear Installations. Heriot-Watt Reception

From 1989 to 1996, Alistair MacFarlane served as Principal and Vice Chancellor,

, Edinburgh and from 1998 to 2000 as Chairman of the Advisory Group for the Scottish University for Industry. Appointed Chairman of the Academic Advisory Board, University of the Highlands and Islands Project (1999–2002), Macfarlane also served as Acting Chief Executive Officer (2000–01) and as Rector, University of the Highlands and Islands, from 2001 to 2004. He died on 2 November 2021.

Honours and awards

Alistair MacFarlane was appointed CBE in 1987 and served as vice-president of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

from 1997 to 1999, and was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

; Fellow,

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of T ...

; and Fellow of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

. He was awarded the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via " continuing ...

Centennial Medal, in 1980; Sir Harold Hartley Medal, Institute of Measurement and Control, in 1982;

Achievement Medal, in 1992, and its Faraday Medal, in 1993 and the

Oldenburger Medal, in 2004. In 1998 Professor MacFarlane was appointed an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland. Alistair MacFarlane was invested with a knighthood in 2002, for services to education and science. New Year’s Honours List, U.K., 2002 Retrieved 27 October 2010

Bibliography

References

External links

Heriot-Watt University

University of the Highlands and Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macfarlane, Alistair 1931 births 2021 deaths People educated at Hamilton Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Manchester British electrical engineers Academics of Queen Mary University of London Academics of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology Fellows of Selwyn College, Cambridge British Telecom people Academics of Heriot-Watt University Academics of the University of the Highlands and Islands Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering ASME Medal recipients Knights Bachelor Scottish knights Professors of engineering (Cambridge)