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 () 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 was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

, Edinburgh, and Rector,

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Isl ...

Early career

Born on 9 May 1931, MacFarlane was educated at the former

Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a Boarding school, boarding and day school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was founded in 1588 as a boy's school and was open for nearly four centuries. In the late 19th century, ...

. He continued his studies at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

from which he graduated BSc and was (thereafter awarded

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

), the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

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 of Manchester is c ...

, 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 Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

; promoted to Reader 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 univer ...

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

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, 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 is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Selwyn (bishop of Lichfield), Georg ...

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

Later career

From 1993 to 1998, MacFarlane served as chairman,

Scottish Council for Research in Education The Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) was set up by the Scottish teachers’ union (The Educational Institute of Scotland, EIS) and the Association of Directors of Education in 1928. At that time, there were no similar organisati ...

and as chairman, Scottish Library and Information Council, 1994–98. Other appointments have included, non-Executive Directorship,

British Nuclear Fuels British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

(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,

, from 2001 to 2004. He died on 2 November 2021.

Honours and awards

Alistair MacFarlane was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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 (RSE) 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 establis ...

; 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 Tel ...

; 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 senio ...

. 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 edu ...

Centennial Medal, in 1980; Sir Harold Hartley Medal,

Institute of Measurement and Control The Institute of Measurement and Control (InstMC) is a professional organization for individuals and companies that operate within the measurement and control theory industries. It was founded in 1944 and incorporated by the Royal Charter in 1975 ...

, 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 BT Group 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)