Obituaries THE EAGLE
A particular emphasis of John’s work involved computing for civil engineering and he took an active role in the ICES Users’ Group (ICES – Integrated Civil Engineering System – a suite of computer programs originally developed in MIT), becoming President of the European Section for 1976–79 and of the international group for 1978–80. John became especially interested in surveying, which is essential for successful civil engineering, and for many years ran courses in surveying for students in Engineering. The basic part involved the traditional surveys just outside the Department. As one colleague recalls, ‘I remember John being involved with the surveying course over many years and I can still see him on Coe Fen, suitably attired with raincoats and jumpers, directing proceedings with his students. The weather invariably was not conducive to being in the open air for many hours.’ Rather more demanding (but surely more fun) were the summer courses on distinctly more three-dimensional terrain in the Lammermuir and Pentland hills. From an early date these courses involved position-fixing using earth satellites. John published relatively little in the formal literature but he was an active participant in conferences and his contribution to teaching is well recognised. For example, in his textbook Plane and Geodetic Surveying (Spon Press, 2004) Aylmer Johnson records his thanks to John ‘who taught me much of what I know about surveying’. John became Head of the Surveying Group in the Department of Engineering in 1988 and held that post for ten years. Having been a Lector in Engineering in Churchill College from 1968 to 1972 and having become a University Lecturer in 1969 John returned to St John’s as a Fellow in 1972 to fill, at least in part, the teaching need created by the moves in close succession of Harry Marsh to a chair in Durham and Stephen Harris to one in Lancaster. Now firmly established in an academic career, the customary range of duties in Cambridge came his way. For example, he was a member of the University’s Computer Syndicate for a decade from the late 1970s while in College he directed studies in Computer Science for a spell and later did so for Part II Engineering. John retired from his University post in 1998 but remained active in College. He was a member of the College’s Audit Committee for three
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OBITUARIES
Meanwhile, in 1963 John had married Judy Ward, a Somerville graduate whom he had met when they were both Diploma students. They had two children, David and Anne-Marie (Annie). Now that computers are so widely distributed at home and work it is all too easy to forget that John and Judy were pioneers of home computing. Using a combination of their knowledge and practical experience Judy became one of the first people to work from home on a mainframe computer some miles away and thus was able to continue her work on crystallographic computing while looking after very young children. Their feedback in its early days contributed appreciably to the development of the University Computing Service, as it became in 1970.