< Previous page ^ Table of Contents Next page >

Report of the General Board on the establishment of a Marconi Professorship of Communications Systems

The GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. The University is a recognized world leader in communication science and technology, ensuring that many aspects of this interdisciplinary subject are pursued through the research carried out in a number of Departments. Many of the innovations seen in the Internet today have been made possible only because of fundamental research in communications, networks, and distributed systems which has taken place over several decades. However, much further work needs to be done to gain a greater understanding across the wide range of subjects underpinning communication systems and the applications which use them, including the form and scope, and reliability and security, of large-scale, loosely-coupled information systems,

2. Computer Science has evolved from a subject focussed on computation to one in which computation, communication, and information are intertwined. This evolution has affected both theoretical and applied Computer Science, from the development of process algebras to the implementation of active networks. The integration of computation, communication, and information is key to both research in, and the teaching of, Computer Science in the University.

3. As part of a major collaboration to support the development of a Centre in Communications within the University, Marconi plc have recently agreed to provide £28m over six years, including £10m for a building (see the Council's Report on p. 804); £1.9m of the donation is earmarked as an endowment for the establishment of a Professorship of Communications Systems. The General Board and the Computer Science Syndicate warmly welcome this substantial gift which will support a major expansion of the University's work in this area.

4. The Computer Science Syndicate consider that this development is especially timely and will strengthen both research and teaching within the Department. The research in which the Professor will be expected to be active will lie within a broad field ranging over communication structures, security, large-scale systems, and distributed information and its management, and from theoretical models to practical implementations. The General Board are assured that an appointment at this level will attract a strong field of candidates and that appropriate facilities and support for the Professor can be provided within the Computer Laboratory and, in due course, the proposed new building for the Centre in Communications.

5. The General Board accordingly propose the establishment of a Marconi Professorship of Communications Systems from 1 January 2001, in the Computer Laboratory (Teaching and Research). The Board have agreed to concur in the view of the Computer Science Syndicate that an election to the Professorship should be made by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that on this occasion candidature should be open without limitation or preference to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the Professorship.

6. The General Board recommend:

I. That the generous offer of £1.9m from Marconi plc for the endowment of a Professorship of Communications Systems be gratefully accepted.

II. That a Marconi Professorship of Communications Systems be established from 1 January 2001, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Computer Laboratory.

III. That regulations for the Marconi Professor of Communications Systems, as set out in the Schedule to this Report, be approved.

24 May 2000

ALEC N. BROERS, Vice-Chancellor
P. J. BAYLEY
KEITH GLOVER
MALCOLM GRANT
BRIAN F. G. JOHNSON
JOHN A. LEAKE
PETER LIPTON
N. J. MACKINTOSH
ADRIAN POOLE
KATE PRETTY
M. SCHOFIELD

SCHEDULE

Marconi Professor of Communications Systems. 2001. Computer Laboratory

1. The sum of £1,900,000 received from Marconi plc for the endowment of a Professorship of Communications Systems shall form a fund called the Marconi Communications Systems Fund.

2. If and whenever the income of the Fund shall exceed the amount required for the payment of the stipend, national insurance, pension contributions, and associated indirect costs of the Professor payable by the University, the excess of the income over that amount may be applied in support of the work of the Professor in such manner as may be approved by the General Board on the recommendation of the Computer Science Syndicate.

3. Any unexpended income in a financial year may in any subsequent year be expended in accordance with Regulation 2.


< Previous page ^ Table of Contents Next page >

Cambridge University Reporter, 14 June 2000
Copyright © 2000 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.