How does it feel to be Abertay’s longest serving member of staff?
Does not feel like I have been at Abertay University for 47 years until I look back to when I started and see myself as an 18 year old lad starting my first proper job, as a junior technician in May 1973, after leaving school.
What made you want to work here?
At the time, I had left school with reasonable qualifications and was looking for a source of employment. After one or two interviews for jobs in drawing offices (engineering not art type jobs). I decided that I would much prefer a career using my skills in building and repairing things (at the time I had a very rough Mini to try to keep on the road). I saw the advert for a trainee technician at the then Institute of Art and Technology, in their bustling Department of Civil Engineering in Bell Street Dundee. Based in the Baxter Building where the team still are, albeit in a smaller scale.
At the time of my interview, I was very impressed with the variety of work carried out by what seemed to be hundreds of budding civil engineers.
What are your favourite memories from your time at Abertay?
One of the most interesting things carried out by the students, lecturers and technicians was the design, construction, testing and finally the erection on site of a steel pedestrian bridge over a river at Carie on Loch Rannoch. The construction and load testing of the bridge was done in the heavy structures lab and we piled hundreds of bricks onto the bridge deck to simulate the loading of people standing on the bridge.
Other interesting work carried out with the students was the design of new fictitious roads on the Isle of Arran. This would involve a week’s stay on the island doing land surveys with levels and theodolites. The students would tell the locals we were constructing a new road layout through some of the pretty villages!
Other things I have been involved with are The Young Engineers Club. This was set up to try encourage local children to take up a career in Civil Engineering. Working in mixed groups, they would design and build a small structure over a period of weeks and finally get to test the finished article to destruction. A prize was awarded to the best example.
The Space School was another fun idea involving schoolchildren designing and building a rocket. The rocket body was a lemonade bottle and the propulsion system was water and compressed air. The 'rockets' were fired from the launch pad in the Old College quad and restricted from going into space by the anti-bird net. All in all great fun for the children and I got plenty of soakings. One highlight of my career was meeting some real life astronauts who came along to talk to the children. Through our open days we still have a lot of contact with local schoolchildren and it is nice to see the interest we can generate in these budding engineers and scientists of the future.
Great experiences and memories.
How has the University changed over the years?
Over the years, the way the students are taught has changed dramatically. Technology has improved the presentation of lectures and the technology in phones, computers etc. that are used today are vastly superior to the old computer systems. When I started my working life, the lectures were written on to a blackboard and if you sat on the front seats you would be covered in chalk dust!
When I started working, you didn’t have a computer and you didn’t have a desk. The computers here were a vast mainframe stuck away in a room the size of a small house; programs were typed onto long tapes and punched paper cards. You need your own computer now as there’s so much paperwork involved - risk assessments , lab instruction sheets etc.
The Civil Engineering department at that time had five technicians and carried out lots of research and consultancies for external construction firms. The department also did routine materials testing in areas of soils, concrete and steel structures.
On one occasion, the Railway Authority had to shut the Tay Rail Bridge over two weekends - with all the trains were diverted by Perth - due to an issue with the bridge’s support bearings. They had to replace the the bearings with special fast setting mortar. We were called in to verify the mortar strength and I was in at work at 4am on the Monday morning, testing the mortar cubes to determine if the engineer in charge was to allow the bridge to open up at 6am for the trains. I’m proud to say, with our help, the bridge opened on time!
Another Tay Road Bridge project involved installing sensors to monitor the expansion and contraction of the bridge caused by temperature changes. This involved crawling down the tunnel under the walkway and running cables all the way down to the Dundee end of the bridge.
What has been the biggest improvement?
The technology how lectures are now delivered has vastly improved the student experience.
What do you miss the most?
I used to support the Dare to be Digital projects every year, which involved a trip down to Liverpool, Bradford, and London. One year I got to go to the Games Baftas, which meant hiring a suit while I was in London, and really enjoyed that. We still had to pack everything up after though so it was a long and tiring drive home the next morning!
Tell us about some of your most memorable colleagues and students.
I have many fond memories of past and present work colleagues but if I said something about them all, I would be speaking for a long time. I still work with Bob and Gerry, who have been my colleagues for many many years. A pair of great knowledgeable blokes.
One of my favourite former workmates was Paul Helie, a Frenchmen who served on the Rubis - a Free French Submarine during the war. He was an excellent welder to trade but told very few stories about his wartime experiences. Paul taught me to weld in the time he worked at Abertay. Others have taught me workshop machining, electronics fault finding and repairs. 
I had another colleague in years gone by – I’ll not name names – who, when people annoyed him, used to write their names in a little black book. If you ended up in the book, then he wouldn’t speak to you for two weeks. That was your penance!
Keith Himpson was another favourite colleague who helped out with the Dare to Be Digital games competition. An incredibly talented man who sadly passed away in 2017, only a year or two after he’d retired. Very sad, I still think about him and the many trips and displays we set up together.
Over the years I have met and worked with a great number of very good Civil Engineering students who have gone on to help sustain and build the great engineering structures we have today, be it bridges, roads and tower blocks.
I particularly remember the students we had from Malaysia who were a great bunch of very keen to succeed students, before they headed home to Malaysia, they presented me with a Royal Selangor Pewter plate. Very nice of them and so unexpected.
Someone whom I have enjoyed working with in the last year or so on her very interesting research project is Carla. I wish you all the success you deserve.
What is it about Abertay that made you want to stay all these years?
Well I would like to say variety of work, many interesting helpful people to work with and also, best of all, I liked working here and assisting students from all walks of life and nationalities to gain their qualifications. I’ve been happy here and I’ve enjoyed my time here, I can’t deny it. It’s a nice place with nice people. I’ve always liked working here. Every day is different and if you want to learn something new, you can learn it.
What have you got planned for retirement?
Retirement hmm, what’s that?! I hopefully will be able to bag a few more Munros (mountains over 3000 ft).
As people who know me, I love to cycle and have mostly cycled in to work so I still like to get out on my bike daily. I also went fishing a long time back with a work colleague so I may get into that again. Gardening is something I also enjoy, and I have grown lots of different vegetables this year during lockdown.
Spending more time with my 3 grandchildren is also something I am looking forward to - playing football with my grandsons will help to keep me fit!
Where do you hope to see the University in five years’ time?
I would like to see Abertay University continue to give its students a very good all-round learning experience, that allows them to cope with their working lives when they graduate. As with all other business sectors we have been through a very difficult time with Covid-19 but will get through these difficult times.
Do you have any parting messages for colleagues?
I would like to finish up with saying good luck to all the staff at Abertay University. Remember you are all very important to the overall success of the University. Keep up with the good work and take care.
Posted on 28th Jul 2020
Last modified by API