Issue 4


Class notes


Thank you for sending through all your news – here is a round-up from decades past up to the present day. Share your updates at foreversurrey.ac.uk. We may have had to edit your submission to include as many of our alumni as possible.


1960 David Wood


(BSc Chemical Engineering)


1954 John Neill


(BSc Mechanical Engineering)


I worked on jet engines at Rolls-Royce in Derby and then Orenda Engines in Toronto until 1958. I studied nuclear engineering at MIT and graduated with a PhD in 1963. I then worked at General Atomic in San Diego in the nuclear engineering field until 1980 when I entered the property acquisition and management field. I began writing fiction and completed the following under my pen name Pat Muir, Stories To Entertain You...If You Get Bored On Your Wedding Night (1999), The Numbers Man (2010) and What Happened To Flynn (2017). All three works may be downloaded as e-books from Amazon and others.


1955


Frederick Whitlock (BSc Chemistry)


I married Dorothy in 1959 after she attended the National Training College of Domestic Subjects and settled, first, in West Molesey and, latterly, in Ashtead where we brought up three children. Two of them are married and we now have five grandchildren. We are both retired and feeling our age, slowing down and fortunately not suffering any serious problems.


I live in Australia in the North East of Victoria and spent most of my career as Professor at Melbourne University. When I retired, I was Dean of Engineering. I was very much involved in the internationalisation of Melbourne University and also promoted the chemical engineering profession with female students; eventually under my leadership the proportion of females studying chemical engineering at Melbourne was 50 per cent. In retirement I am heavily involved with The University of the Third Age and am teaching chemistry to senior citizen members of U3A and it is a lot of fun. In the Australia Day Honours list I was very pleased to be awarded the Order of Australia.


1970


Dr Ching Kwong Lau (MSc Bridge Engineering)


The one-year course gave me an enriched knowledge in bridge engineering which enhanced my future career development. The most important part of my life was marrying May Kum in 1970 while at Surrey. Since 1970, I have been involving in numerous bridge projects in Hong Kong and retired as Executive Director of Maunsell Consultants Asia Ltd, now AECOM Asia Ltd, in 2016. I have been gradually reducing my workload to spend time with my family and friends, and have set up my own consultancy firm, CWay Consultants Ltd, to continue my contribution to society.


1973 Michael Charles (BSc Mechanical Engineering)


I lived in Wey, 4th Court and Manor House during my three exciting years at Surrey. I returned to Trinidad, my home, after graduating and entered into the oil industry as a project engineer. I married Carol Bailey, who graduated in Chemical Engineering the same year. We have one son. I visited the University in 2014 and was impressed by how the physical size of the campus has grown. I have stayed In touch with class mates Rashni Shah who lives in Sydney, Australia and Pete Edwards who lives in Cardiff. I would love to make contact with Colin Holt and Mike Miles who were in my class as well.


Manuel Knight (PG Dip Tourism Studies)


I am now semi-retired remaining in my long-time home in Washington DC, taking very occasional assignments in tourism planning and development. For years I have had a passion for travel and have been a member of the Washington Map Society, the Washington Airline Society, and the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a UNESCO affiliate of cultural heritage preservationists.


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