Obituary: Brian Manley
Sussex staff have been paying tribute to Dr Brian Manley, former Chair of the University's governing body, who died suddenly just before Christmas at the age of 86.
Zoe Varney-Burch, who says she was “fortunate enough” to support Dr Manley in this role, recalls: “Brian was an absolute gentleman: a consummate professional, and always charming to all members of staff.”
In recognition of Dr Manley’s contribution both as Chair of Council and Senior Pro-Chancellor from 1996-2001, the University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2002 at a ceremony in the Brighton Dome.
The then Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alasdair Smith, who had worked closely with Dr Manley during his term as Chairman of Council, presented him for the award.
Dr Manley, who lived at Ditchling Common, returned to campus over a number of years for annual meetings of the University’s Court (which represented the interests of its internal and external constituencies).
The current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, says: “Brian was a great supporter of the University in his role as Chair of Council and subsequently as a member of Court. He was a delight to meet at University events and always had a good story about his days as Chair.”
He also devoted much of his time to the Daphne Jackson Trust, which awards fellowships to women wishing to return to science after a career break.
An engineer by profession, Dr Manley devised the lightweight electronics systems that were adopted in Telstar, the first transatlantic broadcasting satellite.
In 1958 he brought the channel electron multiplier to realisation, a device that long remained the detector of choice for low-energy particles in space.
Chairman during his career of AT&T Network Systems (UK) Ltd and Pye Telecommunications Ltd, Dr Manley was also a Director of Philips Electronics.
He held the rare honour of being a president of both the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Physics, and in 1995 received the CBE for services to engineering.