Alec Ruthven (1953–2010)

Tom Stevenson remembers Alec Ruthven, Technical Support Officer at the Scottish Microelectronics Centre.

Alec died suddenly at home on 4 February.

He had more than 40 years of service at the University of Edinburgh, having joined the department of Electrical Engineering as a junior technician as a school leaver in 1969.

Microelectronics

The then Head of Department, the late Prof Ewart Farvis, had secured funding the previous year to set up the Wolfson Microelectronics Liaison Unit, establishing a research activity in microelectronics that continues to this day.

Alec became involved with microelectronics during his training and rapidly became a key player in the group, specialising in bonding and packaging of devices.

Smooth running

He helped to establish a series of cleanrooms to provide the controlled environment and support facilities for microfabrication, culminating in the custom-designed building for the Scottish Microelectronics Centre (SMC), which opened in 2000.

Alec also helped to ensure the smooth running of the cleanroom facilities and provided technical support for the research activity.

Alec’s considerable technical knowledge was always freely shared and he was happy to help anyone and everyone. He had an uncanny knack for getting things done in a cheerful way.

His contribution to SMC was immense and he will be very hard to replace.

Notes

Tom Stevenson is Operations Director at the Scottish Microelectronics Centre.

A full version of this obituary will be published in the summer edition of bulletin magazine.