In the summer of 1961, having finished giving Eric Zepler’s courses, I was able to look forward to launching microelectronics research. Space would be needed for research students, technical staff and equipment. Fortunately, the construction was starting of a new tower block, mainly for the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering.

I was able to reserve some space on the top two floors for microelectronics laboratories and offices. In October 1961 Ken Nichols joined the department, and we then had a two-man Microelectronics Group.

The university’s architect had designed a building for the Chemistry Department that had its supporting structure on the outside. He then designed for the Engineering Departments a building that had its supporting structure hidden, for contrasting artistic effect. With cantilevered floors it would be very heavy, and it would be difficult to build because it was located on an old rubbish dump. After the construction work was delayed in 1963 by one of the coldest winters in the twentieth century, the building was completed in September that year. That was the month when Eric Zepler retired from our department.

At an Engineering Faculty Board meeting the Electrical Engineering Department proposed that the new building should be named the Maxwell Building, after James Clerk Maxwell who had formulated the basic equations of electromagnetism. The Dean of the Faculty was not keen on that proposal because he wondered whether some people might think that we had a link with the publisher Robert Maxwell! At that time books were being written for Maxwell’s firm by staff in many universities. At the next meeting of the Faculty Board it was decided that the building would be named after Faraday.

When our new Head of Department, Geoffrey Sims, visited us shortly before taking up his appointment in October 1963 he asked me to show him our rooms on the top two floors of the new building. When we found that the lifts were not working, he set off up the stairs at a fast pace, followed breathlessly by me. When I told Ken Nichols about this experience afterwards his eyes rolled upwards with disbelief. Clearly we were acquiring a vigorous new Head of Department!