Obituaries

Thomas Henry Nicolson
by Hugh Ingram

Thomas Henry Nicolson, Reader in Botany at the University between 1961 and 1986 died recently at the age of 81.

Tom came to the University to lead the newly reorganised Botany Department, at what was then Queen's College, Dundee. He forged a well-integrated teaching unit, whose initial members were all engaged in research on aspects of plant microbiology.

Tom's interest in botany was wide and deep and today he is regarded as a pioneer. He understood the importance of a thorough knowledge of the variety of plant life, of the need for specimens to be identified accurately, of fossils as evidence of how diversity has arisen, and of the need to encourage curiosity about these matters.

In 1966 Tom conceived the idea for a University Botanic Garden. After Dundee separated from St Andrews in 1967, he led the group which drove the project forward, identifying the site overlooking the Tay where the Botanic Garden is still located. Today the garden remains a major attraction and point of contact between the University and the wider community.

To read the full obituary visit: www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/nicholson.html

Jim Campbell 30 May 1956 - 26 April 2005
by David Herbert and Gary Gowans

Staff across the University were deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden, untimely death of a much loved and esteemed colleague. Jim was a lecturer and key researcher in the School of Design, working closely with colleagues in the Department of Applied Computing.

Jim was a graduate of the Department of Graphic Design at DJCAD, attaining a Diploma in Art and Design in 1979.

In 1996 Jim was approached to do some part-time teaching in the Department of Graphic Design, at DJCAD, where his considerable design talents and industry experience became invaluable. Jim's good-humored outlook, personal warmth and approachability helped him to establish an immediate rapport with students and staff alike. he took up a full-time position in teaching and research at the University in 2001.

He was the lead designer of the CIRCA (Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Conversation Aid) Project, a joint initiative between the School of Design and Department of Applied Computing, and the Department of Psychology at the University of St Andrews. His research work had a growing international reputation and he published and presented at many conferences, in places as far afield as Austria, Spain, Japan and Australia.

Jim's wonderful personality and his wildly inventive sense of humour touched everyone who had the good fortune to know him. He will be greatly missed. To read the full obituary visit: www.dundee.ac.uk/externalrelations/jimcampbell.html