Dr Stuart Lawson, Reader in the School of Engineering, will be remembered for many good things: undeniably, he was a conscientious and industrious academic who had a rich and varied career. He had a wonderful and dry sense of humour, which he often used to great effect in making his point of view known. He was a great colleague who never shied away from administrative duties. He was the kind of person who is essential to the smooth running of a department, or, in this case, School.

Quietly, he carried out what needed to be done, and certainly was a mainstay of electronics teaching at the University. Stuart worked hard during his academic career, and became an international scientist in his particular field of digital signal processing, which encompasses the kind of electronic systems which we take for granted, in computers, medical equipment, aircraft, and the countless other technologies of modern life, such as the iPod, and DAB radios.

Stuart's reputation grew as his expertise developed. He started out as an actuarial clerk working for the Sun-Life Assurance Company of Canada, and later, after various industrial research positions, he moved into academia. In 1984 he began working at City University, before moving to Warwick in 1988. Once here, his research productivity continued to grow, in parallel with a serious and maintained inclination to develop the teaching of electronics. He became well known throughout the University during his time here, and was held in very high esteem by his colleagues and friends, both within and outside Warwick.

His death at the age of 59 was untimely: in 2004 he underwent what was supposedly a minor operation, but there were complications. After several months in hospital he made considerable progress but a year later, in October 2005, he suffered a fatal heart attack. Stuart will be sorely missed by all who knew him and he leaves a wife, Christine, after almost 30 years of marriage, as well as a sister, Shirley, and their families.

Roger J. Green and Julian W. Gardner, School of Engineering