A tribute to Professor Robert Spence, former Head of Department and a pioneer of circuit theory and human-computer interaction.

We were deeply saddened by the news of the death of our beloved colleague, Professor Robert Spence, who passed away on Friday 20th September 2024, at the age of 91.

Bob, as he was known to all of us, retired in 2000 but remained as a Senior Research Investigator and Emeritus Professor in the Department until his death, and until recently was still supervising student projects. In 2022 we held a special celebration of his 60 years as a member of Imperial staff. Very few people, past or present, could boast of such a long period of service.

Bob started his career in telephony and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of London in 1954. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at Imperial College in 1958 as a research assistant for one year, and later returned as a lecturer after a brief period working in Rochester, USA. He then completed his PhD at Imperial College in 1959 and was one of the pioneering researchers in the field of electrical circuit theory and communication networks.

Visionary engineer

During the 1960s, partly thanks to the influential work of his colleague Professor Colin Cherry, Bob became “very mindful that there was more to communication than circuits” and of the importance of the human element in engineering. He steered his attention to the then relatively new field of interactive computer graphics and human-computer interaction (HCI), and was a true trailblazer in the field, creating many ideas ahead of their time, including co-invention of the “bifocal display” or "fish-eye lens" – a precursor to some of our modern computer desktop features.

Bob saw the potential that interactive computer graphics could have for engineering design, and began research into its application to electronic circuit design. In collaboration with Paul Rankin from Philips Research Lab, Bob combined his expertise in electrical circuits and computer interaction to produce an electronic CAD design system known as “Minnie” and in 1985 founded a company, Interactive Solutions Limited, successfully marketing the first interactive-graphic tool for circuit design.

His interest in exploring new ways of designing interfaces between human and machine continued through the decades, and he was still supervising students in this area until very recently.

At the wheel of Boanerges on his way to the Royal Academy of Engineering's New Fellows Dinner in 1993.

Bob served as Head of Department between 1997 and 1999. He was elected Fellow of IEEE in 1976 and Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering in 1990. Bob was awarded Officier dans l’Ordre du Palme Academique in 1995 and was the recipient of the IEEE’s Golden Jubilee Award in 1999. He also held higher doctorates (DSc) from University of London for his contributions to circuit theory and from the Royal College of Art for Interaction Design. 

The impact of his work saw him listed as one of the living “Heroes of Computer Science” by the Department of Computer Science at the University of York in 2020. 

Dedicated teacher

Bob's research achievements and accolades were accompanied by a passion to educate successive generations of students. He was among one of the most celebrated teachers in the Departments of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Bioengineering, and he continued to lecture to undergraduate students well into his eighties.

Despite his glowing academic achievements, Bob remained a modest and gentle individual. He was a true gentleman and scholar, and he will be greatly missed by former students, colleagues and friends.

Bob is survived by his son Robert and daughter Merin, two grandchildren and a great grandchild.

Bob's friends, colleagues and former students are invited to share their own tributes and memories in the comments section below.

We are very grateful to Imperial's video archivist Colin Grimshaw, and Martin Sayers from Imperial's Communications Division for recording, preserving and compiling this collection of Bob's interview and demonstration videos, dating back to the 1970s.