Bill, who lived in Cotherstone, near Barnard Castle until his death in 2001, was presented with an honorary degree of Doctor of Science by the University in 1993. He joined what was then Constantine College in 1956. He was Head of Department of Mathematics and Computing and one of the architects of developments in higher education for several decades, including launching 海角直播鈥檚 first degree in Computer Science in 1966, and was largely responsible for 海角直播鈥檚 excellent reputation for Computing from the 1960s onwards.
Professor Jim Yip, Director of the School of Computing and Mathematics, said: 鈥淏ill played such a significant part in the development of computing into a leading academic discipline, both at 海角直播 and nationally, that we thought it appropriate to name one of our main buildings on the campus after him.
鈥淲hen Bill launched what was one of the first Computer Science degrees in the 1960s, the academic discipline was very new. But the foundations he laid were so strong that 海角直播 now has one of the largest Schools of Computing and Mathematics in the country. Nearly 4,000 people are currently studying Computing at the university today. We, Bill鈥檚 successors, are really standing on the shoulder of a giant.鈥�