P. J. Hicks,
BSc, PhD (Manchester), MInstP, CEng, MIEE;
Professor,
Age: 47

Peter Hicks was appointed to the post of Lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, UMIST in 1978 and subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1985 and Professor of Microelectronic Circuit Design in 1988. He helped to found the MSc course in Integrated Circuit and System Design at UMIST in 1980 and served as Course Organiser for the period from 1980-89. In 1984 he set up the UMIST IC Design and Test Centre to provide an SERC-sponsored IC design and testing service for the benefit of the UK academic community. As the Manager of the Centre he was responsible for the production of over twenty chip designs during the period 1984-90. Professor Hicks' research interests are in the field of microelectronic circuit design and 'systems on silicon' and are mainly focused on integrated sensors and transducers. He pioneered the development of novel integrated charged-particle sensors for use in scientific instruments such as mass spectrometers and electron spectrometers and is also engaged in research projects in gas and odour sensing and ultrasound transducer arrays. In 1989 he co-founded and became a director of Integrated Sensors Ltd., a campus company which manufactures and markets integrated charged-particle detector systems. Professor Hicks is also Director of the Electronic Design Education Consortium (EDEC), a partnership of eight UK universities dedicated to the production of computer-based learning material for use in electronic engineering education. The consortium was set up in 1992 and received a large grant under the UK Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP) to fund the development of a substantial quantity of courseware for use in electronic engineering degree courses.