About Me
I was born in Lancashire, England, and studied Electronics at the University of Sussex. I was awarded a PhD at Loughborough University in equalizers for digital data transmission in 1976 at a time when microprocessors were just being introduced. By applying microprocessors to the problem of equalization, I became interested in computer design and joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Teesside.
In the 1970s, literature on practical microcomputer design was comparatively rare
and I wrote one of the first books in this area. Reviews were very positive and I
went on to write two significant texts. The Principles of Computer Hardware was an
undergraduate text covering the whole spectrum of computer hardware at an introductory
level, with topics ranging from Boolean algebra to peripherals that measure rotational
velocity. This text was written in a student-
In the 1980s, I wrote a definitive text on microprocessor systems design that bridged the gap between the academic and the practical by covering all stages in the design of a microcomputer and by providing actual circuits. Because of my work in promoting microprocessor
design, Motorola endowed me with a personal chair at Teesside in 1993.
Over the years, I became more and more interested in the problems of teaching computer architecture and became increasingly involved with computer science education. In 2001 I became chair of the Computer Society’s international student competition, CSIDC, and in the same year received a National Teaching Fellowship in the UK, the UK’s highest award for higher education. I have been actively involved with the Frontiers in Engineering Education conference and has been a guest editor of special editions on computer science education for two journals.
I have held several offices in the IEEE Computer Society including Editor in Chief of CS Press, Second Vice President of the CS, and Chair of the Educational Activities Board. I’ve also held visiting professorships in Heraklion (Crete) and Colorado State University.
I am active in curriculum design, have written papers on the future of computer architecture education, have worked with a consortium of US and European universities to exchange students, and worked on the CS/ACM 2001 computing curriculum project. Consultancies have included work for the European Union, the UK government, Hitachi, and Sega.
In 2007, I was awarded the IEEE Computer Society’s Taylor Booth award for education.
As well as teaching and writing, I’m interested in photography and have had several
public exhibitions of my work. I’m also a private pilot and combine my love of flying
with photography. My photographic work can be found at www.pbase.com/clements. I
retired from full-
Some of my photos
A comment on teaching