Voting open to name a new building on campus

The University Community were asked to nominate names for the building which were reviewed by a dedicated group in line with the University’s Naming Estate policy and taking into consideration Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

Four names have been shortlisted which are being taken to an open vote to colleagues, students,  alumni and the wider community. The University is looking for a name that reflects its commitment to EDI, in addition to celebrating the global community of scientists, engineers, environmentalists and other disciplines that represent the work of the SEE School.

To cast your vote click HERE.  

The deadline to vote is Friday 29 April with the new name being announced towards the end of May. 

The Nominations

Katherine Johnson (1918 to 2020)

Is an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics helped put the first man on the moon. Johnson joined NASA at the age of 34 at a time when they were hiring African American women to solve math problems.  The workers at the time were called human ‘computers’. She is noted as playing a historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist.

Albert Leslie Yoxall (1914 to 2005)

Is a British codebreaker that worked alongside Alan Turing and was from the City of Salford. Yoxall devised a method to assist in solving Enigma messages which was dubbed Yoxallismus. After the war he worked at GCHQ until the mid-1970s.

Henrietta Lacks (1920 to 1951)

An Africa- American woman who died at the age of 31 from an aggressive type of cervical cancer. Her cancer cells are the source of the HELa cell, one of the most important cell lines in medical research. For decades following Lacks’ death, her family fought for scientists to acknowledge that HeLa cells came from an African American woman

Alan Turing (1912 to 1954)

An English mathematician who was influential in the development of theoretical computer science and is considered to be the person behind artificial intelligence. Turing spent a large part of his career working in Greater Manchester where he developed the Manchester computer and used his remarkable knowledge to break codes.  He was voted by a BBC audience as the greatest person of the 20th century.