WARREN YATES

After leaving school Warren studied Electrical Engineering at University of Sydney graduating BSc BE in 1964, he then went on to do a PhD in Radio Astronomy which he completed in 1967.

He married Judy Potter on December 31 1966. Judy came from Port Pirie in South Australia and had studied Economics at ANU as a cadet for the Australian Bureau of Statistics. They met at a church youth camp that both of them had accidentally ended up attending, Judy because she lost the semi final of a netball match and Warren because he was asked to stand it at the last moment as a discussion leader. At the time, Judy had accepted a job at University of Adelaide and was due to return there in six weeks. This focussed their minds and they became engaged before the six weeks were out.

Judy and Warren lived for three years in Holland while Warren worked for Philips and Judy did a PhD at University of Amsterdam.

They returned to Australia in 1971 and settled in Mosman, Warren working at the then NSW Institute of Technology and Judy at University of Sydney. They had two children Kylie in 1971 and Mark in 1972.

Warren is still working at UTS today. His professional career covered teaching and research in digital coding modulation and multiplexing schemes at a very exciting time when Moore's law was delivering every more processing power per device and one after another analog technologies were being replaced by their digital equivalents with in every case new levels of performance and new applications. From 1990 too 2001 he served as Professor of Electrical Engineering and Head of the School of Electrical Engineering and then Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Engineering

His academic career included two one year periods of sabbatical leave, the first at British Rail research labs in Derby, England in 1979 then at University of Bristol in 1986 when he co-authored a book on digital signal processing

Warren and Judy built a house on a vacant block of land in Mosman in 1976 and have lived there ever since. When the children were that age Warren was a leader in cubs then scouts then venturers.

The years have flown by and, the world has changed but in the Yates family some things have remained the same: Bridge with neighbours every Friday evening over a bottle of red, bush camping on the South coast one a year, regular social events with school friends Don Radford, Ray Wollcott and Phil Butt and their families, Mosman ALP meetings ( a very select community!), Belvoir theatre subscriptions – and Radio National

Since retiring from academe in 2001 Warren has been employed at UTS as a consultant working on various IT systems projects. He has taken up Croquet and been elected as a Councillor on Mosman Council. The Yates have four grandchildren.

Most remembered holiday: Cycling in the Czech Repulblic

Favourite movie: Closely Watched Trains (1968)

Favourite novel: Anything written by Emile Zola