Sir Peter Mansfield was made an Honorary Doctor of Science of the University in 2005.
Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Peter Mansfield is an inventor who has changed the lives of millions, a scientist who has created revolutionary new pathways for physics, and a role model for people everywhere who want to achieve success from the most humble backgrounds.
Sir Peter's own background did not exactly prepare him for a distinguished scientific career, let alone winning the Nobel Prize, the highest accolade possible. He grew up in Lambeth and his father was a gas fitter, one of nine children. After the war broke out in 1939 when he was just six, he was evacuated twice and he spent some of his childhood in Torquay. When he returned to London, he did not succeed in getting into the local grammar school and was educated instead at a Central School in Peckham, which was later to become William Penn School. However, he left this school at 15 and started work as a printer's assistant. At this point in his life he was judged an academic failure and in particular was told by one of his teachers that science wasn't for him – an all too familiar story and in this case, spectacularly misjudged.
Even before this, as a young boy this fascination with science was sparked by his experiences when the V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets were falling on London – hence Lord Sainsbury's comment on the inspiration of bomb shrapnel of which the 11 year old Peter Mansfield amassed a considerable collection. This fascination became deep rooted and by the age of 19, he had taught himself enough about weapons and explosives to get a job as a scientific assistant in the Rocket Propulsion department, part of the Ministry of Supply, near Aylesbury. After National Service, he took up academic study again and did evening classes to get some A levels at what was then Borough Polytechnic and what is now today, of course, London South Bank University. Peter then won a bursary to study Physics at Queen Mary University as a mature student, a late career trajectory with which so many of our own students recognise. The mature student blossomed and Peter Mansfield graduated in 1959 with a 1st class Honours in Physics, which was followed by a PhD in 1962 under the supervision of Dr Jack Powles.
With his wife Jean, he spent two years as a Research Associate at the University of Illinois, before returning to the UK and a lectureship in Physics at the University of Nottingham, where he was appointed Professor in 1983 and has remained ever since albeit after formal retirement.
Peter Mansfield's work focused on the utilisation of gradients in the magnetic field. He showed how the signals could be mathematically analysed, which made it possible to develop a useful imaging technique. This was a major breakthrough not least because of the speed of the imaging. Within a decade of his developing his theory, the first medical applications were being developed. The commercial development of magnetic resonance imaging in the 1980s provided a breakthrough in medical diagnostics and research from which millions of patients around the world have benefited. There are now more than 22,000 MRI scanners in use worldwide, carrying out over 60 million examinations a year.
The use of MRI of course is expanding exponentially in line with health capacity demands and the increasing use of technology and even in this country, it is estimated that its use will increase by 60% over the next two years.
We, at London South Bank University, have a particular interest in these applications, since we hold a major contract to train diagnostic radiographers in the NHS while our researchers in Electrical Engineering are working with Peter Mansfield's colleagues at Nottingham in using superconductors.
Sir Peter Mansfield's career has been illuminated with honours and distinctions of the highest kind, including the Gold medal of the Royal Society, the Duddell Prize of the Institute of Physics, the Silvanus Thompson Medal by the British Institute of Radiology, the Antoine Beclere medal of the International Radiological Society, The Gold Medal of the European Congress of Radiology, and honorary degrees from universities including Strasbourg, Krakow, Kent and Nottingham. He was also knighted in 1993.
But his highest accolade came in 2003 when he shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Professor Paul Lauterbur of the University of Illinois.
Accepting his award at the Nobelfest, Sir Peter expressed the feelings of many patients after their diagnosis, "What comes through to me is the strong sense of relief at knowing the details of their illness and the hope inspired by the vigorous evaluation of their problems using MRI."
For all his services to science and to medicine, for the transformation of the health of so many people, and for providing such a powerful role model for so many, Professor Sir Peter Mansfield was named as Doctor of Science honoris causa from London South Bank University.
Battersea College of Education acquired Manresa House in Roehampton, in September 1962. It became the Battersea Training College for Primary Teachers, providing day courses for men and women, which began on 30th April 1963. Manresa House was closed in 1979 and primary education students were transferred to Rachel McMillan College.
The building was subsequently purchased by the University of Roehampton and re-named Parkstead House.
Manor House, situated on Clapham Common Northside in Wandsworth was built in the early 19th Century and was originally called The Beeches. A grammar school for boys used it from 1906 adding several extensions and closing in 1939. The building was requisitioned by the Army during World War 2 and afterwards offered to the Battersea Domestic Science Department who moved there by September 1950. From then on Manor House was used by Battersea College of Education, who added two major extensions and went on to merge with the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1976. The training of teachers and Domestic Economy, as well as Management subjects, took place there until South Bank University sold the site in 1993.
Manor House Magazine was the College magazine for Battersea Training College of Domestic Science. Its first publication was in 1952.
The Mad Dog Project was part of a research programme in the University's Sustainable Transport Research Centre in the School of Engineering. The Project designed and built low budget solar cars and competed in various World Solar Challenges. The first car, Mad Dog I entered the 1996 race, Mad Dog II competed in the 1998 World Solar Rally and Mad Dog III competed in several races, including the World Solar Challenge 2001 and 2001 American Solar Challenge.
Staff member, Social Sciences Department, Polytechnic of the South Bank.
South Bank Polytechnic Student Union was formed in 1970 by amalgamating the unions of the Borough Polytechnic Institute, Brixton School of Building and City of Westminster College after these institutions were merged, along with the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering to form the Polytechnic of the South Bank.
The Borough Polytechnic Students' Union had been situated in Borough Road Building, but the new South Bank Polytechnic Student Union was located on Rotary Street where facilities included a bar, coffee bar and games room. By 1973 the Union had established a Welfare Service and the clubs and societies on offer were categorised into four groups: sporting; academic; entertainments; and other. The Union promoted itself as "the only democratic organisation within the Polytechnic representing student's interest to the college and other authorities as a Union". As well as the building on Rotary Street, the Student Union also had a presence at Wandsworth Road Building, after its opening in 1973.
In 1987 the Polytechnic purchased the Vickers Building on Keyworth Street, which was renovated in order to house the finance department and the Student Union. Work was completed in 1990 and the building was renamed George Overend Building. It contained a Student Union shop and bar, a hairdressers and an events hall and was the second largest student venue in London. In 1993 the Union opened a shop in Wandsworth Road and in total provided four bars, two shops, a recreation room and student common room for the Polytechnic's students. The four categories for clubs and societies were altered to become: course based; cultural; external; and sports.
In January 1994 the Union opened a mini-mall on Keyworth Street containing the new Union shop, Endsleigh Insurance and a small space for amusement machines. The Union also expanded its welfare unit and opened two new entertainment venues within George Overend Building: The Void for smaller events and The Arc, which had space for 1,000 people. The venues within George Overend Building were refurbished and changed name several times, but by 1999 consisted of the Tavern, a bar styled as a traditional pub and Isobar, a larger venue.
The Student Union ceased to have facilities at Wandsworth Road in 2003 once the building was sold. It also ceded management of Turney Road Sports Pavilion to the University's Academy of Sport, Physical Activity & Wellbeing in 2006.
In 2007 the Student Union was relocated to a temporary structure on Thomas Doyle Street in order for the George Overend Building to be demolished. The temporary structure contained a shop, bar events area, outdoor seating and offices. The Union remained here until November 2012 when it moved to the newly built Student Centre next to Borough Road Building.
London South Bank University was established as the Borough Polytechnic Institute in 1892. In 1883 a local solicitor, Edric Bayley, heard that the government's Charity Commissioners had been given powers to redistribute redundant money from City of London parishes to improve the physical and moral condition of poor Londoners. This led him to set up the South London Polytechnic Institutes Council in 1887, whose members included the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Lord Mayor of London. With Evan Spicer as its Chairman and the Prince of Wales as its President, the Council on the 16th January 1888 petitioned the Charity Commissioners for money. The petition was successful and the Charity Commissioners pledged funds to match any money up to £150,000 raised by the public to establish three polytechnics in South London. As a result a committee of the Council, the South London Polytechnic Institutes Committee, was appointed to raise the funds, select sites and make plans for the three polytechnics, chosen to be located at Elephant and Castle, New Cross and Battersea. After a public appeal by the Committee at Mansion House in June 1888, £78,000 was raised in four years to set up the Battersea and Borough Polytechnics. Also by 1892 the Borough Polytechnic's Governing Body had been set up and the British & Foreign Schools Society's, Borough Road Training College had been bought to house the Polytechnic.
The stated aims of the Charity Commissioners' Scheme for the Borough Polytechnic were 'the promotion of the industrial skill, general knowledge, health and wellbeing of young men and women belonging to the poorer classes' (LSBU/1/9/3). It was officially opened on 30 September 1892 by Lord Rosebery the Foreign Secretary. The first Chair of the Board of Governors was Edric Bayley, the first principal was Charles Millis and the Secretary and Clerk to the Board of Governors was William Richardson. From 1893 the Polytechnic received grants from the Technical Education Board (TEB) of the London County Council. And the London Polytechnic Council (LPC) was established to inspect and co-ordinate the work of the polytechnics. Both the TEB and the LPC were abolished following the London Education Act in 1904, when the London County Council took over responsibility for education in London.
From its inception, the Polytechnic focused on teaching skills relevant to industry and the workplace. The first 'Technical and Trade' classes were offered to apprentices or tradesmen and included woodcarving, boot and shoe manufacture, typography, oils and colours and varnishes. Women could attend classes in laundry, needlework and dressmaking. Science classes comprised chemistry, building construction and drawing, machine construction and drawing and hygiene and music courses, art and design, commercial classes and elocution were also offered in the early years, though most emphasis was placed on the trade classes. Bakery classes began in 1894 and by 1898 comprised the largest group of students at the Polytechnic. In 1899 the National School of Bakery and Confectionery (now the National Bakery School) was opened. In 1898 the Polytechnic introduced its own diplomas, though in 1921 the Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) and Higher National Certificate (HNC) were introduced.
From 1894 the Polytechnic established three Junior Technical Schools, partly in order to justify the employment of full-time staff: many rooms were unoccupied during the day as much of the teaching and activities took place in the evenings. The junior school also had the advantage of producing students able to take up the polytechnic's adult courses. The first school was the Domestic Economy School for Girls in 1894, followed by the Technical Day School for Boys in 1897 and the Day Trade School of Waistcoat-making for Girls in 1904. The schools, for boys and girls aged 12 years and above, taught practical skills for the home and the future workplace.
The governors of the Polytechnic sought to integrate their work with that of neighbouring institutions, in particular Herold's Institute, the London Technical School of Leather Manufacture and the Norwood Technical Institute. In 1907 some work was transferred to Morley College in an attempt to rationalise technical education in London, and a Joint Committee established (see LSBU/3/10/5). In 1917 commercial classes and some language work also transferred to Morley.
During the 1920s diplomas and certificate work for structured courses were introduced, pioneered by the Borough Polytechnic and soon after introduced at other polytechnics as part of a national system. Courses evolved over time and were continually adapted to the vocational needs of students. Single courses were divided into elementary and advanced parts, preliminary and ancillary courses were added, such as mathematics or basic science, and gradually the course grew until it became suitable for examination under the National Certificate or some other scheme. This led to a considerable amount of specialisation in course content and level.
During the Second World War, the polytechnic was bombed with more than 13,000 square feet of the buildings destroyed or made unsafe. New courses were introduced during the war, notably accelerated Higher National Certificate engineering courses under the Hankey scheme by Lord Hankey, Chairman of the War Cabinet's Scientific and Engineering Advisory Committee, and two-year engineering courses were developed for the army. At the end of the war degree courses in Pure Science and Engineering were introduced, which the polytechnic decided to concentrate on. Some courses were discontinued, such as welding, metal plate work and paper technology. Scientists were recruited from the services and war industries and accommodation and equipment required for degree standard work was developed. Due to the 1944 Education Act the junior schools were separated from the Polytechnic after the war. Degree courses were offered in the late 1940s and in 1955 the National Council for Technological Awards (NCTA) began awarding Diplomas of Technology and Technology Engineering. The diploma was the first major award of first degree standing for technical colleges and was quickly adopted by the Polytechnic's different departments. Further education and training was reorganised following the White Paper on Technical Education in 1956. The variety of levels of work at the Polytechnic meant that it was designated a regional college rather than a college of advanced technology, after which the governors decided to reduce the proportion of lower level work. The NCTA was replaced in 1964 by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) and the South Bank Academic Board established. There was a large increase in full-time and sandwich courses in diploma, CNAA and external degree courses.
The publication of the White Paper 'A Plan for Polytechnics and Other Colleges', published in 1966, had announced the creation of some 30 polytechnics throughout the country to form what became called the public sector of the binary system of higher education. The 13 existing colleges managed by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) were to be reorganised into five. The Borough Polytechnic Institute, the Brixton School of Building, City of Westminster College and the National College for Heating, Ventilating, Refrigeration and Fan Engineering joined together to become the Polytechnic of the South Bank in 1970.
First degree courses were the mainstay of the new polytechnic's activities, and by the mid-1970s departments were offering full-time or sandwich courses and part-time courses in each major discipline. There was a rise in full-time and sandwich education leading to diplomas, CNAA and external degree awards. CNAA honours degrees in several subjects replaced London external degrees and CNAA ordinary degree, and new awards were introduced. The polytechnic expanded its range of courses into new areas of work, including sociology, town planning, management, education and law, in an environment where science and engineering had been dominant. Courses such as dental technology and building crafts were also transferred in order to rationalise work at the Polytechnic. Engineering and science courses continued to be central, with electrical and mechanical engineering and chemical engineering particularly growing in importance. Postgraduate work increased during the 1970s and 1980s, with 16% of students studying on postgraduate courses by 1990. In 1976 Battersea College of Education was incorporated into the Polytechnic, as were the parts of the Rachel McMillan College of Education that provided courses at the New Kent Road annexe. During the 1980s the Polytechnic pioneered the provision of access courses, including one in legal studies, for part-time and mature students. A new Department of Hospitality, Food and Product Management provided a new range of courses, including hotel management and in 1988 the Polytechnic was accredited for first degrees by CNAA. In 1991 students from South West London College transferred to South Bank on the dissolution of the College, and the Central Catering College was also incorporated into the Polytechnic.
In 1987 the Polytechnic became known as South Bank Polytechnic, and as result of the 1988 Education Reform Act was awarded corporate status and became independent of local authority control. Funding of polytechnics was given over to a new body, the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council (PCFC), which was itself replaced in 1992 when the Higher and Further Education Act created a single Higher Education Funding Council, removing any remaining distinctions between polytechnics and universities. As a consequence South Bank Polytechnic became South Bank University on 18 June 1992 with the power to award its own degrees.
South Bank University consolidated and developed course specialities in computing, engineering, applied science; architecture, construction and estate management, business studies, management, languages and law, social sciences, arts, media studies and a new programme of Combined Honours degree subjects. In 1995 Redwood College of Health Studies and Charles West School of Nursing were incorporated into the University, bringing a number of health courses including nursing and allied health professions.
In 2003 the University underwent another name change to London South Bank University and teaching was split into four faculties: Arts and Human Sciences (AHS), Business, Computing & Information Management (BCIM) (from 2009 Business), Engineering, Science & the Built Environment (ESBE) and Health and Social Care (HSC).
London Road building was officially opened in 1975 and housed the Polytechnic's library and Business School. The building was designed for the Westminster College by John Weller under Peter Jones (GLC Education Architect) and was built on the site of the former Old Queen's Head pub at 117 London Road. The building is still in use and houses offices, lecture theatres, gymnasium and sports hall. The library was also housed in London Road until it transferred to the Perry Library, originally the Centenary Library, in 1993.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) was a core part of the Unit's activities from the start. As well as providing ESOL training the unit was the lead partner in the National ESOL Training and Development project from 2001 and produced an ESOL core curriculum and core curriculum training.
The FEALDS Network was a dyslexia programme.