In memory of Rae Harbird

Having been a constant presence in the department since the early 1990s, Rae's contributions spanned a variety of roles, from being a member of the Technical Support Group (TSG) to a dedicated student, a research assistant, and a respected lecturer.  

Her life-long passion for computing, coupled with her dedication to mentoring and inspiring young people, was evident through her extensive involvement with schools' outreach work. Rae was instrumental in establishing the first departmental initiatives in schools' outreach, driven by a desire to improve the experience of school students in studying CS – whether this was as a standalone subject or as a means to being a better physicist, or biologist, or artist, or....

The real objective was to change perceptions amongst school students and the opinion formers in their lives, with the primary aim of making the subject more accessible to girls, but with the general aim of making it better for everyone as a consequence. As we all know, the stereotype of a computer scientist and what they do is so far removed from reality as to be fictional, but challenging that stereotype is still a work in progress. 

In those early years, we used a mixture of paper-based exercises and technology we had developed in-house – starting with the Engduino. Whether we were running sessions for students or for teachers in the department, or were visiting schools, or running summer schools, big one-day events or internships, Rae was always at the heart of making it happen – without her indefatigability and can-do approach many of these things would never have got off the ground. The result was that a lot of people had experiences that they wouldn’t easily forget and that minds were changed as a result. 

Rae was a passionate member of the Athena Swan committee and a great supporter of all of its activities from the very beginning. There is far too much to list in terms of how she contributed to this but, for example, as well as the activities discussed above, at one point Rae created a module in which all our first year undergraduates were involved in developing materials to help school students and teachers learn about computer science.

She was a cornerstone of the local and national Computing at Schools (CAS) activities. Internationally, she was visited every year by Norwegian teachers and, in turn, ran schools’ activities in Gibraltar. Most recently, Rae was a co-applicant on a research project focussed on outreach through the medium of biorobotics – itself built on the experience of running schools' activities with the Grant museum of zoology, which was, in turn, based on a summer school we ran with the STEM charity in2science.  

As a result, Rae leaves a considerable legacy – her long experience of getting out there and being prepared to invest time and effort in trying things or turning the least well-formed ideas into something that worked stands us in great stead. 

Our work will continue, and Rae would want it no other way. But we will miss her - not only as an agent of change, but in her person as a calm, caring, invariably positive individual who was always striving to make the world a better place. As Professor Chris Clack said: “Rae was not only calm but also calming, not only positive in herself but also encouraged others.  I can't recall a single time that we passed each other without stopping and chatting; she was so often an oasis of sanity in an otherwise barren day. She will be missed.” 

Professor Stephen Hailes, Head of Department at UCL Computer Science

Book of condolence  

If you wish to pay tribute to Rae’s memory and legacy, an online book of condolence has been set up. There is also an opportunity to donate to two good causes, In2ScienceUK and Girls into Coding, which Rae was so passionate about.  

Sign and donate