Professor Sir Alec Nigel Broers

Head of Department 1992-1995

Alec Broers (now Sir Alec) began his career at Cambridge in King's College chapel where he sang his way into a choral scholarship at Gonville and Caius in 1960. He had already taken a first degree in Physics at Melbourne University in Australia, followed by a further year of studying electronics. He was a semi professional singer and was making a good business from constructing and selling hi-fis "at a time when people hardly knew what a hi-fi was".

He decided to come to Cambridge as it was then the Mecca for his passion, electronics, and had the added attraction of some fine choirs. "I had been tuning in to the King's College choir for as long as I could remember". Despite already having two first degrees from Melbourne, he was advised to enrol as an undergraduate before undertaking a PhD, which turned out to be "one of the best moves I ever made". He decided to take the Electrical Engineering Tripos and recalls spending most of his time singing (up to 20 hours a week) playing squash and sailing.