A UNIVERSITY professor who will be remembered for his groundbreaking research in telecommunications has died.

The founding chair of telecommunications at the University of Essex Professor Ken Cattermole has died at the age of 98.

His innovative research on Pulse Code Modulation supported the development of the computers and mobile phones we use today.

Professor Cattermole, who lived in East Bergholt, helped establish the University of Essex’s international reputation in electronic engineering and was awarded the J J Thompson medal in 1996 for his outstanding contribution to the development of telecommunications transmission in the UK and his pioneering work on Pulse Code Modulation.

The J J Thompson medal is awarded annually to individuals or teams who have made an exceptional contribution to the advancement of electronics.

Laboratories at the University were also named after Professor Cattermole to mark his contribution to the university.

Professor Stuart Walker studied at Essex in the 1970s and said Professor Cattermole inspired his life-long interest in telecommunications.

He added: “Ken was in at the beginning of the development of Pulse Code Modulation which turns ordinary analogue signals, including audio and video, into a digital form which can be transmitted without limit, stored forever, cleaned up and, these days, strongly encrypted as well. It really is the foundation for all the mobile phones, computers and televisions we use today.”

Professor Cattermole joined Essex in 1968 and played a major role launching and leading the telecommunications programme.

He was not only a remarkable researcher, inventor and teacher in his field, but also a notable mathematician, had a firm grasp of economics and took an active interest in interdisciplinary aspects of communication.

Professor Cattermole was born in Forest Gate in the East End of London and showed signs of an unusual intelligence while still young.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, he joined the newly formed Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

He worked his way up the ranks, and, in command of a mobile radio workshop, he was on a troop ship heading for India on VE day.

He returned home in 1947, when he worked in various roles before restarting his education.

Professor Cattermole later became an acknowledged authority in telecommunications transmission.

In 1968 he was successful in taking the newly created chair of communications at the University of Essex.

He had already taught as a visiting lecturer at other universities but the move to an academic life and having to prepare and manage full courses came as a shock to his system.

Here he developed MSc courses for mature candidates from industry and made many long-lasting relationships.

He eventually fully retired in 1990.

In retirement, he was able to spend more time with his wife Joan, develop his beloved garden and continue pursuing his passion for music.

He also set up the Stour Valley U3A with a friend and colleague, was an enthusiastic member of several groups and ran the Science Group for the next thirty years.

His son Peter said: “Never one to leave a job unfinished, the final set of lecture notes that completed his last course were found in an envelope on his desk after his death. They were duly sent to the group to close out a remarkable life.”

Professor Cattermole is survived by his son Peter, two grandsons and two great grandsons.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, August 13.