A LEADING light in a university's computer science department, who died earlier this year, is to be honoured.

The University of Teesside's computer and mathematical sciences building in Middlesbrough will be renamed in memory of Bill Greig, who lived at Cotherstone, near Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Mr Greig, 85, a Teesdale district councillor for 12 years until he retired from politics in 1999, was regarded by the university as the "founding father" of the department.

The ceremony to christen the Greig Building will take place at 2pm on Wednesday at the Europa Building/ University Cinema.

Mr Greig, who died in January, received an honourary degree of Doctor of Science from the university in 1993, having joined what was then a Constantine College in 1956.

He was head of mathematics and computing and his achievements included launching Teesside's first computer science degree in 1966.

Past and present department members and those at the university's predecessors, Teesside Polytechnic and the Constantine College, have been invited to attend the ceremony.

Professor Jim Yip, director of the department, said: "The foundations he laid were so strong that Teesside now has one of the largest schools of computing and mathematics in the country."