JCMB Data Centre to be named after pioneering Scottish scientist Mary Somerville

The data centre within the James Clerk Maxwell Building on the King’s Buildings campus has recently undergone a major upgrade.

Melissa Highton, Director of Learning, Teaching and Web Services at the University of Edinburgh, has marked the completion of the upgrade by announcing that data centre will be named after Mary Somerville, a pioneering female Scottish scientist.

The Mary Somerville Data Centre has been named for a hugely influential tutor and mentor of Ada Lovelace, who was recently celebrated at the University of Edinburgh in a series of events on Ada Lovelace Day, Tuesday 8 October. In her blog post, Melissa Highton comments on this link between Ada Lovelace and Mary Somerville:

While it is exciting to think of Ada Lovelace as a pioneer, she was not actually a crusader, nor a feminist actor on any political stage. If you are looking for a female scientist and activist to celebrate, Mary Somerville is your woman.