Harold Hankins CBE FREng (18 October 1930 – 2 May 2009) was a British electrical engineer and the first Vice-Chancellor of UMIST.
Hankins was born 18 October 1930 in Crewe, Cheshire and at the age of 16 began an apprenticeship with the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
[1] In 1955 he joined Metropolitan-Vickers rising to the position of assistant chief engineer, doing research into communication systems.
The company changed into AEI and he led a team developing communication systems for rockets including Blue Streak.
[1] He is commemorated in the Harold Hankins Building housing the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research.