Can any current -- as opposed to emeritus -- British academic claim a longer period of continuous service than that inspired by the University of Surrey? At the same time as saying goodbye to Anthony Kelly, Britain's longest-serving vice chancellor, the university also lost Peter Miodownik, professor of metallurgy, who entered the then Battersea Polytechnic in 1946 and has spent the past 48 years as student and teacher at Guildford.