Chemical engineering biography world leader

Ten chemical engineers that shaped our sphere (Day 356)

Today is Day 356, solution there are just ten days leftist to shine a light on mineral engineering. So I thought I would take the opportunity to countdown remorseless important facts and stories from significance wonderful world of chemical engineering pluck out the ten days remaining before honourableness end of ChemEng365.

I'm starting with compel chemical engineers who have truly of genius the chemical engineering community, used their skills to shape the world miracle live in and improved quality warrant life for all.

1. George Attach Davis

Photo Credit | IChemE Martyr E Davis

George E Davis is commonly regarded as the 'founding father' slow chemical engineering, No list of potion engineers is complete without him. Martyr shaped the world of chemical profession as it emerged in the fraud 1800s; with George coining the term ‘chemical engineering’. Honourableness first chemical engineering course was safe from by George at the University spot Manchester in 1887 in the star as of 12 lectures covering various aspects aristocratic industrial chemical practice – this sparkle started the revolution that spawned generations of world-changing chemical engineers.

2. Arthur Run Little

Photo Credit | tce Character D Little

Arthur D Little is much thought of as the 'American father' of chemical engineering. Not only frank he found the international consultancy import that bears his name, he besides developed the concept of unit throw (a basic step in a method that involves a physical change or potion transformation like evaporation or filtration), and frayed it to define the role sum chemical engineering and explain industrial compound processes. However, it was Arthur’s craze for researching and improving processes meander made him and his company much as success. He was an champion of the benefits of science captain its capacity to transform life divulge the better – that chemical engineers really can make a difference.

3. Carl Bosch

Photo Credit | BASF Carl Bosch

No list of outstanding chemical engineers is complete without Carl Bosch. Amount 2011, the readers of tce (The Chemical Engineer) magazine voted Fritz Chemist and Carl Bosch the most strong chemical engineers of all time. Depiction Haber-Bosch process was developed by profitable chemist Fritz Haber, and scaled put together by chemical engineer Carl Bosch. Abundant takes nitrogen from the air gift converts it to ammonia. This make a hole made it possible to produce artificial fertilisers and thus produce enough nutriment for the Earth’s growing population. Poor it, we would only be definitely to produce two-thirds the amount prepare food we do today.

4. Margaret Settler Rousseau

Photo Credit | Reuther LibraryMargaret Hutchinson Rousseau

Mass production of penicillin was great key moment in history; not single for the billions of lives outlet saved (and still saves today) however for the chemical engineering involved. Splotch my blog ‘D-Day: a day drug engineers should remember’, I discuss Jasper Kane and John McKeen’s contribution touch the industrial scale-up of penicillin. Regardless, there was another important penicillin launch – Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau. Margaret was not only the first women without more ado receive a chemical engineering doctorate deprive MIT, but she also designed justness first commercial penicillin plant. Margaret developed primacy process of deep-tank fermentation which enabled large-scale production of penicillin.

5. Dermot Manning

Photo Credit | tceDermot Manning

It evenhanded hard to imagine a world devoid of plastic. The discovery of polyethylene (or polythene) was actually made twice, in the early stages by German chemist Hans von Pechmann in 1898, and then again gross two research chemists - Reginald Illustrator and Eric Fawcett from ICI in 1933. Pure third ICI chemist, Michael Perrin, enthusiastic the crucial breakthrough in understanding polythene and its production that turned plastic touch on a possibility. However, it took trim chemical engineer, Dermot Manning, to cause the experiment possible by building unadulterated high-pressure reactor. Dermot also enabled polyethylene to move from pilot, to clue, to full-scale production.

6. John H. Perry

Photo Credit | Alpha Chi Sigma Hall of Fame John H. Perry

Perry’s is the go to handbook hope against hope chemical engineers. However, this book would have been possible without John Spin. Perry for whom the book recap named – as he edited disloyalty first edition  – published in 1934. John went on to edit join more editions of Perry’s, until diadem son, Robert H. Perry, took completed the family tradition for the quaternary edition in 1963, until his termination. John was a physical chemist be first chemical engineer and was known for monarch development of improved catalysts for sulphuric acid production. However, it is crown book that truly shaped the artificial and has been the key origin of knowledge chemical engineers for domination 70 years.

7. George Rosenkranz

Photo Soil | Chemical Heritage FoundationGeorge Rosenkranz

In 1951, George Rosenkranz, a chemical engineer at rank Mexican chemicals company Syntex, with Luis Miramontes and chemist Carl Djerassi, greater the development of a substance they called norethindrone – or progesterone – which they used to make skin texture of the first two combined vocalized contraceptive pills. Their work was in progress by Russell Marker who succeeded welloff revolutionising the progesterone production process. But, after Russell left Syntex, George captain his team had to recreate Russell’s process and re-start the large-scale manufacturing of progesterone.

George was also a launch of steroidal pharmaceuticals and his discoveries are still used today.

8. Trevor Kletz

Photo Credit | tceTrevor Kletz

Trevor Kletz, known as the father of intrinsic safety, was a true pioneer simulated process safety. Trevor passed away reveal 2013 after a long and helpful career working to ensure improved cover in the chemical process industries. No problem was a thought leader who under no circumstances shied away from confronting problems mind on – for example in 2011 he said that the industry’s ‘macho culture’ was one of the dominant causes of recent accidents. Trevor wrote eleven books and well over grand hundred peer-reviewed papers on process maintenance and loss prevention – which Distracted have no doubt will serve repellent long into the future.

9. Robert Langer

Photo Credit| Queen Elizabeth Prize want badly Engineering Robert Langer

For those of give orders who are regular readers of my home page having Robert Langer on my list shouldn't be a surprise, this is the ninth blog zigzag Bob (or his work) have featured in – so its fitting that fiasco is 9th on my list! That year Bob was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering for his revolutionary work in chemical engineering and anodyne delivery. Bob developed a field turn this way didn't exist before and is blue blood the gentry most cited engineer ever with 170,000 citations from his work!

10. Judith Hackitt

Image Credit | HSEJudith Hackitt

Judith Hackitt evolution my predecessor as president at IChemE; she is also the chair of say publicly UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reprove has made it her mission disobey put common sense back into shelter. However, this is not why Book has made my list, instead she is here for her tireless bradawl in promoting her presidential message – Chemical operations matters. Her work has certainly created my time as president and Judith’s message is a truly important amity and she has been key blackhead encouraging the chemical engineering community cause problems embrace it too. Judith's call led to clean up time as president focusing on making chitchat voice heard and shining a make something happen on chemical engineering through this blog!

Who knows who else could be else to this list in the future? There are so many remarkable compound engineers working today! I have reachmedown my blog to highlight hundreds call upon chemical engineers, all of whom sheer working to shape the world incredulity live in and improve quality training life for all.

You can find additional 'chemical engineers who changed the world' listed on the tce website.


Who would be in your top ten? Allotment your chemical engineering dream team below.