Kenneth Denbigh
Kenneth George Denbigh | |
---|---|
Born | Luton | 30 May 1911
Died | 23 January 2004 London | (aged 92)
Other names | Prof K G Denbigh |
Occupation | British chemist and scientific philosopher |
Prof Kenneth George Denbigh FRS (30 May 1911 – 23 January 2004) was an English chemical engineer and scientific philosopher. He wrote much on the issue of time in relation to thermodynamics. He was an associate of the Russian chemist .[1]
The University of Edinburgh named the Kenneth Denbigh Building at King's Buildings in his honour. They also offer a Kenneth Denbigh Scholarship to science students.[2]
Life[]
He was born in Luton on 30 May 1911 the son of George Denbigh, manager of Brothertons Chemical Works in Wakefield.[3] He attended the University of Leeds graduating with a BSc in 1932. He then undertook his doctorate under Robert Whytlaw-Gray gaining a PhD in 1934.[1] He worked for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) until 1938 when obtained a post of Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Southampton.[4]
In the Second World War he was taken back into industry, as head of the laboratories for the Royal Ordnance Factory at Bridgwater. This led him into his first hands-on experience with practical issues concerning thermodynamics.
In 1948 he received a post lecturing at the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge and this provided a stepping-stone to be Professor of Chemical Technology at the University of Edinburgh in 1955. This in turn took him to Imperial College, London in 1960. In 1966 his final move was to be principal of Queen Elizabeth College in London.[4]
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1965.[3]
He died in London on 23 January 2004.
Family[]
He married Kathleen Enoch in 1935. They had two sons.
His son Jonathan Denbigh was also a scientist.
Publications[]
- The Thermodynamics of the Steady State (1951)
- Thermodynamics and the Sense of Time (1953)
- The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium (1955)
- Science, Industry and Social Policy (1963)
- Chemical Reactor Theory (1965)
- An Inventive Universe (1975)
- Three Concepts of Time (1981)
- Entropy in Relation to Incomplete Knowledge (1985) ISBN 9780521256773, OCLC 11398680
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Kenneth Denbigh - Hmolpedia". eoht.info. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ "The Kenneth Denbigh Scholarship | The University of Edinburgh". ed.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Rowlinson, John (1 December 2004). "Kenneth George Denbigh. 30 May 1911 – 23 January 2004". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 50: 61–71. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2004.0006.
- ^ Jump up to: a b The Independent (newspaper): obituary 24 February 2004
- 1911 births
- 2004 deaths
- People from Luton
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Alumni of the University of Leeds
- Academics of the University of Edinburgh
- Academics of Imperial College London
- British chemists
- British non-fiction writers
- 20th-century non-fiction writers