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Report of the General Board on the establishment of a second Professorship of Chemical Engineering

The GENERAL BOARD beg leave to report to the University as follows:

1. Since its establishment in 1945, as the result of a most generous endowment from the Shell Group of Companies, the Department of Chemical Engineering has gained an international reputation for its research and teaching. Within the last five years, for example, the Department has established a Magnetic Resonance Research Centre, an award of over £1m from the HEFCE has funded the provision of an Interdisciplinary Materials Processing Laboratory within the Department, and a leading chemical company has selected the Department to host a five-year programme of visiting Fellowships designed to bring highly distinguished chemical engineers from overseas to help in initiating new teaching and research activities.

2. The Chemical Engineering Syndicate and the Council of the School of Technology have now advised the General Board that, given the size and scope of the Department, there is a need to establish a second Professorship of Chemical Engineering. The General Board have noted that the academic work of the Department has expanded considerably in recent years. There are at present 148 undergraduates reading for one of the Parts of the Chemical Engineering Tripos; this is now a three-year course, taken after one year of Engineering or Natural Sciences, and leading to the M.Eng. Degree. There has also been a significant increase in the number of Graduate Students in the Department. Research within the Department is already wide-ranging, covering such fields as reac- tion engineering, particle technology, materials and fluids processing, and biomedical and process systems engineering. However, the focus of chemical engineering practice is changing rapidly; attention is moving away from the production of traditional bulk chemicals towards the engineering of products and processes in the fields of advanced materials, food and other consumer products, health care products, water supply and recycling, and other environmental and pollution issues. The General Board have accepted the case that the establishment of a second Professorship of Chemical Engineering would provide senior leadership appropriate to the Department's size and importance and would also enable the Department to develop further its teaching and research interests, while maintaining its present international standing and span of expertise. The Syndicate believe that the establishment of such a Professorship would also enhance the Department's ability to attract research grants and other external funding.

3. During the course of 1998, the General Board reviewed the arrangement whereby the full annual income of the Shell Endowment Fund contributes to the recurrent cost of the Department of Chemical Engineering. The Board have agreed that part of the income of the Fund should now be made available to support the cost of the proposed second Professorship.

4. The Syndicate have advised the General Board that suitable accommodation for the Professor is available and that the necessary support and facilities can be provided. The General Board have been assured that the Professorship will attract a strong field of well-qualified candidates; they have agreed to concur in the view of the Syndicate that the Professor should be elected by an ad hoc Board of Electors and that on this occasion candidature should be open without limitation or preference to all persons whose work falls within the general field of the title of the Professorship.

5. The General Board recommend:

That a second Professorship of Chemical Engineering be established from 1 October 1999, placed in Schedule B of the Statutes, and assigned to the Department of Chemical Engineering.

24 February 1999

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Cambridge University Reporter, 17 March 1999
Copyright © 1999 The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge.