Kenneth Denbigh

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 Georgi Gladyshev.[1]

Kenneth George Denbigh
Born(1911-05-30)30 May 1911
Luton
Died23 January 2004(2004-01-23) (aged 92)
London
Other namesProf K G Denbigh
OccupationBritish chemist and scientific philosopher

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
  1. "Kenneth Denbigh - Hmolpedia". eoht.info. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. "The Kenneth Denbigh Scholarship | The University of Edinburgh". ed.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. The Independent (newspaper): obituary 24 February 2004
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