The Chemistry Department At Imperial College London

This is the first comprehensive history of the chemistry department at Imperial College London. Based on archival records, oral testimony, published papers, published and unpublished memoirs, the book tells the story of this world-famous department from its foundation as the Royal College of Chemistry in 1845 to the large department it had become by the year 2000. The book covers research, teaching, departmental governance, students and social life. It also highlights the extraordinary contributions made to the war effort in both the first and second world wars. From its first professors, A. Wilhelm Hofmann and Edward Frankland, the department has been home to many eminent chemists, including, in the later twentieth century, the Nobel laureates Derek Barton and Geoffrey Wilkinson. New information on these and many others is presented in a lively narrative that places both people and events in the larger historical contexts of chemistry, politics, culture and the economy. The book will interest not only those connected with Imperial College, but anyone interested in chemistry and its history, or in higher

"This is the first comprehensive history of the chemistry department at Imperial College London. Based on archival records, oral testimony, published papers, published and unpublished memoirs, the book tells the story of this world-famous department from its foundation as the Royal College of Chemistry in 1845 to the large department it had become by the year 2000. The book covers research, teaching, departmental governance, students and social life. It also highlights the extraordinary contributions made to the war effort in both the first and second world wars. From its first professors, A. Wilhelm Hofmann and Edward Frankland, the department has been home to many eminent chemists, including, in the later twentieth century, the Nobel laureates Derek Barton and Geoffrey Wilkinson. New information on these and many others is presented in a lively narrative that places both people and events in the larger historical contexts of chemistry, politics, culture and the economy. The book will interest not only those connected with Imperial College, but anyone interested in chemistry and its history, or in higher"--Publisher's website.

This is the first major history of Imperial College London. The book tells the story of a new type of institution that came into being in 1907 with the federation of three older colleges. Imperial College was founded by the state for advanced university-level training in science and technology, and for the promotion of research in support of industry throughout the British Empire. True to its name the college built a wide number of Imperial links and was an outward looking institution from the start. Today, in the post-colonial world, it retains its outward-looking stance, both in its many international research connections, and with staff and students from around the world. Connections to industry and the state remain important. The College is one of Britain's premier research and teaching institutions, including now medicine alongside science and engineering. This book is an in-depth study of Imperial College; it covers both governance and academic activity within the larger context of political, economic and socio-cultural life in twentieth-century Britain.

This is the first major history of Imperial College London. The book tells the story of a new type of institution that came into being in 1907 with the federation of three older colleges. Imperial College was founded by the state for advanced university-level training in science and technology, and for the promotion of research in support of industry throughout the British Empire. True to its name the college built a wide number of Imperial links and was an outward looking institution from the start. Today, in the post-colonial world, it retains its outward-looking stance, both in its many international research connections, and with staff and students from around the world. Connections to industry and the state remain important. The College is one of Britain's premier research and teaching institutions, including now medicine alongside science and engineering. This book is an in-depth study of Imperial College; it covers both governance and academic activity within the larger context of political, economic and socio-cultural life in twentieth-century Britain. Contents:IntroductionBefore Imperial: The Colleges that Federated in 1907The Founding of Imperial CollegeGovernance and Innovation, 1907–43Imperial College during the First World WarContinuity within the Three Old Colleges, 1907–45Imperial Science at Imperial CollegeImperial College during the Second World WarExpansion: Post-War to Robbins, 1945–67 (Part One)Expansion: Post-War to Robbins, 1945–67 (Part Two)Corporate and Social LifeThe Making of the Modern College, 1967–85: Part One-Governance in a New Political ClimateThe Making of the Modern College, 1967–85: Part Two: Academic RestructuringDiversifying the CurriculumThe Expanding College, 1985–2001…Part One: Governance and the Medical School MergersThe Expanding College, 1985–2001…Part Two: Some Academic DevelopmentsConclusion Readership: Academic libraries, alumni, staff and students of Imperial College, historians of science, technology and medicine, and historians of twentieth-century Britain. Keywords:History;Imperial College;Science;Technology;Medicine;Higher Education;ResearchReviews:“Accessibility and vast reference material justifies The History of Imperial College London's place on the bookshelf of any institutional historian of science and technology. Gay has provided a well-researched glimpse into the broader role of higher education in 20th century British history.”History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences “Overall the author has admirably succeeded in fulfilling her aims by producing an account that is both scholarly and accessible. She has also judiciously balanced detailed accounts of departments and research programmes with attention to the wider institutional, political, economic and social context that determined the resources they had available to them … it deserves a place as an important reference work for anyone interested in the history of science and technology or of higher education in Britain during the twentieth century.”AMBIX “Overall, Gay's history of Imperial College is an invaluable source of information not only on the college's history, but more broadly on the history of science, technology and medicine in the United Kingdom during the twentieth century.”The British Journal for the History of Science

'The book neatly illuminates a forgotten history of female chemists — and this is not an overstatement. It contains a multitude of names, events and socio-economic interactions in the pursuit of women's education and professional emancipation that are guaranteed to contain stories that readers will not have heard before … It is easily a dip-in and dip-out type of read, allowing simple navigation to specific areas of Britain, disciplines and professions … Besides highlighting the women who fought against an inherently male-dominated system and celebrating their supporters, this book also examines the events and the history surrounding their lives and endeavours. It pays particular note to the nations of the British Isles and gives equal contribution to those lost in history as to those names we are all so familiar with. A fantastic resource that has been excellently researched, I am sure it will remain an ageless tribute and reference work.'Education in ChemistryHistorically, British chemistry has been perceived as a solely male endeavour. However, this perception is untrue: the allure of chemistry has attracted British women for centuries past. In this new book, the authors trace the story of women's fascination with chemistry back to the amateur women chemists of the late 1500s. From the 1880s, pioneering academic girls' schools provided the knowledge base and enthusiasm to enable their graduates to enter chemistry degree programs at university. The ensuing stream of women chemistry graduates made interesting and significant contributions to their fields, yet they have been absent from the historical record.In addition to the broad picture, the authors focus upon the life and contributions of some of the individual women chemists who were determined to survive and flourish in their chosen field. From secondary school to university to industry, some of the women chemists expressed their sentiments and enthusiasm in chemistry verse. Examples of their poetic efforts are sprinkled throughout to give a unifying theme from grade school to university and industrial employment. This book provides a well-researched glimpse into the forgotten world of British women in chemistry up to the 1930s and 1940s.

Over the past few decades, experimental excited state chemistry has moved into the femtochemistry era, where time resolution is short enough to resolve nuclear dynamics. Recently, the time resolution has moved into the attosecond domain, where electronic motion can be resolved as well. Theoretical chemistry is becoming an essential partner in such experimental investigations; not only for the interpretation of the results, but also to suggest new experiments. This book provides an integrated approach. The three main facets of excited-state theoretical chemistry; namely, mechanism, which focuses on the shape of the potential surface along the reaction path, multi-state electronic structure methods, and non-adiabatic dynamics, have been brought together into one volume. Theoretical Chemistry for Electronic Excited States is aimed at both theorists and experimentalists, involved in theoretical chemistry, in electronic structure computations and in molecular dynamics. The book is intended to provide both with the knowledge and understanding to discover ways to work together more closely through its unified approach.

Now largely forgotten, Henry Enfield Roscoe was one of the most prominent chemists and educational reformers in Victorian Britain. His contributions include transforming Owens College into Victoria University, now the University of Manchester, campaigning for the reform of technical education, serving as the Liberal MP for South Manchester, and cofounding the Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine. In this detailed biography, authors Morris and Reed provide a timely and original contribution to the history of nineteenth-century British science and its relation to education, industry, and government policy, highlighting Roscoe's significant legacy as one of the leading scientists of his generation.