| Administrative history | Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton, known from childhood as Jack, was born on 11 October 1886, the fourth son of Colonel Sir Alfred Mordaunt Egerton, KCVO and the Hon Mary Georgina Ormsby-Gore, eldest daughter of the 2nd Baron Harlech. In 1912 Egerton married the Hon Ruth Cripps and they went on to adopt Francis, the posthumous younger son of Egerton's brother Louis who had been killed in the First World War. Egerton was a keen watercolourist - an exhibition of his paintings was held at the Chenil Galleries in 1957. He died in France, in the Alpes-Maritimes, on 7 September 1959.
Education:
From 1900 Egerton attended Eton College. His science master was Thomas Cunningham Porter and while at the school Egerton was encouraged to found the Eton College Scientific Society. Egerton continued his studies at University College, London from 1904. He read Chemistry under Sir William Ramsey and graduated with first class honours in 1908.
Career:
Egerton's research field was Thermodynamics. A brief outline of his career is given below:
1909 Nancy University working under Professor Ganz
1909-1913 Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
1913 Berlin, working with Nernst
1914-1918 Department of Explosives Supply, Ministry of Munitions
1918-1935 Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford
1923 Appointed Reader in Thermodynamics, Oxford University
1926 Elected Fellow of The Royal Society
1931-1933 Served on Council of The Royal Society
1936-1952 Chair of Chemical Technology, Department of Chemical Technology and Applied Physical Chemistry, Imperial College
1938-1948 Physical Secretary of The Royal Society
1939-1945 Research on fuel, fire-raising and fire protection; member of War Cabinet Scientific Advisory Committee; chairman of the Fuel and Propulsion Committee of the Admiralty; ex-officio member of committees connected with The Royal Society
1942 Travelled to USA to reorganise the work of the British Central Scientific Office and to improve scientific liaison between London and Washington
1948 Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council of the Ministry of Fuel and Power; closely involved in the organization of the Royal Society Scientific Information Conference , London 1948; travelled abroad, special interest in India (first visit 1948 and again in 1954); appointed chairman of a committee to review the working and development of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
1949-1959 Director, Salters Institute of Industrial Chemistry
1953-1959 Emeritus Professor of Chemical Technology, University of London
1954 Chairman, Commonwealth Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, India
1956 Adviser to the Tobacco Manufacturers' Standing Committee
1957 Undertook a tour of the Middle East - Beirut, Baghdad and Teheran
Fellowships, Honours and Awards:
Egerton was knighted in 1943
Fellow of University College, London, Imperial College and City and Guilds College
Honorary degrees from Birmingham, Cairo, Nancy and Helsinki
Honorary President of Combustion Institute
Honorary Editor of Fuel and also of Combustion and Flame
British Coal Utilization Research Associations: Coal Science Lecturer, 1952
Prizes:
Institution of Mechanical Engineers: George Stephenson Research Prize, Herbert Akroyd Stuart Prize, Thomas Hawkesley Lecturer for 1940
Institution of Civil Engineers: The Telford Premium, 1942
The Royal Society: Rumford Medal, 1946
Institution of Chemical Engineers: Hinchley Memorial Medal in 1954
Institute of Fuel: Melchett Medal, 1956
Combustion Institute: Egerton Medal, 1958
Publications:
The 1939 Callendar Steam Tables with G S Callendar (E Arnold & Co, London, 1939)
Editor of Fuel
Lectures and papers largely relating to combustion and utilization of energy |