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M. B. Donald

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M. B. Donald
Born
Maxwell Bruce Donald

1897
Died6 January 1978(1978-01-06) (aged 80–81)
Alma materUniversity College London
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known forChemistry
AwardsFellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers
IChemE Moulton Medal
IChemE Osborne Reynolds Medal
Elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
Chemical Engineering
InstitutionsRoyal College of Science
University College London
Imperial College London

Maxwell Bruce Donald FRIC FIChemE FRHistS (1897 - 6 January 1978)[1][2] was a Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at University College London[3] and a historian specialising in mining.

Early career

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Donald studied at the Royal College of Science and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[4][5] In 1921 he became a Sir Alfred Yarrow Scholar, before becoming a physical chemistry demonstrator for the Royal College of Science. He left the Royal College in 1925 to become a chemical engineer for the Chilean Nitrate Producers Association, before joining Royal Dutch Shell in 1929 as an adviser on bitumen emulsions.[5]

In 1932, Donald joined the chemical engineering department at University College London as a lecturer and researcher under W. E. Gibbs.[6] During the 1930s, Donald worked with the professor of biochemistry, Sir Jack Drummond on the isolation of Vitamin A and B from fish liver oil and wheat germ.[6]

In 1937, Donald was made honorary secretary of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.[2] In addition, Donald was a member of the Royal Institute of Chemistry Council and the Joint Library Committee of the Chemical Society.[7]

During the Second World War, Donald was part of the Special Operations Executive Inter Services Research Bureau under Dudley Newitt.[8] He also continued to lecture, joining Imperial College London after the bombing of the Ramsay Laboratory at UCL.[9][10]

Later career

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During 1947 Donald became a reader in the department at University College London.[6] In 1950, Donald was promoted to vice president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.[2]

In 1951 Donald replaced H. E. Watson as the Ramsay professor of Chemical engineering at University College London.[3] During this time the department greatly increased, with Donald overseeing the design and construction of a new building.[6]

Donald was the initial academic liaison and member of the editorial board of the journal Chemical Engineering Science which launched in October 1951.[11] At UCL, Donald worked with Eric Mitchell Crook on developing the discipline of biochemical engineering, including the production the first coenzyme A in Britain from yeast as part of a Medical Research Council project.[12][13][14][6][15] With Ernest Baldwin, head of biochemistry, Donald set up a joint diploma in 1959, later a masters programme in biochemical engineering at UCL.[16][17][18]

Donald retired in 1965 and was replaced as the Ramsay professor of Chemical Engineering by P. N. Rowe.

Historian

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Donald was a keen historian and published a number of works: History of the Chile nitrate industry (1936),[19] Burchard Kranich (c. 1515–1578), miner and queens physician, Cornish mining stamps, antimony and, Frobishers gold (1950),[20] Elizabethan Copper:The History of the Company of the Mines Royal 1568-1605 (1955)[21][22][23] and Elizabethan Monopolies: The History of the Company of Mineral and Battery Works from 1565 to 1604 (1961).[24] Donald was the historian of the Society of Mines Royal.[25] His work on mining history was recognised by being elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.[2] Donald had planned to restore a Cornish tin mine but due to bad health he had to abandon his plans.[26]

Awards

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In 1937, Donald won the Institution of Chemical Engineers senior Moulton Medal.[27] Donald was awarded the Osborne Reynolds medal in 1940, for his most meritorious long-term contribution to the progress of the Institution.[2]

The Institution of Chemical Engineers named its award for to an individual for outstanding services in biochemical engineering. The Donald Medal has been awarded by the Biochemical Engineering Special Interest Group since 1989.[28][16]

References

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  1. ^ D. C. Freshwater (1997). People, Pipes and Processes. IChemE. ISBN 978-0852953907. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e "Obituary Notices". Transactions of the Newcomen Society. 49: 170–174. 1977. doi:10.1179/tns.1977.014.
  3. ^ a b "History. UCL Chemical Engineering has a long and distinguished history as a world-leading research department – the first of its kind in the UK. Find out more about some key figures and dates in our history". University College London. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ Hannah Gay, William Griffin (3 November 2016). Chemistry Department At Imperial College London, The: A History, 1845-2000 pg. 205. World Scientific. ISBN 978-1783269730.
  5. ^ a b "University College London, Donald Papers". AIM25 - Held at University College London ref:GB 0103 MS ADD 281. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d e Nicholas A. Peppas (6 December 2012). One Hundred Years of Chemical Engineering. Springer. ISBN 9780792301455.
  7. ^ Ramsay, William (1895). "The "Proceedings of the Chemical Society"". Nature. 51 (1317): 294. Bibcode:1895Natur..51..294R. doi:10.1038/051294d0. S2CID 4021128.
  8. ^ Malyn Newitt. "Biography of Professor Dudley Maurice Newitt, Volume 2, Marriage, The Royal Society and SOE. The Making of Q. (1919 -1945)". Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Memories - Tony Cowley". Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  10. ^ "1923". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ "Chemical Engineering Science and the origins of the Danckwerts Lectures". Elsevier. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Papers and correspondence of Eric Mitchell Crook". University College London archives. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  13. ^ Reece, M. C.; Donald, M. B.; Crook, E. M. (1959). "The evaluation of a process for the preparation of co-enzyme a from yeast". Journal of Biochemical and Microbiological Technology and Engineering. 1 (2): 217–228. doi:10.1002/jbmte.390010208.
  14. ^ Munden, J. E.; Crook, E. M.; Donald, M. B. (1963). "The development of a process for recovering nucleotides from Bakers' yeast". Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 5 (3): 221–230. doi:10.1002/bit.260050307. S2CID 85134530.
  15. ^ R. C. Darton, D. G. Wood, R. G. H. Prince (21 May 2003). Chemical Engineering: Visions of the World. Elsevier. ISBN 9780444513090.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b "Biochemical Chemistry - Awards". IChemE. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Biochemistry Engineering". 25 May 1961. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ "The rising demand for biochemical engineers". 17 May 1962. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  19. ^ "Donald M. B (Maxwell Bruce) 1897-". Worldcat. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  20. ^ Donald, M.B. (1950). "Burchard Kranich (C.1515–1578), miner and queen's physician, Cornish mining stamps, antimony and, Frobisher's gold". Annals of Science. 6 (3): 308–322. doi:10.1080/00033795000202001.
  21. ^ ""Londons merchant smugglers O Dunn 2010, June 2010, Thesis for: M.Phil Advisor: Craig Muldrew". Retrieved 16 April 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ "Review of M. B. Donald, Elizabethan Copper:The History of the Company of the Mines Royal 1568-1605". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  23. ^ "Short Reviews". The Economic History Review. 8 (3): 461–470. 1956. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1956.tb01584.x.
  24. ^ "Short Notices". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. ^ Bauman, Mark K. (2007). "Jews and Judaism in Dixie". Religion Compass. 1: 179–189. doi:10.1111/j.1749-8171.2006.00005.x.
  26. ^ N. Peppas (6 December 2012). One Hundred Years of Chemical Engineering. Springer. ISBN 9789400923072.
  27. ^ "Moulton Medals". IChemE. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Donald Medal". IChemE. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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