Peter Noël Rowe (25 December 1919 - 27 April 2014)) was a Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and former president of the

Institution of Chemical Engineers The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. The Institution has offices in Rugby, Warwickshire, ...

Education and career

Rowe attended

Preston Grammar School Winckley Square is situated near the centre of Preston, Lancashire, England, at the west end of Avenham. The history of Winckley Square has been documented by Marian Roberts. The square was first established in 1801, around Town End Field o ...

, before leaving to become a technician. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rowe worked for the RAF, and did a part time HNC in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

with

Liverpool Technical College The College of Technology and Museum Extension on Byrom Street in Liverpool, England, was built between 1896 and 1909, the architect was Edward William Mountford. The building was constructed to provide a new College of Technology and an exten ...

. After being demobbed from the RAF, Rowe joined Manchester College of Technology as an undergraduate in chemical engineering, graduating in 1949. Rowe continued his education, joining

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

to complete a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

under the tutorage of Dudley Newitt. Between 1954 and 1958, Rowe worked for the Ministry of Supply, continuing his work on investigating supersonic flow through rocket nozzles which he had started at

. In 1958, Rowe was made the principal scientific officer at the

Atomic Energy Research Establishment The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), also known as Harwell Laboratory, was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned ...

Harwell, Oxfordshire Harwell is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about west of Didcot, east of Wantage and south of Oxford, England. The parish measures about north – south, and almost east – west at its widest point. In 1923, its area ...

. While at the establishment, Rowe worked on the ideas of

fluidisation Fluidization (or fluidisation) is a process similar to liquefaction whereby a granular material is converted from a static solid-like state to a dynamic fluid-like state. This process occurs when a fluid (liquid or gas) is passed up through the ...

that had been promoted by John Davidson, proving some of the theories using innovative experiments. He wrote and co-wrote several papers on the subject. In 1965, Rowe completed his

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

at the

and replaced

M. B. Donald Maxwell Bruce Donald (1897 - 6 January 1978) was a Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at University College London and a historian specialising in mining. Early career Donald studied at the Royal College of Science and Massachusetts Insti ...

as the Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at

. His appointment was described by J. R. Yates and A. R. Burgess as an inspired appointment, and he greatly increased the department and its reputation during his tenure. This included a new MSc in Chemical Process Engineering, and changing the BSc course which had not been amended since 1937. He continued to work on fluidisation research at

. In 1961, he was made a fellow of the

, serving as the president between 1981 and 1982, and serving on several committees. He served as one of the honorary secretarys for the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

between 1982 and 1985. In 1985 Rowe retired from

, being replaced as the Ramsay professor of chemical engineering by colleague J. W. Mullin, and being named as

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. Rowe continued to work and was a member of the chemical engineering panel of the

Research Assessment Exercise The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was an exercise undertaken approximately every five years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils ( HEFCE, SHEFC, HEFCW, DELNI) to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British ...

, jointly run by the

Higher Education Funding Council for England The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, which was responsible for the distribution of funding for higher education to universities and further education colleges in Engl ...

, the

Scottish Funding Council The Scottish Funding Council (Scottish Gaelic: '; SFC), formally the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, is the non-departmental public body charged with funding Scotland's further and higher education institutions, inclu ...

, the

Higher Education Funding Council for Wales The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) was the Welsh Government Sponsored Body responsible for funding the higher education sector. It was replaced by Medr, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research from August 2024. ...

and the

Department for Employment and Learning The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), (; Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment for Employ an Learnin''), was a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for t ...

, Northern Ireland.

Awards

In 1972, Rowe with D J Everitt were jointly awarded the IChemE Moulton Medal for the most meritorious paper published by IChemE during that year. In 1984, Rowe was made a

Liveryman A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are styled the "Wors ...

of the

Worshipful Company of Engineers The Worshipful Company of Engineers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The company was founded and became a livery company in 1983 and was incorporated by royal charter in 2004. The company is for chartered engineers of EC(UK ...

. In 1987, Rowe was honored with a special edition of the journal Chemical Engineering Communications.

Personal life

Rowe was born on the 25 December 1919 in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston, Lancashire, City of Preston local government district. Preston ...

as the eldest son of Charles Henry Rowe and Kate Winifred (née Storry). In 1952 he married Pauline Garmirian and had two sons, Timothy David and Andrew Francis. Rowe made regular donations to the

s development appeal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Peter Noël Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University 1919 births 2014 deaths Academics of University College London British chemical engineers Chemical engineering academics Fellows of the Institution of Chemical Engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering