Terence Robert Corelli Fox (2 May 1912 – 5 October 1962), often called T.R.C. Fox, was a notable British

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

. He was a member of the Atomic Energy Council and the first Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Fox was born on 2 May 1912, the son of an electrical engineer, and attended Regent Street Polytechnic Technical School and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

. He graduated from the latter in 1933 with a degree in mechanical sciences. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

'' describes his success in the

tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

as "unparalleled"; he received a

starred first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

and all available prizes, including the Rex Moir Prize and prizes for the best marks in Thermodynamics, Aeronautical Engineering and Structures, all in the same examination. Fox returned to the Engineering Department at Cambridge four years after graduating, having first served a stint as a technical assistant at

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

. He began as a demonstrator and became a fellow of

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

in 1941. Due to his teaching position he did not see active service in the

Second World War 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 ...

, but he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the University Officer Training Corps,

Royal Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

section, on 3 October 1942, a commission he resigned on 9 February 1946. In 1945, he became a lecturer in the Engineering Department at Cambridge. In that same year, on 2 March 1945, the university accepted an endowment to form a chemical engineering department by the Shell Group of Oil Companies, who would also sponsor a department chair. Though not established in the field, Fox was announced as the first to fill the chair position in June 1946. Fox spent several years preparing the department before beginning to accept students in 1948. He was a supportive chair, dedicated to financing and furthering the research of others, including the team of

Francis Thomas Bacon Francis Thomas "Tom" Bacon OBE FREng FRS (21 December 1904 – 24 May 1992) was an English engineer who in 1932 developed the first practical hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell. It is used to generate power for space capsules and satellites. Bacon ...

when they developed the

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

. He remained in the position until 1959, when poor health forced him to retire, and was succeeded by Peter Victor Danckwerts. According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Fox's poor health was the result of a high stress personality, which led him to "a succession of nervous breakdowns in the early 1950s". He died at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases in London on 5 October 1962. On 2 March 1963, the T.R.C. Fox Fund was established at Cambridge in tribute to his memory. The Fund is used to provide an annual award to the student who does best on the Chemical Engineering Tripos, as long as that student is able to attain "the standard of the first class"..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Terence 1912 births 1962 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British chemical engineers Chemical engineering professors at the University of Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II Officers' Training Corps officers Royal Corps of Signals officers Alumni of the Regent Street Polytechnic