Thomas Kilgore Sherwood (July 25, 1903 – January 14, 1976) was a noted American

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 ...

and a founding member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

Biography

Sherwood was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and spent much of his youth in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 1923 he received his B.S. from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, and entered the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT) for his Ph.D. His dissertation, "The Mechanism of the Drying of Solids," was completed in 1929, a year after he had become assistant professor at

Worcester Polytechnic Institute The Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1865, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now h ...

. In 1930 he returned to MIT as assistant professor where he remained until his retirement, serving as associate professor (1933), professor (1941), and dean of engineering (1946–1952). In 1969 he retired from MIT to become professor of chemical engineering at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Sherwood's primary research area was

mass transfer Mass transfer is the net movement of mass from one location (usually meaning stream, phase, fraction, or component) to another. Mass transfer occurs in many processes, such as absorption, evaporation, drying, precipitation, membrane filtra ...

, and in 1937 he published the first major textbook in the field, ''Absorption and Extraction'' (republished 1974 as ''Mass Transfer''). The

Sherwood number The Sherwood number (Sh) (also called the mass transfer Nusselt number) is a dimensionless number used in mass-transfer operation. It represents the ratio of the total mass transfer rate (convection + diffusion) to the rate of diffusive mass tran ...

is named in his honor:

Sh = \frac

where *

K_c

= overall mass transfer coefficient; *

L

= characteristic length; *

\mathcal

= component diffusion coefficient His activities in

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 ...

included organizing chemical engineers for the

National Defense Research Committee The National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) was an organization created "to coordinate, supervise, and conduct scientific research on the problems underlying the development, production, and use of mechanisms and devices of warfare" in the U ...

(NDRC) in 1940; consulting to the Baruch Committee on synthetic rubber development (1942); serving as NDRC Section Chief for Miscellaneous Chemical Engineering Problems (1942), where he oversaw creation of new

hydraulic fluid A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backho ...

s, antifouling coatings for ship bottoms, large

smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...

generators, etc.; and member of the Whitman Committee on jet propulsion (1944). In autumn 1944 he followed American troops into Europe to gather scientific intelligence. His industrial consulting work included efforts in seawater

desalination Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is Soil salinity control, soil desalination. This is important for agric ...

, removal of

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

from emissions, freeze-drying

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

, and the manufacture of

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...

and

vinyl acetate Vinyl acetate is an organic compound with the Chemical formula, formula CH3CO2CH=CH2. This colorless liquid is the precursor to polyvinyl acetate, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol, and other important industrial polymers. Prod ...

. Sherwood received the U.S.

Medal for Merit The Medal for Merit was the highest civilian decoration of the United States in the gift of the president. Created during World War II, it was awarded by the president of the United States to civilians who "distinguished themselves by exceptiona ...

(1948), won major awards from the

American Institute of Chemical Engineers The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional organization for chemical engineers. AIChE was established in 1908 to distinguish chemical engineers as professionals independent of chemists and mechanical engineers. Curr ...

and

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

, and was a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1948),

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

(1958), and

Works

References

National Academy of Engineering memorial tribute
1903 births 1976 deaths Engineers from Columbus, Ohio McGill University alumni American fluid dynamicists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Founding members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American chemical engineers Worcester Polytechnic Institute faculty MIT School of Engineering faculty UC Berkeley College of Engineering faculty 20th-century American engineers Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American expatriates in Canada 20th-century American chemists {{US-engineer-stub