William Edward Gibbs (1890 – 18 January 1934) was the second

Ramsay Memorial Professor of Chemical Engineering The Ramsay Memorial Chair of Chemical Engineering is a named professorship in the Department of Chemical engineering, Chemical Engineering at University College London, UCL, established along with the department and the Ramsay Memorial Laboratory i ...

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 ...

. He was the second head of the department replacing the first,

E. C. Williams E. C. Williams was the first Ramsay Memorial Professor of Chemical Engineering at University College London, as well as the first in the United Kingdom being appointed in 1923. Career Williams previously worked for the University of Manches ...

Career

Gibbs completed his graduation at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

taking his first post with the

Straits Trading Company The Straits Trading Company Limited is a Singapore-based corporation with operations in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as various localities in Asia and Australia. Founded in 1887, the company was the result of a partnership for tin smelting bet ...

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as an Assistant Chemist. He returned to the

as a lecturer in

Metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

, where he researched the issue of the recovery of tin from the waste material by using electro chemical recovery. He was also made an investigator with the Corrosion Committee at the

Institute of Metals The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a British engineering institution with activities including promotion of the development of materials science. It has been a registered charity governed by a royal charter and a member ...

. During the First World War, Gibbs held the post of chief examiner of the Aeronautical Inspection Department, before becoming the chief chemist at the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

's rolling mill at

Weston, Southampton Weston is a small suburb on the south-eastern side of Southampton, UK, predominantly built on the Weston Grove Estate formerly owned by the Chamberlayne family. It also includes the area that was previously the Barnfield Estate. Weston includes ...

. At the end of the war, he was appointed the chief chemist at the Salt Union, where he gained great experience in the methods and problems of evaporation and crystallisation. In 1924, Gibbs gave the general name ''aerosol'' to the dispers systems in air. See in this context
Clouds and Smokes, page 8
'. In 1928, Gibbs was appointed as the successor to

, as Ramsay professor for 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 ...

. Due to his predecessor's fund raising activities with British chemical companies, the university was planning a large expansion of the department, which Gibbs designed and carried out, concluding with the opening of the new Ramsey Laboratory in 1932. In 1930, Gibbs was an expert witness in the case of United Lamp Black Works vs. Greenwich Borough Council.

Death

In January 1934, Gibbs died suddenly at the age of 44. He was replaced as the Ramsay professor by H. E. Watson.

Publications

* Gibbs, William E. (1924)
Clouds and Smokes. The properties of disperse systems in gases and their practical applications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, William Edward British chemical engineers 1890 births 1934 deaths Alumni of the University of Liverpool Chemical engineering academics Academics of University College London