James Derek Birchall facts for kids

James Derek Birchall FRS OBE (October 7, 1930 – December 7, 1995) was an important English scientist and inventor. He was an expert in inorganic chemistry and materials science. Most of his career was spent working for a big company called ICI. He is especially known for his research into how being around substances like silica and alumina can affect health.

Biography

Early Life and Career

James Derek Birchall, often called Derek, was born in Leigh, England. His mother passed away when he was very young. He was then raised by his grandparents.

Derek left primary school at age 14. He started working at an industrial company called Sutcliffe Speakman. He began as a general laboratory assistant. Soon, he was promoted to assistant in the research lab. There, he worked on things like activated carbon and flame. Reports from 1947 showed that Derek did his experiments with great care.

After working for another company and serving in the army, Derek joined ICI in 1957. He started as an assistant technical officer in the Salt Division. His early work focused on how salt crystals form. He helped make better dendritic crystals (which look like tree branches). Later, he moved to ICI Cassel Works. He used his skills to help set up a sodium cyanide plant. He also worked to make the crystals produced there larger.

Inventing Monnex

In 1964, a new part of ICI was formed, called the Mond Division. Derek was promoted and got his own team. This allowed him to go back to something he loved: stopping fires. This led to a big invention called Monnex. Monnex is a dry powder used in fire extinguishers. It is still used today to put out fires.

After this success, Derek worked on new composite materials. These are materials made from two or more different materials. He also studied silica and its related compounds.

Later Academic Roles

Derek Birchall also held several important positions outside of ICI. He was a visiting professor at different universities. This meant he taught and did research there for a period of time.

• 1976–1985: Visiting Professor in Materials Science at the University of Surrey
• 1977–1979: Visiting Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford
• 1984–1986: Visiting Professor at MIT
• 1985: Professorial Associate of Brunel University
• 1986–1988: Visiting Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Surrey
• 1988-ca 1991: Visiting Professor at Durham University

In 1992, Derek became a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Keele. There, he became very interested in the role of silicon in living things.

Achievements and Recognition

Derek Birchall received many important awards and honours for his work.

In 1982, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honour for scientists in the United Kingdom. It was especially notable because he achieved this without having a university degree.

In 1990, he was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This is another important award from the British government.

In 1993, he shared the Armourers and Brasiers' Company Prize with J.E. Evetts.

Personal Life

Derek Birchall married Pauline Mary Jones on June 2, 1956. They were married in Sheffield. They had two sons, Shaun and Timothy.

Sadly, James Derek Birchall passed away on December 7, 1995. He was buried next to his wife, who had passed away five years earlier.