Dudley Maurice Newitt

Dudley Maurice Newitt was a British chemical engineer, born in London on 28 April 1894, who was awarded the Rumford Medal in 1962 in recognition of his distinguished contributions to chemical engineering. He started work as an assistant chemist for Nobel in Scotland, served in the East Surrey Regiment in the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross. In 1921 he gained a first class Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the Royal College of Science in London and went on to postgraduate studies in chemical engineering at Imperial College, London. During the Second World War he was scientific director of the Special Operations Executive, responsible for developing technology for sabotage and espionage, and in that period he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1945 he was appointed professor of chemical engineering at Imperial College, became head of department by 1952, was pro-rector of the college from 1956 until his retirement in 1961, and died in Farnham, Surrey, on 14 March 1980.