Dudley Maurice Newitt
Dudley Maurice Newitt FRS was a British chemical engineer who was awarded the Rumford Medal in 1962 'In recognition of his distinguished contributions to chemical engineering'.
Newitt was born in London and started working as an assistant chemist for Nobel in Scotland. In the First World War he served in the East Surrey Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross.
He married Aliex Schaeffer in 1919, but she died in childbirth in 1923, and the baby was stillborn. In 1933 he married Doris Garrod, and they had a son and a daughter.
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 Special Operations Executive responsible for the development of technology for sabotage and espionage. During this period he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
In 1945 he was appointed professor of chemical engineering at Imperial College, and in 1952 head of department, being responsible for the new building. He was appointed pro-rector of the college in 1956 until his retirement in 1961. He died 14 March 1980 in Farnham, Surrey.
