chemistry

Institution of Chemical Engineers

Institution of Chemical Engineers is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Institution of Chemical Engineers rather than just read about it. In short: The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957.

Key takeaways

Institution of Chemical Engineers belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Institution of Chemical Engineers to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Institution of Chemical Engineers from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. The Institution has offices in Rugby, Melbourne, Wellington, New Zealand and Kuala Lumpur.

History In 1881, George E. Davis proposed the formation of a Society of Chemical Engineers, but instead the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) was formed. The First World War required a huge increase in chemical production to meet the needs of the munitions and its supply industries, including a twenty-fold increase in explosives. This brought a number of chemical engineers into high positions within the Ministry of Munitions, notably K. B. Quinan, Frederic Nathan and Arthur Duckham. The increased public perception of chemical engineers renewed the interest in a society, and in 1918 John Hinchley, who was a Council Member of the SCI, petitioned it to form a Chemical Engineers Group (CEG), which was done, with him as chairman and 510 members. In 1920 this group voted to form a separate Institution of Chemical Engineers, which was achieved in 1922 with Hinchley as the Secretary, a role he held until his death. The inaugural meeting was held on 2 May 1922, at the Hotel Cecil, London. Despite opposition from the Institute of Chemistry and the Institution of Civil Engineers, it was formally incorporated with the Board of Trade on 21 December 1922 as a company not for profit and limited by guarantee. The first Corporate meeting was held 14 March 1923 and the first Annual General Meeting on 8 June 1923: Arthur Duckham was confirmed as president, Hinchley as Secretary and Quinan as vice-president. At this time it had about 200 members. Nathan was the second President in 1925. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, which had been founded in 1908, served as a useful model. While suggestions of amalgamation were made and there was friendly but limited contact, the two organisations developed independently. In 1926 an official Seal of the Institution was produced by Edith Mary Hinchley, wife of John Hinchley. The same year the Institution set the first examinations for Associate (i.e. professionally qualified) membership, bringing it into line with the Civil and Mechanical Institutions. In addition to four set examinations of three hours each, there was a 'Home Paper' requiring the candidate to gather information and data and design a chemical plant, accompanied by drawings and a written design proposal within a time limit of a month. In 1938 the membership passed 1000. In 1939 the first courses were recognised as granting exemption from the examinations for Associate Membership, being Manchester College of Technology and of the South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Mines. Others followed in subsequent years. In 1942 Mrs Hilda Derrick (née Stroud) was the first female member, in the category Student, taking a correspondence course in chemical engineering during the war. She was active in promoting the Institution and profession to women. In 1955 Canterbury University College, New Zealand, and University of Cape Town, South Africa, were the first overseas institutions to have their qualifications recognised. On 8 April 1957 IChemE was granted a Royal Charter, changing it from a limited company to a body incorporated by Royal Charter, a professional institution like the Civil and Mechanical ones, with HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as patron, a role he continued for over 63 years. In 1971, the membership grades were changed: Associate became Member and Member became Fellow. In 1976 the Institution moved its Headquarters from London to Rugby.

Relations with other bodies

IChemE is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on ECUK's Register of professional Engineers, giving the status of Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician. It is licensed by the Science Council to grant the status of Chartered Scientist and Registered Science Technician. It is licensed by the Society for the Environment to grant the status of Chartered Environmentalist. It is a member of the European Federation of Chemical Engineering. It accredits chemical engineering degree courses in 25 countries worldwide. In 2023, IChemE entered into a 'hydrogen alliance' with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). The collaboration aims to support industry's adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier in the drive to net zero.

Function IChemE's vision is to "engineer a sustainable world" and its mission is to "put chemical and process engineering at the heart of a sustainable future, to benefit members, society, and the environment." These aims will be achieved by working towards two strategic goals: "Supporting a vibrant and thriving profession" and "serving society by collaborating with others", which are underpinned by five strategic enablers.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Institution of Chemical Engineers illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Institution of Chemical Engineers

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Institution of Chemical Engineers claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Institution of Chemical Engineers before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Institution of Chemical Engineers ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Institution of Chemical Engineers

In research: Institution of Chemical Engineers appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Institution of Chemical Engineers in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Institution of Chemical Engineers is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1922 establishments in the United Kingdom, Chemical engineering organizations, Chemical industry in the United Kingdom, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Institution of Chemical Engineers outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Institution of Chemical Engineers in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Institution of Chemical Engineers means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Institution of Chemical Engineers in simple terms?

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957.

Why does Institution of Chemical Engineers matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Institution of Chemical Engineers?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Institution of Chemical Engineers.