chemistry

Keith Farrer

Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer rather than just read about it. In short: Keith Thomas Henry Farrer (28 March 1916 – 6 June 2012) was a chemist, food scientist and historian who was the Chief Scientist of Kraft Foods Limited in Melbourne between 1976 and 1981. Early life and education Farrer was born in Footscray in Melbourne but soon left to live in Hobart in Tasmania.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Keith Thomas Henry Farrer (28 March 1916 – 6 June 2012) was a chemist, food scientist and historian who was the Chief Scientist of Kraft Foods Limited in Melbourne between 1976 and 1981.

Early life and education Farrer was born in Footscray in Melbourne but soon left to live in Hobart in Tasmania. He was first educated at Hobart High School, however after receiving a scholarship in 1930, he left to finish his high school studies at Carey Baptist Grammar School, becoming a school prefect and matriculating in 1933. Afterwards, he completed a Bachelor of Science (BSc) and a Master of Science (MSc) in 1937 and 1938 respectively at the University of Melbourne. This culminated in 1938 when he joined Kraft Foods Ltd as a research chemist.

Career Later on, Farrer would go on to support the process in Vegemite, regarding Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) and its associated nutrients. Progressively, he climbed the ranks of the organisation to become senior research chemist between 1944 and 1949, and then Manager of Research and Development (R&D) between 1949 and 1976. Finally, he became Chief Scientist of the company between 1976 and 1981. Farrer later worked in the United Kingdom in the period of 1987 and 2001, where he documented about food additives and other research. He would also join the Monash University Council, the University of Melbourne Council and other organisations, including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Later on in life, Farrer would be awarded an honorary doctorate (DSc) in 1954 by the University of Melbourne, and would also complete a Master of Arts (MA) at La Trobe University in 1977, due to his interest in environmental history, particularly about William Carey’s botanical advances.

Honours and fellowships His support not only was at Carey but also in his many academic and research organisations including being a foundational fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Science (FTSE) in 1975. In addition to this, Farrer was also a fellow of many other scientific organisations that included; the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC), the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI), the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (FAIFST) (of which he was a co-founder in 1967 amongst others), the Institute of Food Science & Technology (FIFST), and the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). Farrer was honoured with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his service to science and industry in the 1978 New Year Honours List.

Voluntary contributions In addition to this work, he was also a member of the Baptist Church and the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV), in which he became a deacon at the Collins Street Baptist Church for over 25 years, as well as being a founding member of the Whitley Baptist Theological College in Melbourne. However, his support for his former school, Carey, was unquestioned with his 45 year stint on the School Council (board) and further to this, his terms as secretary and vice-president of the council. Subsequently, this led to Farrer House on the school campus being named in his honour in addition to being awarded the ‘Carey Medal’ in 2009 for his services to the school community. Farrer died in June 2012 at the age of 96 in Croydon, a suburb of Melbourne.

Selected works Farrer published eight books over the course of his life and up to 140 academic papers:

Books Farrer, Keith (2005). William Carey – Missionary and Botanist. Carey Baptist Grammar School. ISBN 9780646452807. Farrer, Keith (2005). To Feed a Nation: a History of Australian Food Science and Technology. CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 9780643091542. Farrer, Keith (1990). The Shipment of Edible Oils. IBC Technical Services. ISBN 9781852711207. Farrer, Keith (1987). A Guide to Food Additives and Contaminants. Parthenon Publishing Group. ISBN 9780940813113. Farrer, Keith (1986). AIRG – the First Twenty Years. Australian Industrial Research Group. ISBN 9780959518917. Farrer, Keith (1983). Fancy Eating That!: a Closer Look at Food Additives and Contaminants. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 978-0522842432. Farrer, Keith (1980). A Settlement Amply Supplied: Food Technology in Nineteenth Century Australia. Melbourne University Publishing. ISBN 9780522841978.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Keith Farrer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer

In research: Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer 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: Keith Farrer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1916 births, 2012 deaths, 20th-century Australian Baptist ministers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Keith Farrer 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.
Explain Keith Farrer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Keith Farrer in simple terms?

Keith Thomas Henry Farrer (28 March 1916 – 6 June 2012) was a chemist, food scientist and historian who was the Chief Scientist of Kraft Foods Limited in Melbourne between 1976 and 1981. Early life and education Farrer was born in Footscray in Melbourne but soon left to live in Hobart in Tasmania.

Why does Keith Farrer 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 Keith Farrer?

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 Keith Farrer.