Marion McQuillan (30 October 1921 – 24 June 1998) was a British metallurgist who specialised in the engineering uses for

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

and its alloys. She researched jet engine metals and was on the first team to research titanium for the Royal Aircraft Establishment

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

(RAE).

Biography

Marion Katherine Blight was born in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

in 1921. Her mother worked in domestic service while her father was a shop assistant. McQuillan attended

Wycombe High School Wycombe High School is a girls' grammar school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire taking girls from the age of 11 to 18. The school became an academy in 2011, and in 2020 had 1,308 pupils. History The school was the first state grammar school for ...

before getting a scholarship to Henrietta Barnett’s School. McQuillan went to University in 1939 where she graduated from

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

with a degree in metallurgy and natural sciences. She got her first job in 1942 in the Royal Aircraft Establishment

(RAE) in 1942. McQuillan researched jet engine metals and was a member of the first team to research titanium. In 1946 she travelled through Germany and Austria as member of one of the many teams sent by the British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee, collecting technical information from universities, research establishments and factories. She also worked at the

Atomic Energy Research Establishment The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE) was the main Headquarters, centre for nuclear power, atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from 1946 to the 1990s. It was created, owned and funded by the British Governm ...

Harwell Harwell may refer to: People * Harwell (surname) * Harwell Hamilton Harris (1903–1990), American architect Places * Harwell, Nottinghamshire, England, a hamlet *Harwell, Oxfordshire, England, a village **RAF Harwell, a World War II RAF airfield, ...

, working on some of the early metallurgical problems of nuclear energy. From 1948-1951 she was at the Australian Royal Aircraft Establishment in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. McQuillan returned to the UK where she began to work for ICI Metals (also known as IMI), in the Titanium Alloy Research Department where, within two years later she was head of the section. With her husband McQuillan published the seminal book “Titanium” in 1956. During the 1960s McQuillan registered 8 titanium alloy patents. In 1967 McQuillan was appointed technical director of the New Metals Division and by 1978 she became the first woman managing director of Imperial Metal Industries subsidiary, Enots.

Publications

Jun 1943. Further report on the use of aged chromate baths to specification DTD 911, Bath iii (30 minute hot chromate bath). Petch M K. RAE MR7147(A). Met/RTN/22 Feb 1944. Variations in corrosion properties over magnesium alloy sheet. Jones E R W Petch M K. RAE MR6858. Met/RTN/21, also in J. Inst. Metals, Nov. I946 Feb 1944. Protection of magnesium alloy sheet to specification DTD 118 by a modified form of the I.G. acid dip (bath iv of specification.DTD 911). Petch M K. RAE MR7588. Met/RTN/23 Mar 1944. Protection of magnesium alloys against corrosion by electrolytic chromate films. Petch M K. RAE MR3726(D). Met/RTN/17 Nov 1944. The protection of magnesium alloy components against corrosion by sprayed coatings of "Thickal" Latex. Petch M K. RAE MR7290. Met/RTN/22 1949. Some Observations on the Behaviour of Platinum/Platinum-Rhodium Thermocouples at High Temperatures. M K McQuillan. Journal of Scientific Instruments, Volume 26, Number 10 1956. Titanium - Metallurgy of the Rarer Metals – 4. by McQuillan MK.; Publisher: London, Butterworths, 1956. 1956. Titanium. McQuillan, A. D.; McQuillan, M. K.; Castle, J. G.Physics Today, vol. 9, issue 10, p. 24. Publication Date: 00/1956 1956. Titanium. Alan Dennis McQuillan; Marion Katharine McQuillan. Publisher: New York : Academic Press ; London : Butterworths Scientific Publications, 1956. 1957. Titanium. Alan D MacQuillan; Marion Katharine Macquillan. Publisher: London Butterworth

957 Year 957 ( CMLVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * September 6 – Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I, dies of a violent fever nea ...

1958. Titan. Alan Denis McQuillan; Marion Katharine McQuillan; Sergej Georgievič Glazunov; Leonid Pavlovič Lužnikov.Language: Russian . Publisher: Moskva : Gosudarstvennoe Naučno-Tehničeskoe Izdatel'stvo Literatury po Černoj i Cvetnoj Metallurgii, 1958. 1978. McQuillan, Marion. Graduate Engineers in Production. Cranfield Inst of Tech, 1978. 1979. Graduate myth. Production Engineer (Volume: 58 , Issue: 4 , April 1979 )

Patents

*GB772534A Improvements in or relating to titanium base alloys *CH457874A Verfahren zur Wärmebehandlung einer Titanlegierung *GB929931A Titanium-base alloys and their heat treatment *US3007824A Method of heat treating a ti-be alloy *US3118828A Electrode structure with titanium alloy base *FI35168A Sätt att framställa en elektrod *DE1112838B Verfahren zum Oberflaechenhaerten von (ª‡ú½ª‰) Ti-Legierungen

Awards

McQuillan was awarded the Rosenhain Medal in 1965. She was on the Interservices Metallurgical Research Council until 1989 and in 1967 served as vice-president of the Institute of Metals. In 1968 she was fundamental to the First International Conference on Titanium in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Personal life

She married fellow metallurgist Norman Petch whom she met in Cambridge but they divorced in 1944. She went on to marry metallurgist, Alan Dennis McQuillam in 1947. Her husband died in 1987. McQuillan died in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuillan, Marion 1921 births 1998 deaths People from Watford Metallurgists People from Gloucestershire People educated at Wycombe High School