Meredith Wooldridge Thring (17 December 1915 – 15 September 2006)Rob Thring (his son) ''The Independent'', 30 September 2006
/ref> was a British inventor, engineer,

futurologist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...

, professor and author.

Education and career

Thring was born 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 ...

, Australia, but moved to England when he was four years old. His school was Malvern College. He obtained a double

first class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in Mathematics and

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in 1937. He then joined the

British Coal Utilisation Research Association British Coal Utilisation Research Association (BCURA) was a non-profit association of industrial companies, incorporated 23 April 1938 and dissolved 24 February 2015. History It was founded in 1938, with an assured income of £25000 per year for ...

, becoming Head of its Combustion Research Laboratory. In 1940, he married Margaret Hooley (died 1986), and they had two sons and one daughter. In 1946, Thring became Head of the newly formed Physics Research group of the

British Iron and Steel Research Association The British Iron and Steel Research Association or BISRA, formed in 1944, was the research arm of the British steel industry. It had headquarters in London, originally at 11 Park Lane, later moved to 24 Buckingham Gate, with Laboratories in Shef ...

. In 1950, he moved to the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

, becoming Professor and Head of the Department of Fuel Technology and

Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...

in 1953. In 1964, he took up the position of Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at

Queen Mary College , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 1981. He died in

Exmouth Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the 5th most populous settlement in Devon. Histo ...

, Devon.

Honours

Thring was awarded the Student Medal of the

Institute of Fuel The Energy Institute (EI) is a professional organization for engineers and other professionals in energy-related fields. The EI was formed in 2003 by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum (dating back to 1913) and the Institute of Energy (d ...

in 1938, and the Hadfield Medal of the

Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was an English association organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The first mee ...

. From 1962 to 1963 he was President of the

. In 1964 he was awarded a ScD degree from

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. He was a Fellow of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

(FInstP), the

Energy Institute The Energy Institute (EI) is a professional organization for engineers and other professionals in energy-related fields. The EI was formed in 2003 by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum (dating back to 1913) and the Institute of Energy (d ...

(FEI), the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

(FIMechE), the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871, and ...

(FIET), and the Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE). He was one of the first

Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places *Fellows, California, USA *Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses *Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. *Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of works ...

(FREng).

Work

Thring was a visionary who changed from science to engineering "because he wanted to make the world a better place". In his 1977 book ''How to Invent'', he wrote "One can envisage a society in which man lives in near-equilibrium with his environment, with the minimum use of raw materials by fuel economy, complete recycling of all metals, no throw-away goods, all consumer goods built to last many decades, and near zero pollution.". In the same book he describes domestic and gardening tools, Intermediate Technology for less developed countries and robots to take the place of people in dangerous situations. However, these were not just imagining. At the

and

he was actively involved in

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrate ...

. He produced a stair-climbing robot, an autonomous fire-fighting robot, and one for clearing a table.''New Scientist'' 19 Nov 1981 p 500 "The engineer's dilemma". After his retirement he founded a charity called Power Aid to help developing countries. In 1969 he predicted a future in which factories would be largely automatic, controlled by a central computer, and supposed that this would reduce the human working week to 10 or 20 hours.''The Times'' 11 September 1969 "Robots that will remove drudgery" He studied combustion and other forms of energy generation, and was one of the founders of the

International Flame Research Foundation The International Flame Research Foundation – IFRF is a non-profit research association and network created in 1948 in IJmuiden (Netherlands), established in Livorno (Italy) between 2005 and 2016 ''(Fondazione Internazionale per la Ricerca Sulla ...

. This knowledge of energy was shown in his 1974 book ''Energy and Humanity'' which called essentially for a more rational and sustainable approach, with control of pollution. He was also known as a teacher, and for his belief that engineers had an ethical obligation to improve life for all, but notably the underprivileged and disabled.Roy Crookes ''Combustion Institute, British Section Newsletter'' March 2007
/ref>

Books

*''The domestic open fire: a survey of research prior to 1937'' M.W. Thring (London : Combustion Appliance Makers' Assn.) 1938. *''The influence of port design on open-hearth furnace flames'' J.H. Chesters & M.W. Thring (London : Iron and Steel Institute) 1946. *''Air Pollution. Based on papers given at a conference held at the University of Sheffield, September 1956.'' Edited by M. W. Thring (London: Butterworths Scientific Publications) 1957 *''Pilot plants, models, and scale-up methods in chemical engineering'' R. E. Johnstone & M. W. Thring (New York : McGraw-Hill) 1957. *''The science of flames and furnaces'' M.W. Thring (London, Chapman & Hall) 1952. *''Nuclear propulsion'' edited by M.W. Thring (London : Butterworths) 1960. *''Pulsating combustion : the collected works of F.H. Reynst'' edited by M.W. Thring (Oxford : Pergamon) 1961. *''The science of flames and furnaces, 2nd edition'' M.W. Thring (London, Chapman & Hall) 1962. *''The principles of applied science'' M. W. Thring (Oxford, Pergamon) 1964. *''Engineering: An outline for the intending student'' M. W. Thring, 1972 *''Man, machines and tomorrow'' M.W. Thring, 1973 *''Energy and Humanity'' M. W. Thring & R. J. Crookes, 1974 *''Machines, masters or slaves of man?'' M.W. Thring, 1974, *''Strategy for Energy'' M. W. Thring, 1975 *''How to invent'' M.W. Thring, 1977. *''The engineer's conscience'' M.W. Thring & E. R. Laithwaite, 1980 *''Robots and telechirs : manipulators with memory, remote manipulators, machine limbs for the handicapped'' M.W. Thring, 1983 *''Quotations from G.I.Gurdjieff's Teaching: A Personal Companion'' M. W. Thring, 1998

Patents

British Patents

*GB Patent 535576 (1941) Gas producers *GB Patent 549142 (1942) Refractory material *GB Patent 553753 (1943) Electrostatic gas cleaner *GB Patent 572380 (1945) Crucible and the like furnaces *GB Patent 579324 (1946) Combustion of solid fuel *GB Patent 579823 (1946) Carbonization of coal and combustion of the carbonised residue *GB Patent 587821 (1947) Transportable heating unit *GB Patent 587823 (1947) Controlling the air supply in furnaces and like heating appliances *GB Patent 610950 (1948) Recording gas constituents *GB Patent 760430 (1956) Control of combustion processes *GB Patent 803528 (1958) Smoke-consuming domestic stoves *GB Patent 818718 (1959) Rotary regenerative heat exchangers *GB Patent 842024 (1960) Utilising the waste heat of furnace gases and in cleansing thereof *GB Patent 870446 (1961) The generation of electricity *GB Patent 877779 (1961) Devices to facilitate the lighting of domestic fires *GB Patent 895534 (1962) Electric-arc steel furnaces *GB Patent 896639 (1962) Open-hearth furnaces *GB Patent 985625 (1965) Continuous casting of metals *GB Patent 1023817 (1966) Sampling and analysis of steel *GB Patent 1127443 (1968) Fire detection and fighting apparatus *GB Patent 1111869 (1968) Continuous steel-making *GB Patent 1131233 (1968) Automatic equipment for detecting fires *GB Patent 2167542 (1986) Furnace for industrial waste

US Patents

*US Patent 2515545 (1950) Controlling the combustion rate and composition of the combustion gases in the burning of coal *US Patent 2663272 (1953) Controlling the air supply in furnaces and like heating appliances *US Patent 3171877 (1965) Apparatus for Continuous Steel Making *US Patent 3201622 (1965) Generation of Electricity *US Patent 3312230 (1967) Dish-Washing Machines *US Patent 3522859 (1970) Walking Machine *US Patent 3764667 (1973) Process for producing pigment-quality titanium dioxide

References

* ttps://archive.today/20120714023122/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article1772293.ece ''The Independent'' Obituary: Professor M. W. Thring, 30 September 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Thring, Meredith 1915 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British inventors People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics from Melbourne Futurologists British chemical engineers Engineering academics Academics of the University of Sheffield Academics of Queen Mary University of London Fellows of the Institute of Physics Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering