Rudolf George Herman Prince (2 August 1928 – 3 July 2017), commonly known as Rolf Prince, was a noted

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 ...

academic, specializing in

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...

and

mass transfer Mass transfer is the net movement of mass from one location (usually meaning stream, phase, fraction or component) to another. Mass transfer occurs in many processes, such as absorption, evaporation, drying, precipitation, membrane filtration, ...

Life

Prince was born in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 2 August 1928 from a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. He and his mother moved to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1936, to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1939 and to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1940, and he became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1946. He was educated at

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven R ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, then studied chemical engineering and chemistry at Canterbury University College of the University of New Zealand graduating in 1949. He then took a PhD at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, becoming a lecturer there. In 1953 he moved to the UK as a

process engineer Process engineering is the understanding and application of the fundamental principles and laws of nature that allow humans to transform raw material and energy into products that are useful to society, at an industrial level. By taking advantage ...

with

The Distillers Company The Distillers Company Limited was a leading Scottish drinks and pharmaceutical company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over by Guinness & Co. (now part of Diageo) in 1986 in a transaction which was later fou ...

. From 1958, Prince pursued an academic career, starting as a lecturer at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, New Zealand, then in 1960 a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and in 1965 a professor at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, where he established a new department of chemical engineering. From 1969 to 1994 he was professor and head of the department of chemical engineering at the University of Sydney, remaining there until his retirement in 1998. Prince died in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 3 July 2017.

Family

He married Laurel Williamson (19 November 1926 – 7 April 2018), whom he met while a student. They had three children.

Honours

*Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) *

Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal The Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal is awarded by Engineers Australia. It has been awarded since 1923, when its first recipient was Prof William Henry Warren. It is given annually to an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia Engineers Au ...

from

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

*President,

Institution of Chemical Engineers The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with over 33,000 members worldwide. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. It has offices in Rugby, London, Melbourne, Wellingto ...

1986–7 *Fellow,

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...

*His portrait was painted by

Robert Hannaford Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford , (born 9 November 1944) is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford. Family Hannaford was born a ...

and won an

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

in 1998

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Rolf 1928 births 2017 deaths Australian chemical engineers People from Chemnitz University of Canterbury alumni Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Academic staff of the University of Sydney Academic staff of the University of Queensland Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to New Zealand Naturalised citizens of New Zealand German emigrants to Australia Chemical engineering academics