Terence Robert Corelli Fox (2 May 1912 – 5 October 1962), often called T.R.C. Fox, was a notable British

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

. He was a member of the

Atomic Energy Council The Atomic Energy Council (AEC; ) is an independent government agency of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) which is responsible for atomic safety, development and regulations. It also conducts research and development into atom ...

and the first Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. Fox was born on 2 May 1912, the son of an electrical engineer, and attended Regent Street Polytechnic Technical School and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. He graduated from the latter in 1933 with a degree in mechanical sciences. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' describes his success in the

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

as "unparalleled"; he received a

starred first 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 ...

and all available prizes, including the Rex Moir Prize and prizes for the best marks in Thermodynamics, Aeronautical Engineering and Structures, all in the same examination. Fox returned to the Engineering Department at Cambridge four years after graduating, having first served a stint as a technical assistant at

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

. He began as a demonstrator and became a fellow of

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

in 1941. Due to his teaching position he did not see active service in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but he was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the University

Officer Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

, Royal Signals section, on 3 October 1942, a commission he resigned on 9 February 1946. In 1945, he became a lecturer in the Engineering Department at Cambridge. In that same year, on 2 March 1945, the university accepted an endowment to form a chemical engineering department by the Shell Group of Oil Companies, who would also sponsor a department chair. Though not established in the field, Fox was announced as the first to fill the chair position in June 1946. Fox spent several years preparing the department before beginning to accept students in 1948. He was a supportive chair, dedicated to financing and furthering the research of others, including the team of

Francis Thomas Bacon Francis Thomas Bacon OBE FREng FRS (21 December 1904 – 24 May 1992) was an English engineer who in 1932 developed the first practical hydrogen–oxygen fuel cell. It is used to generate power for space capsules and satellites. Life and wo ...

when they developed the

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, an ...

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

. He remained in the position until 1959, when poor health forced him to retire, and was succeeded by

Peter Victor Danckwerts Peter Victor Danckwerts, (14 October 1916 – 25 October 1984) was a chemical engineer who pioneered the concept of the residence time distribution. In 1940, during the Second World War, he was awarded the George Cross for his work in defusing ...

. According to ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Fox's poor health was the result of a high stress personality, which led him to "a succession of nervous breakdowns in the early 1950s". He died at the

National Hospital for Nervous Diseases The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (informally the National Hospital or Queen Square) is a neurological hospital in Queen Square, London. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was the f ...

in London on 5 October 1962. On 2 March 1963, the T.R.C. Fox Fund was established at Cambridge in tribute to his memory. The Fund is used to provide an annual award to the student who does best on the Chemical Engineering Tripos, as long as that student is able to attain "the standard of the first class"..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Terence 1912 births 1962 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge British chemical engineers Chemical engineering professors at the University of Cambridge Fellows of King's College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War II Officers' Training Corps officers Royal Corps of Signals officers