P. G. Ashmore
Encyclopedia
Professor Philip George Ashmore, known as Sandy Ashmore, born Derbyshire
, England
, 5 May 1916, died 25 March 2002, was an English
academic chemist
and the first Professor of Physical Chemistry at UMIST
, Manchester
.
, Ashmore was educated at Derby School
and then from 1934 at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
. As an undergraduate, he held a scholarship, played soccer for Cambridge University and hockey
for Cambridgeshire, was in his college's cricket
First XI and crowned his first four years with a double first in the Natural Science tripos. For two years (1938–1940) he stayed at Cambridge as a research chemist, but this was interrupted by the Second World War.
, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader
. His work was in training fighter pilots.
, then became a Fellow of Emmanuel College and its Director of Studies and a Cambridge University lecturer in Physical Chemistry. When the new Churchill College, Cambridge
was founded in 1959 he became one of its first Fellows and was Fellow and Tutor to Advanced Students there, 1959 to 1963.
In 1963 he moved to Manchester
as the first Professor of Physical Chemistry at UMIST
, from which he retired in 1981. He was also Vice-Principal (Academic Affairs) at UMIST from 1973.
From 1981 to 1985, he was a course consultant to the Open University
. In retirement, he settled again in Cambridge.
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 5 May 1916, died 25 March 2002, was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
academic chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and the first Professor of Physical Chemistry at UMIST
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Background and education
The son of a schoolmaster who later became headmaster of Derby SchoolDerby School
Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational and comprehensive in 1974 and was closed in 1989...
, Ashmore was educated at Derby School
Derby School
Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational and comprehensive in 1974 and was closed in 1989...
and then from 1934 at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
. As an undergraduate, he held a scholarship, played soccer for Cambridge University and hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
for Cambridgeshire, was in his college's cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
First XI and crowned his first four years with a double first in the Natural Science tripos. For two years (1938–1940) he stayed at Cambridge as a research chemist, but this was interrupted by the Second World War.
War service
From 1940 to 1945, Ashmore served in the Royal Air ForceRoyal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
. His work was in training fighter pilots.
Career
In 1945 he returned to Cambridge to complete his degree of Doctor of philosophyDoctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, then became a Fellow of Emmanuel College and its Director of Studies and a Cambridge University lecturer in Physical Chemistry. When the new Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College, Cambridge
Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.In 1958, a Trust was established with Sir Winston Churchill as its Chairman of Trustees, to build and endow a college for 60 fellows and 540 Students as a national and Commonwealth memorial to Winston Churchill; its...
was founded in 1959 he became one of its first Fellows and was Fellow and Tutor to Advanced Students there, 1959 to 1963.
In 1963 he moved to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
as the first Professor of Physical Chemistry at UMIST
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
, from which he retired in 1981. He was also Vice-Principal (Academic Affairs) at UMIST from 1973.
From 1981 to 1985, he was a course consultant to the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
. In retirement, he settled again in Cambridge.
Publications
During his career, Ashmore published many scientific research papers, especially in Nature, the Journal of Catalysis, and Science. His early research work was on the sensitised ignitions of hydrogen with oxygen and with chlorine. An early report in Nature in 1951 of a 'lighthouse reaction' was later recognized as important, and a paper to the 5th International Combustion Symposium at Pittsburgh (1954) was much cited.Selected papers
- A Study of Sensitized Explosions by P. G. Ashmore and R. G. W. Norrish (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 203, No. 1075, 1950)
- Induction Periods and Ignition Limits in Sensitized Ignitions of Hydrogen and Oxygen by P. G. Ashmore, F. S. Dainton and R. G. W. Norrish (Nature 175, 546-547, March 1955)
- Thermal Reaction between Hydrogen and Nitrogen Dioxide by P. G. Ashmore and B. P. Levitt (Nature 176, 1013–1015, 1955)
- Dissociative adsorption of methane and ethane on evaporated metal films by P. G. Wright, P. G. Ashmore and C. Kemball (Transactions of the Faraday SocietyFaraday SocietyThe Faraday Society was a British society for the study of physical chemistry, founded in 1903 and named in honour of Michael Faraday. It merged with several similar organisations in 1980 to form the Royal Society of Chemistry...
, 1958, 54, 1692–1702) - On Teaching High School Chemistry by P. G. Ashmore (Science, 4 June 1965)
Books
- Principles of Chemical Equilibrium by P G Ashmore (Royal Institute of Chemistry, 1961)
- Catalysis and Inhibition of Chemical Reaction by P. G. Ashmore (Butterworths, 1963) ISBN 9781114165496
- Gas Kinetics and Energy Transfer: A Review of Chemical Literature by P. G. Ashmore and R. J. Donovan (Specialist Periodical Reports, 1978
- Principles of Reaction Kinetics by P. G. Ashmore (Royal Society of Chemistry, 1973, revised editions 1979 and 1993)