Summary
Rudolf George Herman Prince AO (2 August 1928 – 3 July 2017), commonly known as Rolf Prince, was a noted chemical engineering academic, specializing in distillation and mass transfer.[1][2]
Life edit
Prince was born in Chemnitz,[3] Germany on 2 August 1928[4] from a Jewish family.[1] He and his mother moved to Italy in 1936, to Ireland in 1939 and to New Zealand in 1940,[1][2] and he became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1946.[5] He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School in Christchurch, then studied chemical engineering and chemistry at Canterbury University College of the University of New Zealand graduating in 1949.[3] He then took a PhD at the University of Sydney, Australia, becoming a lecturer there.[2] In 1953 he moved to the UK as a process engineer with The Distillers Company.[3]
From 1958, Prince pursued an academic career, starting as a lecturer at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, then in 1960 a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and in 1965 a professor at the University of Queensland,[2] where he established a new department of chemical engineering.[4] 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.[1][2][3]
Prince died in Sydney on 3 July 2017.[4][6]
Family edit
He married Laurel Williamson (19 November 1926 – 7 April 2018),[7] whom he met while a student.[1] They had three children.[1][7]
Honours edit
- Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)[8]
- Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal from Engineers Australia[1][2]
- President, Institution of Chemical Engineers 1986–7[3]
- Fellow, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering[6]
- His portrait was painted by Robert Hannaford and won an Archibald Prize in 1998[9]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g "Rolf Prince". www.apcche.org. Engineers Australia. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Langrish, Timothy. "Rudolf 'Rolf' Prince, 1928–2017". The Chemical Engineer. Institution of Chemical Engineers. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Rudolf (Rolf) George Herman Prince: 1986—1987". www.icheme.org. Institution of Chemical Engineers. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b c "The Rolf Prince Scholarship". crowdfunding.sydney.edu.au. The University of Sydney. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981". Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
- ^ a b "Deceased Fellows". www.applied.org.au. Art Gallery of New South Wales. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Laurel Prince". tributes.smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
- ^ "Professor Rudolf George Herman Prince". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
- ^ "Winners for 1998". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Australian Academy of Technology & Engineering. Retrieved 30 March 2019.