Chemical engineering - as a recognised skill in the workplace, as an academic discipline, and as an acknowledged profession - is scarcely a century old. Yet from a contested existence before the First World War, chemical engineering had become one of the ''big four'' engineering professions in Britain, and a major contributor to Western economies, by the end of the twentieth century. The subject had distinct national trajectories. In Britain - too long seen as shaped by American experiences - the emergence of recognised chemical engineers was the result of professional aspirations and contingency, and shaped by a shifting ecology of institutions, firms and government. Drawing upon extensive archival research, this book examines the evolution of technical practice, working environment and social interactions of chemical engineering. It will be of considerable interest to historians, sociologists of the professions, and to practitioners themselves.

List of Figures. List of Tables. Acronyms and abbreviations. Preface. 1. Introduction: An elusive profession. 2. `. that doubtful and indescribable person, the chemical engineer.' 3. Catalysing an identity. 4. Designing professionals. 5. Dampened aspirations. 6. Rapid expansion. 7. Unstable equilibrium. 8. Profession versus institution. 9. Conclusions: Distilling an identity. Appendices: Early organisers of British chemical engineering. Institutional statistics. Institutional organisation. Teaching statistics. Occupational statistics. The literature of chemical engineering. Bibliography: Note on archival sources. Index.