AIChE National: Who They Are
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, AIChE, is a professional
organization geared towards advancing the chemical engineering profession.
Founded in 1908, its members typically worked in areas concerned with the
development of processes and design of plants used to make a desired product
while keeping cost in mind. Chemical Engineers now are also are concerned
with safety and environmental issues in the production, use and disposal of
chemical products. AIChE supports this body of professionals by
"fostering and disseminating chemical engineering knowledge and supporting
the personal and professional growth of its members."
(info from: http://www.aiche.org/about/)
AIChE National: History
"In 1881, The Society of Chemical Industry was inaugurated in London,
with 360 members and with chemist Henry E. Roscoe as its first president (the
American section, originally called the "New York Section," was born
in 1894). Among the founders of the new society was George E. Davis, an
Alkali inspector from the Midland region of England (a highly industrialized
area immortalized a few decades later by D.H. Lawrence). Davis, who had
witnessed first-hand the effect of engineering principles on chemical
manufacture, lobbied vigorously to call the new organization the "Society
of Chemical Engineers." Although his bid was defeated, Davis took an
active hand in ensuring that the group, from its inception, supported chemical
engineering.
In 1905, a familiar question arose: "Why not the American Society of
Chemical Engineers?" This time, it came in the form of an editorial
by Richard K. Meade, founder of the periodical The Chemical Engineer. He
argued that the body of U.S. chemical engineers - who, in his estimation,
numbered about 500 at the time - needed a professional society to help them gain
legitimacy. Process design, such as it was, had up until then, been the
domain of the industrial chemist, the applied chemist or the mechanical
engineer. The American Chemical Society established in 1876, was already a
considerable force in the industry and many of its members opposed the formation
of a new society, arguing that pure chemists could simply learn the business of
industry.
Meade reprinted the editorial in 1907, and called a preliminary meeting in
June of that year. A committee of six was formed, which conducted
exhaustive series of queries to chemists about the advisability of establishing
the new society, and finally decided to put the question to the vote of 50
prominent chemists and chemical engineers. Of the respondents, 22 favored
the idea of starting a society, 7 opposed and 7 were neutral. The first
AIChE meeting finally took place at the Philadelphia Engineers' Club on June 22,
1908. Nineteen were present.
Rather than threatening to "splinter off" from the ACS, AIChE
decided early on to be a complimentary organization, and one that emphasized
practice over academics. With this in mind, its founders adopted
restrictive membership requirements: An active member had to be at least 30
years old, proficient in chemistry as well as some engineering discipline, and
have 10 years of practical manufacturing experience (or 5 years of experience
plus an academic degree).
Over the next couple of decades, AIChE was to take an active part in the
training, educating, and aiding in career development of its members. It
created an accreditation system for chemical engineering curricula, publishing
its first list of accredited schools in 1925. To facilitate information
exchange among its members, AIChE published its Transactions.
When its permanent headquarters opened in Philadelphia in 1930, AIChE boasted
a strong, eminently qualified membership of 872. While the organization
relaxed its rigorous restrictions in later years (largely due to the urging of
president Arthur D. Little to include more academics and talented engineers
without the requisite qualifications), its charter remained the same as its
membership expanded - to provide an inclusive, comprehensive educational and
career infrastructure for chemical engineers throughout the country."
(this was extracted from: Kim, Irene. "An Evolution In
Chemical Engineering: The Journey Ahead." CEP 98 (Jan 2002): 4S -
5S.)
