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Professional institutions
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In the U.K., despite the Father of Chemical Engineering, George Davis highlighting the need for a professional body back in 1888, the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) was not formed until 1922. It existed as a corporate body under the Board of Trade, despite objections by the Institute of Chemistry ‡ and the Institution of Civil Engineers. The first president, consultant to industry, Sir Arthur Duckham stated at the first meeting that “The aim of the Institution is to produce chemical engineers and hallmark such men so that they may be accepted as providing a valuable service to the process industries.” A royal charter was refused in 1950 after objections by the Institutions of Civil and Mechanical Engineers, but granted in 1955 with the support of John Oriel, a highly respected executive in Shell. The membership of the IChemE now stands at 25,000.
Other Professions
The IChemE remains the smallest of the major professional engineering institutions, mostly on account of its youth. The relative sizes are shown in the following table:
| Founded | Membership | |
|---|---|---|
| Institution of Civil Engineers | 1818 |  |
| Royal Society of Chemistry ‡ | 1841 | |
| Institution of Mechanical Engineers | 1847 | |
| Institution of Electrical Engineers | 1871 | |
| Institution of Chemical Engineers | 1922 | |
The chemical industry is also represented by the Society of Chemical Industry, which is older than the IChemE but with a broader focus and less stringent membership requirements. Chemical Engineers are often members of more than one professional body - other relevant institutions include, for example, the Institution of Nuclear Engineers and the Institute of Petroleum.
‡ The Royal Society of Chemistry has its origins in the Chemical Society of London which was founded in 1841 as shown in the table. It amalgamated with the Royal Institute of Chemistry and two other bodies in 1980, when the present title was adopted.
