1918 - 2018 Celebrating 100 years The Salters’ Institute Celebrates 100 years of support for chemistry & science education Kathryn Roberts Foreword As this account to celebrate its 100th the Institute has played an important anniversary shows, the Salters’ Institute role in supporting science education in a has made a major contribution to science university context, through the funding education for the past 100 years. As the of successive Salters’ professors of flagship charity of the Salters’ Company, chemistry or science education at the for the first 50 years the Institute University of York. funded postdoctoral fellowships and postgraduate scholarships to encourage The Institute now has a substantial chemists and chemical engineers to impact on the teaching of chemistry make their careers in the chemicals and and other sciences across the UK related industries. The success of these and beyond. This has been done awards is indicated by the many Fellows in collaboration with industry, with who eventually took senior positions in universities and with other scientific industry. professional bodies – associations which the Institute highly values. Over the past 50 years, the Institute shifted its support in the main to school The Institute looks forward to drawing chemistry, and latterly to all of school on its growing network of alumni – science. Not only has it played a major industrialists and educators – to support role in the development of a number and shape its future work. of innovative and inspirational curricula Professor Michael Reiss, but, through its Festivals of Chemistry Master of the Salters’ Company and Chemistry Camps, it has given many thousands of young people the opportunity to experience first-hand the excitement of chemistry not always found in the classroom. At the same time, 2 Celebrating 100 years The Salters’ Company The Salters’ Company is one of the The first recipient of the City & Great 12 Livery Companies of the City Guilds fellowship was Martin Onslow of London, and has its origins in the Forster, a demonstrator at the Royal salt trade of medieval London. The College of Science, London, who importance of salt, especially hundreds later became the first Director of of years ago, cannot be overstated – it the Salter’s Institute of Industrial Chemistry. was used to make food palatable and to preserve it, and was a valuable token of trade. People who could afford to kept The Salters’ Company lavish salt containers in their homes as a symbol of wealth and status. The Salters’ Company is governed by a Master, two Wardens, and a Court of 1394 The Company was granted its Assistants (Board of Directors) that is charter from Richard II, a licence to responsible for company business and establish a fraternity of Salters. Some of electing the Master and Wardens. The these ‘citizens of London’ had expertise Clerk is a permanent member of staff in using salt, for example to dry fish who runs the day-to-day activities for and meat; others were more interested the Company. The Master is in office in its value, and weights and measures for one year. for trading purposes. Whatever their business, being part of the Company There are around 300 current Salters, was an indication that the goods some by inheritance, some through they produced or traded with were of invitation. reputable quality. In return for its licence, the Salters’ Company, like all the high- ranking livery companies, was expected to support charitable activities. 1894-1911 As part of its charitable giving, the Company awarded research fellowships of between £100 and £150 each to young men to work in various government and hospital laboratories in London. As one of the founding members of the City and Guilds London Institute (1878), the Company gave one of its fellowships to encourage research in applied chemistry in this institution. Celebrating 100 years 3 The Salters’ Institute Immediately after the First World War, 1918 The Salters’ Institute of Industrial in 1917, the Salters’ Company set up a Chemistry was founded with the Special Committee to consider ‘how overarching objective, under an elected best to further the interests of the trades Director, to encourage more graduate for which it was originally formed’. The chemists and chemical engineers into the Great War had highlighted the strengths chemical and pharmaceutical industries. of the German chemicals industry compared with Britain’s, where relatively The focus of the Institute’s support few graduate chemists were employed was applied chemistry research and and research lagged behind that of training, not pure research since there its German competitors. As a result, were already organisations providing Germany’s production of fertilisers, money for this. The Company wanted explosives and dyestuffs was thriving to do something no other organisation and more advanced than Britain’s. was doing. This strategy of enriching Moreover, the value the Germans placed provision rather than replicating on the technical training of their what others were doing in support of chemists exposed Britain’s lack of chemistry education, and later science regard for this more vocational aspect of education, would become a trademark of science education. the Institute. The Salters’ Company needed a The Institute’s first Director, Dr Martin high-profile charitable purpose. Onslow Forster, was chosen in part for The Committee chose chemical his achievements as an organic chemist manufacturing as its ‘trade’, recognising – he was Director of British Dyestuffs in the importance of salt as an input to 1916 – and in part because he had been inorganic chemical manufacture and outspoken on the need for high quality hence to the country’s future prosperity. science education that also met the needs of industry. Many livery companies gave their support to schools in London, the Forster led the Institute for four years, Haberdashers’ Company and the with the next 50 years seeing four more Merchant Taylors’ Company for example. eminent chemists take charge, all of The Salters’ Company was unique in whom were Fellows of the Royal Society giving its support to one subject – – Arthur Smithells (1922–37), Sir Robert chemistry education. In the years to Robinson (1937–49), Sir Alfred Egerton come this decision would prove to be (1949–59) and Arthur Ubbelohde tremendously valuable in raising the (1959–75). profile of the Company – the name Salters is known in schools all over the country. 4 Celebrating 100 years Initially, through postdoctoral fellowships, From 1918 to 1975: 130 postdoctoral the Institute helped young men whose fellowships were awarded; 80 chemistry studies had been interrupted postgraduate scholarships; seven by the Great War to complete their business management fellowships, 1 education. Subsequently, it set its sights as well as the ‘grants in aid’. on helping young chemists to get further Many Salters’ Fellows went on training in research and encouraging to secure places in industry and them to enter industry. government bodies, several becoming CEOs of major scientific Over the next 50 years the Institute institutions. Dr Peter Doyle, who would introduce different types of became Director of Research at ICI awards to reflect the changing needs of and at Zeneca, is one example. Like industry. In the early 1930s, small ‘grants- several other Salters’ fellows and in-aid’ were given to working young scholars, he later became Master of men and women who wanted to attend the Salters’ Company. evening classes to improve their chemical knowledge and their career prospects. Many of these young people went on A growing need for to do degrees in chemistry and take well-qualified chemists up positions in the chemicals industry. In the aftermath of the Second World By the 1960s, the chemicals and War (1939–45), with the Company’s City pharmaceuticals industries in the UK premises in St Swithin’s Lane destroyed were competitive and strong, and the and in need of rebuilding, finances were demand for well-qualified chemists was tight. Nevertheless, the Institute found high. GCE A-levels were established as the money to introduce postgraduate the standard entry requirement into scholarships. Later, in the 1960s, the Higher Education. To encourage A-level Institute recognised the need to attract chemistry students to take the subject future leaders to industry so some of its at university, thus expanding the pool of fellowships were given for achievement chemists for industry, the Director of the ‘well above the average’. Institute, Alfred Ubbelohde, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London, decided to expand the Institute’s support for school chemistry education. He had little difficulty in persuading the Master of the Company in 1961 that this was a good idea – Professor Sir Alexander Todd (later Lord Todd) was Celebrating 100 years 5 a scientist and an academic. A renowned chemical reactions triggered by very organic chemist, Todd had been awarded short pulses of energy. Porter would later the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1957 play an influential part in the Institute’s for his synthesis of nucleotides and legacy, driven by his belief in the need nucleotide co-enzymes. to increase the numbers of high-quality physical scientists for the prosperity of 1960 The Institute ran a series of the country. lectures aimed at inspiring A-level chemistry students to study the 1961 The Institute launched five-day, subject at university. Given by eminent university-based conferences for chemists, these lectures were intended school science teachers to give them to complement the Royal Institution the opportunity to find out about the Christmas lectures which had been latest developments in science and to running successfully for many years but come together to discuss new teaching were aimed at younger children. techniques. The first Salters’ Conference for School Science Teachers was held at One Salters’ School Lecture was given the University of Manchester; its success by inspirational chemist and educator, led to the Institute running similar events George Porter, then Professor of at different universities annually for many Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, years.