Sir John Philip Baxter, KBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (7 May 1905 – 5 September 1989), better known as Philip Baxter, was a British chemical engineer. He was the second director of the University of New South Wales

University of New South Wales

The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 from 1953, continuing as vice-chancellor when this position's title was changed in 1955. Under his administration, the University grew from its technical college roots into the 'fastest growing and most rapidly diversifying tertiary institution in Australia'. Philip Baxter College

Philip Baxter College

Philip Baxter College, University Of New South Wales is a residential college at the University of New South Wales in Kensington, Sydney, Australia.-The college:...

 is named in his honour.

Baxter was born in Wales, but grew up in England, attending the University of London

University of London

-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...

 at 16. He joined Imperial Chemical Industries

Imperial Chemical Industries

Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...

 as a chemical engineer, and later provided James Chadwick

James Chadwick

Sir James Chadwick CH FRS was an English Nobel laureate in physics awarded for his discovery of the neutron....

 with samples of uranium hexafluoride

Uranium hexafluoride

Uranium hexafluoride , referred to as "hex" in the nuclear industry, is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process that produces fuel for nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It forms solid grey crystals at standard temperature and pressure , is highly toxic, reacts violently with water...

 for nuclear research. He was recruited to the then-New South Wales University of Technology as a professor of chemical engineering

Chemical engineering

Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...

, arriving in Sydney on board the Orcades in January 1950.