Kennedy and Wunsch honoured in new IChemE lecture series

A new lecture series celebrating the work of two of New Zealand’s most distinguished chemical engineers was unveiled in Christchurch yesterday at IChemE’s annual New Zealand conference.

The Kennedy - Wunsch flagship lecture recognises the role that Miles Kennedy and Donald Wunsch have played in chemical engineering.

Kennedy’s inaugural lecture summarised his and Wunsch’s contribution to the chemical and process industries in New Zealand. Wunsch was a founding member of IChemE and a recognised figure in the lactose industry. Convinced the industry needed chemical engineers and not chemists, Wunsch trained several himself in the absence of any attainable professional qualifications in New Zealand at the time. Wunsch later encouraged the founding of a chemical engineering department at Canterbury University.

During WWII demand for penicillin augmented and had a direct impact on Wunsch’s factory. By 1950 his company was the largest producer of lactose in the world. Wunsch was a member of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research from 1943 to 1958 and chairman from 1955 to 1958. He became a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry in 1944, and in 1957 was awarded an OBE for his services to science.

Kennedy is a pioneer of chemical engineering, particularly in education in New Zealand. With a career spanning over 5 decades Kennedy has made key contributions not only to chemical engineering but to the broader engineering profession, university system and the community of New Zealand.

He pioneered an applied chemistry program between 1960 and 1965 at the University of Otago before moving to the University of Canterbury as a professor and head of the chemical engineering department. He was the first chemical engineer to be elected president of the then New Zealand institute of Engineers (now IPENZ) in 1980-1981. During this period the organisation adopted an engineering degree moderation program that has become an important measure of the relevance of engineering education in New Zealand today. Kennedy was also a foundation member of the New Zealand clean air council for many years.

Max Kennedy, Chair of IChemE in New Zealand commented: “We are delighted to introduce the annual Kennedy – Wunsch lectures, these two men were prominent chemical engineers who have helped shape the future of chemical engineering, not only in New Zealand but across the world. It is important that we acknowledge their significant pioneering efforts in the development of chemical engineering in New Zealand. It is also interesting to see how these early efforts paved the way for the tremendous impact that chemical engineering has in New Zealand today. ”