James Derek Birchall

James Derek Birchall FRS OBE (7 October 1930 – 7 December 1995) was an English inorganic chemist, materials scientist, and inventor who spent most of his career working for Imperial Chemical Industries. He is known for his research on the health effects of exposure to silica and alumina.[1] He was named a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1982, making him one of very few individuals without a university degree to be so named. He was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1990, and (with J.E. Evetts) was jointly awarded the Armourers and Brasiers' Company Prize in 1993.[2] In 1992, he became a professor of chemistry at Keele University, where he continued to work until his death. At Keele University, he founded the Unit for Inorganic Chemistry and Materials Science in 1992, which has since been renamed the Birchall Centre in his honour.[3] On 30 November 1995, he was hit by a vehicle in a pedestrian street crossing in London, England. He died in the hospital on 7 December of that year, after spending the previous several days on life support.[1] In 2008, the Royal Society of Chemistry established the Materials for Industry - Derek Birchall Award in Birchall's honour. This award is given to a prolific British inventor in the field of materials chemistry.[4]