Abstract
THE pending retirement of Prof. J. E. Coates from the chair of chemistry marks the close of an important period in the history of the University College of Swansea, for, of the professors of scientific subjects appointed at the time of its foundation, he is the last remaining in the service of the College. After a brilliant career as student at Bangor, in London and at Karlsruhe, and distinguished service during the First World War in the Royal Naval Air Service, he was in 1920, when a member of the staff of the University of Birmingham, called to the professorship of chemistry at the newly established Swansea College of the University of Wales. It then fell to his lot to start, build up and maintain one of the major departments of the College, and the magnitude of his success in this arduous and responsible labour is demonstrated by the rapid advancement of the Chemistry Department to its present prosperous condition, and great service to the important industrial area in which it is situated. Under his direction, a foremost feature has been activity in research in physical chemistry, in which branch he was trained during his early investigations under the great masters, Ramsay and Haber. Among his studies while at Swansea have been the physical and chemical properties of hydrogen cyanide and its solutions. His past and present students, his colleagues and his numerous friends will all wish Prof. Coates many years of further fruitful activity.
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Chemistry at University College, Swansea : Prof. J. E. Coates, O.B.E. Nature 161, 1004 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/1611004a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1611004a0