Philip Baxter
| Sir John Philip Baxter KBE, CMG, FAA |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
7 May 1905 Machynlleth, Wales |
| Died | 5 September 1989 (aged 84) Haberfield, New South Wales |
| Nationality | British |
| Fields | Chemical engineering |
| Institutions |
Imperial Chemical Industries Clinton Engineer Works University of New South Wales |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham (B.Sc., 1925; M.Sc., 1926; Ph.D., 1928) |
| Thesis | The combustion of carbonic oxide (1928) |
| Doctoral advisor | F. H. Burstall |
| Notable awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1965) Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1959) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1946) |
Sir John Philip Baxter, KBE, CMG, FAA (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 from 1953, continuing as vice-chancellor when the 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 is named in his honour.
Baxter was born in Wales, but grew up in England, entering the University of Birmingham at age 16. He joined Imperial Chemical Industries as a chemical engineer, and became head of the Central Laboratory of its General Chemicals Division in Widnes, investigating the chemistry of chlorine and fluorine. He was elected to the Widnes Municipal Council in 1939, a seat he held until 1949. During the Second World War he provided James Chadwick with samples of uranium hexafluoride for Tube Alloys, the British wartime nuclear weapons program, and later established a pilot plant to produce it in Widnes. In 1944, in response to a request from the Americans for someone with expertise in both uranium chemistry and industrial operations, he went to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to assist the Manhattan Project.
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