Dyson Perrins Laboratory

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The entrance Dyson Perrins Lab Entrance University of Oxford.JPG
The entrance

The Dyson Perrins Laboratory is in the science area of the University of Oxford and was the main centre for research into organic chemistry of the University from its foundation in 1916 until its closure as a research laboratory in 2003. [1] Until 2018, parts of the building were used as teaching laboratories in which undergraduate students were trained in practical organic chemistry.

Organic chemistry subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives

Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline of chemistry that studies the structure, properties and reactions of organic compounds, which contain carbon in covalent bonding. Study of structure determines their chemical composition and formula. Study of properties includes physical and chemical properties, and evaluation of chemical reactivity to understand their behavior. The study of organic reactions includes the chemical synthesis of natural products, drugs, and polymers, and study of individual organic molecules in the laboratory and via theoretical study.

Contents

It was founded with an endowment from Charles Dyson Perrins, heir to the Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce company, and stands on the north side of South Parks Road in Oxford.

Lea & Perrins condiment maker

Lea & Perrins (L&P) is a United Kingdom based subsidiary of Kraft Heinz, originating in Worcester, England, where it continues to operate.

Worcestershire sauce sauce

Worcestershire sauce is a fermented liquid condiment created in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, in the first half of the 19th century. The creators were the chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, who went on to form the company Lea & Perrins. Worcestershire sauce has been considered a generic term since 1876, when the English High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own the trademark to "Worcestershire".

Notable chemists

The heads of the laboratory were the four consecutive Waynflete Professors of Chemistry:

  1. William Henry Perkin, Jr., from 1912 to 1929;
  2. Sir Robert Robinson, from 1930 to 1954. Nobel Prize winner, 1947;
  3. Sir Ewart Jones, from 1954 to 1978;
  4. Sir Jack Baldwin, from 1978 to 2003.

During its 87-year working life, the laboratory had an extremely distinguished career; it can claim a stake in shaping the scientific careers of two Nobel Laureates, namely Lord Todd (1957) and Sir John W. Cornforth (1975) who passed their formative years as young chemists in the laboratories.

History and present use

The Royal Society of Chemistry commemorative plaque, 2004 Dyson Perrins Lab Plaque Royal Society of Chemistry.JPG
The Royal Society of Chemistry commemorative plaque, 2004

The building of the laboratory began in 1913 and was finished in 1916 to the designs of Paul Waterhouse, the contractors being Armitage and Hodgson of Leeds. Funding came in part from C. W. Dyson Perrins of Queen's College. In 1920–22 an eastern wing was added as contemplated in the original design, this was followed in 1934 by an extension for medical students and in 1940–41 a new brick wing to the north was built. [2]

Paul Waterhouse,, was a British architect.

Research in organic chemistry at Oxford is now conducted across South Parks Road at the University's state-of-the-art Chemistry Research Laboratory. The majority of the building has been handed over to the Oxford University Geography Department for the establishment of the Oxford University Centre for the Environment (OUCE).

South Parks Road road in Oxford, UK

South Parks Road is a road in Oxford, England. It runs east-west past the main Science Area of the University of Oxford. Many of the university science departments are located nearby or face the road, including parts of the geography, zoology, chemistry, psychology and physiology departments. Also on the road is Rhodes House.

Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford

Chemistry Research Laboratory is a research facility home to Chemistry at the University of Oxford in England. It is part of the Department of Chemistry in the University.

The School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE) is a department of the University of Oxford, England, which is part of Oxford's Social Sciences Division. It is located in the Oxford University Centre for the Environment on South Parks Road, in central Oxford.

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Charles William Dyson Perrins FRAS was an English businessman, bibliophile and philanthropist. He was born in Claines, near Worcester, the son of James Dyson Perrins, the owner of the Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce factory and the grandson of William Perrins, co-originator of the Lea & Perrins secret recipe.

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Sir Ewart Ray Herbert Jones FRS was a Welsh organic chemist and academic administrator, whose fields of expertise led him to discoveries into the chemistry of natural products, mainly steroids, terpenes and vitamins. His work also led to the creation of the Jones oxidation.

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References

  1. ↑ John Jones (2008). The Dyson Perrins Laboratory and Oxford Organic Chemistry. ISBN   978-0-9512569-4-7.
  2. ↑ "The University Press and other modern buildings", in: A History of the County of Oxford; Volume 3: The University of Oxford (1954), pp. 56-60

Coordinates: 51°45′30″N1°15′13″W / 51.7584°N 1.2537°W / 51.7584; -1.2537

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