1960: Professor Owen Alfred Saunders

Professor Owen Alfred Saunders (1904-1993)

75th President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Saunders was born in Streatham, London, England in 1904. His father was an engineer and was the inventor and designer of the Beckmeter petrol pump, which was widely used in British petrol stations.

Saunders attended Emmanuel School, Wandsworth Common, from 1913 to 1919. After a period of home study, he enrolled at Birkbeck College, in the Chemistry department. In June 1923, he achieved a first-class pass in the London University external general science degree. He then attended evening classes in physics and won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he began studying in 1923.

In 1927, he began working at the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Fuel Research Station, as a scientific officer. He continued his studies at this time and gained a BSc in special mathematics with first-class honours, and an MSc in physics.

In 1932, Saunders was appointed a lecturer in applied mathematical physics at Imperial College. Five years later he became the first Clothworkers’ reader in thermodynamics. He was seconded to the Directorate of Turbine Engines (Ministry of Aircraft Production) in 1942 and remained there until the end of the war.

In 1946, Saunders returned to Imperial College and was appointed Chair of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the Department. In this position, he oversaw a period of considerable re-building. He remained in this position until 1964, when he was elected Pro-Rector of the College. When the Rector, Sir Patrick Linstead, died suddenly, Saunders acted as Rector from 1966 to 1967. He then became Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, overseeing the merger of Bedford College and Royal Holloway College and becoming the first Chairman of the council of the combined college. He retired from the Vice-Chancellorship in 1969.

Saunders was also a full member of the Magic Circle.

He was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1960 and was made an Honorary Fellow in 1965.

He died in 1993.

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