Institution of Mechanical Engineers

George Stephenson

Informal meetings are said to have taken place in 1846, at locomotive designer Charles Beyer's house in Cecil Street, Manchester,[lower-alpha 1] or alternatively at Bromsgrove at the house of James McConnell, after viewing locomotive trials at the Lickey Incline.[1] Beyer, Richard Peacock, George Selby, Archibald Slate and Edward Humphrys were present. Bromsgrove seems the more likely candidate for the initial discussion, not least because McConnell was the driving force in the early years.[2] A meeting took place at the Queen's Hotel in Birmingham to consider the idea further on 7 October and a committee appointed with McDonnell at its head to see the idea to its inauguration.[3]

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers was then founded on 27 January 1847, in the Queen's Hotel next to Curzon Street station in Birmingham by the railway pioneer George Stephenson and others.[4] McConnnell became the first chairman.[1] The founding of the Institution was said by Stephenson's biographer Samuel Smiles to have been spurred by outrage that Stephenson, the most famous mechanical engineer of the age, had been refused admission to the Institution of Civil Engineers unless he sent in "a probationary essay as proof of his capacity as an engineer".[5] However, this account has been challenged as part of a pattern of exaggeration on Smiles' part aimed at glorifying the struggles that various Victorian mechanical engineers had to overcome in their personal efforts to attain greatness.[6] Though there was certainly coolness between Stephenson and the Institution of Civil Engineers, it is more likely that the motivation behind the founding of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was simply the need for a specific home for the growing number of mechanical engineers employed in the burgeoning railway and manufacturing industries.[5]

Beyer proposed that George Stephenson become the Institution's first president in 1847,[7] followed by his son, Robert Stephenson, in 1849. Beyer became vice-president and was one of the first to present papers to the Institution;[8] Charles Geach was the first treasurer. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries some of Britain's most notable engineers held the position of president, including Joseph Whitworth, Carl Wilhelm Siemens and Harry Ricardo. It operated from premises in Birmingham until 1877 when it moved to London, taking up its present headquarters on Birdcage Walk in 1899.[9]

No. 1 Birdcage Walk

Upon its move to London in 1877 the Institution rented premises at No. 10 Victoria Chambers, where it remained for 20 years. In 1895 the Institution bought a plot of land at Storey's Gate, on the eastern end of Birdcage Walk, for £9,500.[9] Architect Basil Slade looked to the newly-completed Admiralty buildings facing the site for inspiration. The building was designed in the Queen Anne, 'streaky bacon', style in red brick and Portland stone. Inside, there were several features that were state of the art for the time, including a telephone, a 54-inch fan in the lecture theatre for driving air into the building, an electric lift from the Otis Elevator Company, and a Synchronome master-clock, which controlled all house timepieces. In 1933 architect James Miller, who also designed the neighbouring Institution of Civil Engineers, remodelled the building, expanding the library and introducing electric lighting.

The building would go on to host the first public presentation of Frank Whittle's jet engine in 1945.[10] In 1943 it became the venue for the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers' planning of Operation Overlord and the invasion of Normandy.[9]

Today No. 1 Birdcage Walk hosts events, lectures, seminars and meetings in 17 conference and meeting rooms named after notable former members of the Institution, such as Whittle, Stephenson and Charles Parsons.

The following are membership grades with post-nominals :

• Affiliate: (no post-nominal) The grade for students, apprentices and those interested in or involved in mechanical engineering who do not meet the requirements for the following grades.
• AMIMechE: Associate Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers: this is the grade for graduates (of acceptable degrees or equivalents in engineering, mathematics or science)
• MIMechE: Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. For those who meet the educational and professional requirements for registration as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer (CEng, MIMechE) and also as a Chartered Engineer (CEng) or Incorporated Engineer (IEng) or Engineering Technician (EngTech) in mechanical engineering.
• FIMechE: Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. This is the highest class of elected membership, and is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to and innovation in mechanical engineering.

The James Watt International Medal is an award for excellence in engineering established in 1937 by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. It is named after Scottish engineer James Watt (1736-1819) who developed the Watt steam engine in 1781, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.

The Whitworth Scholarship is awarded to a few promising engineers of the main engineering disciplines for the length of a degree course. On successful completion, they become Whitworth Scholars, with a medal and are entitled to use post-nominals Wh.Sch.. It was founded by Joseph Whitworth.

The Engineering Heritage Awards were created in 1984 to help recognise and promote the value of artefacts, locations, collections and landmarks of significant engineering importance.

Along with The Manufacturer, the Institution also runs The Manufacturer MX Awards,[11] and Formula Student, the world's largest student motorsport event.

The Tribology Gold Medal is awarded each year for outstanding and supreme achievement in the field of tribology. It is funded from The Tribology Trust Fund.[12] It was established and first awarded in 1972. As of 2017, it has been awarded to 39 individuals from 12 different countries.[13]

Annual dinner of the Institution in the carriage works of the Midland Railway at Derby in 1898. Samuel Johnson, the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, was the president.

As of 2020, there have been 135 presidents of the Institution, who since 1922 have been elected annually for one year. The first president was George Stephenson, followed by his son Robert. Prior to 2018, Joseph Whitworth, John Penn and William Armstrong were the only presidents to have served two terms.

Pamela Liversidge in 1997 became the first female president; Professor Isobel Pollock became the second in 2012 and Carolyn Griffiths became the third in 2017.

List of presidents

Pamela Liversidge, first female president (elected 1997, pictured in 2014)

No	Years	Name	Sphere of influence
1	1847–1848	George Stephenson	railway engineer
2	1849–1853	Robert Stephenson	railway engineer, MP
3	1854–1855	William Fairbairn	manufacturer, trader, ironmaster, bridge, mill wheels, ships, later made baronet.
4	1856–1857	Joseph Whitworth (First term)	pioneer of machine tools, precision engineering
5	1858–1859	John Penn (First term)	Marine Steam engines
6	1860	James Kennedy	Marine engines and locomotives
7	1861–1862	William George Armstrong (First term)	Industrialist and inventor, primarily of armaments. Pioneer of domestic electricity
8	1863–1865	Robert Napier	Ship building and Marine engines
4	1865–1866	Joseph Whitworth (Second term)	pioneer of machine tools, precision engineering
5	1866–1868	John Penn (Second term)	Marine Steam Engines
7	1868–1869	William George Armstrong (Second term)	Industrialist and inventor, primarily of armaments. Pioneer of domestic electricity
9	1870–1871	John Ramsbottom	railway engineer
10	1872–1873	Carl Wilhelm Siemens	Metallurgist and electrical engineer
11	1874–1875	Frederick Joseph Bramwell	Steam engines and boilers
12	1876–1877	Thomas Hawksley	water and gas engineer
13	1878–1879	John Robinson	Steam Engines
14	1880–1881	Edward Alfred Cowper	Metallurgist, inventor of Cowper pot
15	1882–1883	Percy G. B. Westmacott	Hydraulic machinery
16	1884	Isaac Lowthian Bell	Iron master
17	1885–1886	Jeremiah Head	Steam powered agricultural machinery
18	1887–1888	Edward Carbutt	Iron and steel making
19	1889	Charles Cochrane	Iron and steel making
20	1890–1891	Joseph Tomlinson	Locomotive Superintendent
21	1892–1893	William Anderson	Bridges and factories
22	1894–1895	Alexander Kennedy	Professor of engineering, University College London
23	1896–1897	Edward Windsor Richards	Iron master
24	1898	Samuel Waite Johnson	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Midland Railway
25	1899–1900	William Henry White	Naval architect
26	1901–1902	William Maw	Editor, Engineering
27	1903–1904	Joseph Hartley Wicksteed	Testing machines and machine tools
28	1905–1906	Edward Pritchard Martin	Iron and steel making
29	1907–1908	Tom Hurry Riches	Chief engineer, Taff Vale Railway
30	1909–1910	John Aspinall	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway
31	1911–1912	Edward B. Ellington	Hydraulic machinery
32	1913–1914	Hay Frederick Donaldson	Royal Ordnance
33	1915–1916	William Unwin	oil engine research
34	1917–1918	Michael Longridge	Chief Engineer
35	1919	Edward Hopkinson	Electric Traction. Died during year of office
36	1920–1921	Matthew Henry Phineas Riall Sankey	Military engineering, oil engines and wireless telegraphy
37	1922	Dr Henry Selby Hele-Shaw	Prof. Mechanical Engineering at Liverpool University
38	1923	John Dewrance	Inventor
39	1924	William Henry Patchell	Electricity supply
40	1925	Vincent Raven	Chief Mechanical Engineer, North Eastern Railway
41	1926	William Reavell	Compressor manufacturer
42	1927	Henry Fowler	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Midland Railway and London Midland & Scottish Railway
43	1928	Richard William Allen	Pumps and Marine equipment
44	1929	Daniel Adamson	Gears, cranes and cutting tools
45	1930	Loughnan St Lawrence Pendred	Editor of The Engineer
46	1931	Edwin Kitson Clark	Locomotive Engineer
47	1932	William Taylor	Lens Manufacturing
48	1933	Alan Ernest Leofric Chorlton	Pumps and Diesel engines, MP
49	1934	Charles Day	Steam and diesel engines
50	1935	Major-General Alexander Elliott Davidson	Mechanised military transport
51	1936	Nigel Gresley	Chief Mechanical Engineer, London & North Eastern Railway
52	1937	John Edward Thornycroft	Ship building and motor vehicle design
53	1938	David E Roberts	Iron and steel manufacture
54	1939	E. Bruce Ball	Motor Vehicles and hydraulic valves
55	1940	Asa Binns	Engineer
56	1941	William Stanier	Chief Mechanical Engineer, London, Midland & Scottish Railway
57	1942	Col Stephen Joseph Thompson	Boilers
58	1943	Frederick Charles Lea	Engineering Professor at Birmingham and Sheffield Universities
59	1944	Harry Ricardo	Automotive engineer. Founder, Ricardo Consulting
60	1945	Andrew Robertson	Prof. Mechanical engineering at Bristol University
61	1946	Oliver Bulleid	Chief Mechanical Engineer, Southern Railway
62	1947	Lord Dudley Gordon	Refrigeration engineering
63	1948	E. William Gregson	Marine engines
64	1949	H. J. Gough	Metal fatigue, engineering research
65	1950	Stanley Fabes Dorey	Chief engineer surveyor
66	1951	Arthur Clifford Hartley	Chief engineer, Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. inventor, Pluto and Fido
67	1952	David Randall Pye	Air Ministry research engineer
68	1953	Alfred Roebuck	Engineering metallurgy
69	1954	Richard William Bailey	High temperature steel and materials research
70	1955	Percy Lewis Jones	Marine engines and ship building
71	1956	Thomas Arkle Crowe	Marine Engines
72	1957	George Nelson	Chairman English Electric
73	1958	Robert Owen Jones	Aircraft Engineer
74	1959	Herbert Desmond Carter	Diesel Engines
75	1960	Owen Saunders	Prof. Mechanical Engineering Imperial College London
76	1961	Charles Hague	Chairman, Babcock & Wilcox
77	1962	John Hereward Pitchford	Internal Combustion engines
78	1963	Roland Curling Bond	Chief Mechanical Engineer, British Railways[14]
79	1964	Frank Mason	Engineer in chief, Royal Navy
80	1965	Harold Norman Gwynne Allen	Power Transmission
81	1966	Lord Hinton of Bankside	Pioneer of nuclear power
82	1967	Hugh Graham Conway	Aero-engines and gas turbines
83	1968	Arnold Lewis George Lindley	Chairman of General Electric Company
84	1969	Donald Frederick Galloway	Manufacturing and machine tool engineer
85	1970	John Lamb Murray Morrison	Prof. Mechanical engineering Bristol University
86	1971	Robert Lickley	Aircraft engineer
87	1972	Lord Stokes	Chief executive, British Leyland
88	1973	John William Atwell	Steel industry and pump manufacture
89	1974	St John de Hold Elstub	Metals
90	1975	Paul Thomas Fletcher	Process plan and nuclear power plant
91	1976	Ewen McEwen	Chief engineer, Lucas
92	1977	Hugh Ford	Professor of mechanical engineering, Imperial College London
93	1978	Diarmuid Downs	Internal combustion engines
94	1979	James Gordon Dawson	Chief Engineer, Shell
95	1980	Bryan Hildrew	Managing Director, Lloyd's Register of Shipping
96	1981	Francis David Penny	Director, National Engineering Laboratory
97	1982	Victor John Osola/Vaino Junani Osola	Process engineer, safety glass
98	1983	George Fritz Werner Adler	Research Director, British Hydromechanical Research Association
99	1984	Waheeb Rizk	Gas turbines at General Electric Company
100	1985	Philip Foreman	Aerospace engineer
101	1986	Bernard Crossland	Prof. Mechanical Engineering, Queen's University Belfast
102	1987	Oscar Roith	Chief Engineer, Department of Industry
103	1988	Cecil Charles John French	Internal combustion engines
104	1989	Roy Ernest James Roberts	Director, GKN
105	1990	Michael John Neale	Tribology
106	1991	Duncan Dowson	Prof of Fluid Mechanics, Leeds University, Tribology
107	1992	Thomas Diery Patten	Offshore engineering
108	1993	Anthony Albert Denton	Offshore engineering
109	1994	Brian Hamilton Kent	Design and engineering management
110	1995	Frank Christopher Price	Technical director
111	1996	Robert William Ernest Shannon	Inspection engineering
112	1997	Pamela Liversidge	Powder metallurgy
113	1998	John Spence	Metallurgy
114	1999	James McKnight	Automotive
115	2000	Denis E. Filer	Automotive
116	2001	Tony Roche	Railway
117	2002	John McDougall	MD of WS Atkins
117	2003	Chris Taylor	Tribology
119	2004	William Edgar[15]	Offshore engineering
120	2005	Andrew Ives[16]	Automobile engine electronics
121	2006	W. Alec Osborn	Automotive
122	2007	John Baxter	Nuclear engineer
123	2008	William M. Banks	Composite materials. Professor, University of Strathclyde
124	2009	Keith Millard	Marine
125	2010	John Wood[17]	Automotive
126	2011	Roderick Smith	Rail engineer
127	2012	Isobel Pollock[18]	Engineering management
128	2013	Patrick Kniveton[19]	Nuclear Engineering - Rolls-Royce
129	2014	Group Captain Mark Hunt	RAF Engineer Officer, Engineering Management, Engineering Education
130	2015	Professor Richard Folkson	Chief Engineer of Ford of Europe, lecturer at University of Hertfordshire
131	2016	Jon Hilton	Kinetic energy recovery system pioneer, Deputy Chairman of Torotrak PLC
132	2017	Carolyn Griffiths	Head of Rail Accident Investigation Branch
133	2018†	Geoff Baker	Oil and Gas
116	2018†	Tony Roche (Second term)	Railway
134	2019	Joseph McGeough	Manufacturing
135	2020	Terry Spall	Automotive Engineer
136	2021	Peter Flinn	Manufacturing
137	2022	Philip Peel	Power Generation[20]

† Baker resigned in June 2018.[21] The Institution's by-laws state that a casual vacancy for President shall be filled by appointing a Past President to the role; Tony Roche was elected and duly took up office for a second term in August of that year.[22]

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers has a number of committees that work to promote and develop thought leadership in different industry sectors. The Institution has 8 divisions: - Aerospace, Automobile, Biomedical Engineering Association, Construction & Building Services, Manufacturing Industries, Power Industries, Process Industries and Railway.[23]

Biomedical Engineering Association (BmEA) aims to bring together key workers from both medicine and engineering to discuss the latest advances and issues, to enable networking among different industry leaders, and to promote the field of Medical Engineering, also known as Bioengineering or Biomedical Engineering, to government, healthcare professionals and the wider public. This committee offers:

• seminars, lectures and conferences every year;
• the Journal of Engineering in Medicine;[24]
• the annual Student Project Competition.

The Railway Division was formed in 1969 when the Institution of Locomotive Engineers amalgamated with IMechE.[25]

• Engineering
• James Watt International Medal
• Chartered Engineer
• Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers

• Pullin, John (1997). Progress through Mechanical Engineering. Quiller Press. ISBN 1-899163-28-X.
• Cragg, Roger (1997). Civil Engineering Heritage: Wales and West Central England: Wales and West Central England, 2nd Edition. Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-2576-9.
• Watson, Garth (1988). The civils: the story of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Thomas Telford Limited. ISBN 978-0727703927.
• Awdry, Rev W (1981). "Bromsgrove and the Lickey Incline: the railway revolution". In Foster, John (ed.). Bygone Bromsgrove: an illustrated story of the town in days gone by. Bromsgrove Society. ISBN 9780950947143. OL 19606374M.

• IMechE Official website
• Professional Engineering magazine website