Professor Geoffrey F. Hewitt, a Founding Member of the UK National Heat Transfer Committee and its longest serving Chairman, passed away peacefully on Friday 18th January, aged 85, in the University College Hospital in London, surrounded by his family.
Professor Hewitt was a pioneer and recognised world leader in multi-phase flow and heat transfer with unparalleled achievements in these two fields. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Institution of Chemical Engineers where he served as President from 1989–1990, and a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Engineering.
Over his 60 years long career, first at Harwell and then Imperial College London, Professor Hewitt has won essentially any possible international prizes awarded in his field. The impressive list includes:
Donald Q Kern Award from the American Institution of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in 1980
Max Jakob Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 1995
Council Medal from the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in 1995
Luikov Medal from the International Center for Heat and Mass Transfer (ICHMT) in 1997
Nusselt-Reynolds Prize from the Assembly for World Conferences in 1997
Arnold Greene Medal from the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in 2000
Global Energy Prize from the Global Energy Partnership, awarded by the President of the Russian Federation in 2007
Sharma Medal from the UK Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in 2017
For many decades, Professor Hewitt has represented the UK in a number of international professional bodies, including the Assembly for International Heat Transfer Conferences (of which he was Past President), EUROTHERM and the International Centre for Heat And Mass Transfer (of which he was a Vice-President). He has also co-founded a number of prestigious publications (e.g. Heat Transfer Engineering, Heat Exchanger Design Handbook) and wrote several books dedicated to heat transfer, multi-phase flow and nuclear energy.
As impressive as his accolades were, what made exceptional was his unwavering optimism, his contagious passion for science and engineering, his curiosity for complex problems, his generosity and his refined manners. Professor Hewitt's legacy will continue through the many initiatives he started and championed over his long and prestigious career and through the large number of students and researchers lucky enough to have had the opportunity to work with him.
Professor Hewitt’s funeral will be held on Tuesday 12th February at 12.00 noon at Golders Green Crematorium, West Chapel. Please RSVP if attending. Enquiries: ammlon@aol.com.