Papers of John Nicolson Low, Mechanical Engineering lecturer

John Nicolson Low qualified as a Mechanical Engineer from the Dundee Technical College and School of Art in 1931. Immediately after his qualification he worked as a part-time lecturer at the Dundee Technical Institute from 1931-33, becoming a full-time member of staff in 1933, going on to become a senior lecturer until his retiral in 1974. Outside of his teaching career he was a prominent member of the Institution of Production Engineers (later the Institution of Manufacturing Engineers), going on to become an associate member in 1951, later a Fellow by 1960.
From his early days in the Institute he encouraged students to link production engineering with management. He was responsible for introducing the BSc Degree in Industrial Engineering at the Institute, which was one of the first types of its course in Britain. Its popularity was slow to grow, but by the 1980s it was clear that such a broad based engineering and management course was of interest to many companies.
He later contributed a substantial sum towards a prize awarded from 1984 onwards on behalf of the Institution of Production Engineers to the best student in subjects of Manufacture and Industrial Management in the BSc Mechanical Engineering degree at Dundee College of Technology.

He died at the age of 81 in 1991.

The collection consists of certificates, correspondence, booklets and photographs relating to the career of John Nicolson Low, including his role in the Institution of Production Engineers, and the establishment of a prize from the Institution at the Dundee College of Technology.

None expected

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