Teacher who helped set up Young Science Exhibition

Peter Start, who has died aged 84, lectured in chemistry at University College Dublin and was one of the inspirations behind what became the annual Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition. He also played a major role in the development of health-and-safety education.

Born in Wolverhampton, where his parents, Doris and Harry, ran a successful book and stationery shop he attended school at Tettenhall College, where a notable past pupil, Sir Arthur Harden, had won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1929.

Growing up during the war he had an abhorrence of waste and developed the ability to fix or make things from scratch, using simple raw materials and a few tools. From boyhood, he had a passion for chemistry and having visited Ireland a number of times before finishing school, decided to attend Trinity College Dublin.

He got a teaching post at High School, Rathgar and gave “grinds” at night. A popular teacher, he was recruited to the staff of the chemistry department at UCD in 1963. He had met his future wife, Marie, at a dance in the Metropole in 1955 and they married on his birthday in 1958. For many years, she was the homemaker and also worked as a secretary.

Young Science

Shortly after joining UCD, he and Fr

Tom Burke

of the physics department approached

Gerry Dempsey

, CEO of

Aer Lingus

, to seek sponsorship for a science event which would demonstrate young people’s innovative ability. Dr Dempsey and the airline’s air-education unit supported the idea, thus giving birth to the Aer Lingus Young Science Exhibition.

Peter Start (chemistry), Fr Burke (physics) and Margaret Duhig (zoology) launched the Young Science Exhibition at the Intercontinental Hotel, Ballsbridge in April 1964. Start acted as chemistry judge for most of the next 20 years and his role in its founding was recognised at the 50th anniversary of the event last year.

When the UCD chemistry department moved to the new Belfield campus in 1964, Start had responsibility for organising chemistry practical classes for first-year students. To solve the communications challenge posed by large student numbers he came up with “Chem TV”, a departmental TV studio with monitors installed throughout the labs which guided students through the experiments. Other universities soon copied the innovation.

Start also played a major role in the development of UCD’s Diploma in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work. He and former registrar Caroline Hussey and deputy-president Tom Walsh established the National Centre for Safety and Health in Ireland. He became a fellow of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and with RTÉ developed an international tele-education course with a worldwide reach.

He was a member of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland for more than 50 years and in 2014 was made an honorary fellow, his most cherished award. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Skills

At his Kilternan home he built everything he could himself and taught his sons to drive tractors, operate lathes, mix concrete; also carpentry, electrics, roofing and plumbing. Over decades he turned a dilapidated farm into a beautiful family home, with landscaped gardens created by his wife’s gardening passion. He is survived by Marie and sons Keith and Nigel.