Phyllis Margaret Tookey Kerridge
Biography
Phyllis Margaret Tookey Kerridge was born in 1901 and was a chemist and physiologist, she is known for the invention of the miniature pH electrode in 1925.
She studied at the City of London School for Girls, followed by studying chemistry and physics at UCL, finishing in 1922. She married in 1926 and completed her Ph.D. in 1927. She worked at UCL, the Marine Biological Association, the Physiological Laboratory, the Carlsberg Chemical Laboratorium, the Medical Unit of the London Hospital, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and University College Hospital.
In 1925, with support from DSIR and MRC, she published a paper on her invention of a glass electrode for analyzing biochemical samples. She needed this for her PhD research, and existing pH electrodes only provided small signals. She invented the miniature pH electrode, with gave much larger signals than previous designs.
Kerridge assisted Robert W. Paul in testing the "pulsator" respirator. Her tests provided physiological measurements and improved the efficiency of the device, along with reducing the complexity and bulk. She later worked at the Royal Ear Hospital and developed standards for hearings tests. She also helped establish hearing aid clinics for the deaf. She was funded by the Medical Research Council to test the hearing of children across London in 1936. Her hearing aid technology was also used by the British Post Office to improve their amplified telephone service.
When World War II began, she worked at University College Hospital and was seconded to serve the Emergency Medical Service at St. Margaret's Hospital. She died in 1940.
Further Reading
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-for-the-history-of-science/article/phyllis-m-tookey-kerridge-and-the-science-of-audiometric-standardization-in-britain/2A8EDAC6A696AA0821E29DBF4B7C4C4D
