Robert Hutton (1876 – 5 August 1970) was an English metallurgist and Goldsmiths’ Professor in Metallurgy at Cambridge University from 1931 to 1942 and known for his work with the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning in assisting academics to flee the Nazi regime in Germany.
Although some of the pioneer work in metallography had been carried out by Heycock and Neville in the University Chemical Laboratory and formed part of the course in assaying chemistry, metallurgy was not included as a separate subject in the Natural Sciences Tripos.
His experience in the field of metallurgy led him to the conclusion that there was a sad delay between scientific advance and its application in industry, for which he blamed technical education, or rather lack of it.
Hutton was on the committee of the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning from the date of its move to Cambridge at the outbreak of World War II and for 30 years never missed a meeting.
He was one of those responsible for starting Research, a journal devoted to making scientific advance known to a wider public and to bridging the gap between pure science and its application to industry.