J. Ross Mackay

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Dr. John Ross Mackay PhD, OC, FRSC, (born December 31, 1915) is an award winning Canadian geologist. He is most noted for his explorations of permafrost phenomena in the western Canadian Arctic. His 40 years of study has enabled the building of pipeline operations and petroleum explorations in areas of frozen ground.

The Royal Society of Canada stated the following when Dr. Mackay was awarded the Willet G. Miller Medal in 1975;

”As a research worker with a superb talent of combining three elements - theory, design of simple but effective instruments, and skilled and careful field observations - he has met the challenges of applied science. In the field of permafrost studies he has attained a stature equal to the best from the USA and USSR and in so doing has enhanced Canadian science”.

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[edit] Early life

Mackay was born in Formosa (Taiwan). His grandfather was Dr. George Leslie Mackay, who was instrumental in bringing Christianity and public health care to Northern Taiwan (Formosa). The well-known Mackay Memorial Hospital was named after his ancestor.

He completed a B.A. at Clark University in 1939. He obtained an M.A. from Boston University in 1941. That same year he left his studies to join the war effort. Mackay enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. Mackay completed training near Toronto and further training as a private (gunner) at a large artillery camp in Petawawa, on the Ottawa River. He was commissioned an Officer by 1942. Before the Second World War ended he attained the rank of Major in the Canadian Intelligence Corps. He was stationed in Ottawa until he was discharge in 1946.

[edit] Career

In September of 1946, Mackay joined McGill University’s Department of Geography as an Assistant Professor. His first paper on "The North Shore of the Ottawa River, Quyon to Montebello, Quebec" was published in the Revue Canadienne de Geographie, Volume 1 in 1947. In 1949, he obtained a Ph.D. from the Université de Montréal. Later that same year he accepted a position at the University of British Columbia as an Assistant Professor with the Department of Geology and Geography. In 1953, Dr. Mackay was promoted to Associate Professor and became a full Professor in 1957.

Dr. Mackay gained international scientific recognition through his experimental and field investigations in geography, and especially on the topic of permafrost. He has published over two hundred scientific communications. Adding extensive research contributions in the Quaternary sciences.

Since 1981 he has been an Emeritus Professor at the University of British Columbia continuing to teach (voluntarily) a graduate course, undertake field research in the western Arctic and has published over fifty papers in refereed journals.

[edit] Personal

Mackay married Violet Meekins in 1944. They had two daughters, Anne and Leslie. Violet died in 1997.

[edit] Past Positions

  • President of the Canadian Association of Geographers (1953-54)
  • President of the American Association of Geographers (1969-70)
  • Vice-President of the International Geographical Union
  • founding Secretary General of the International Permafrost Association (1983-93)
  • Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Arctic Institute of North America
  • Honourary Member of the Chinese Society of Glaciology
  • Honourary Member of the Chinese Society of Geocryology
  • Honourary Member of the Geographical Society of the U.S.S.R.

[edit] Honours and Distinctions

[edit] External links

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