Jasper Mardon was born in Exeter, England in 1921. From 1939 to 1946 he served in the British army in World War II. Following the war Mardon received his B.A. (1949) and MA (1951) from Selwyn College, Cambridge University, England. In 1997 he was awarded D.Sc. (Hon.) degree by the Board of Graduate Studies. It is the highest degree Cambridge University confers in science and engineering but is rarely awarded to a person in industry.
In 1974, Mardon formed Omni Continental, a process consulting company specializing in the pulp and paper industry, worldwide. He pioneered many advances in improving paper machine operations, especially the runnability. Examples of his pioneering work include the tapered flow manifold for headboxes, use of high speed photography to analyze wet-end disturbances, frequency analysis for pulsation diagnostics on paper machines, and the use of optical lasers to correct alignment problems on coaters. Omni also developed and provided training seminars for operating crews and management of a paper mill.
Mardon was a founding member of the International Association of Scientific Papermakers. Four awards and endowments have been established in his name by TAPPE, PAPTAC, PITA, and APPITA. He published 6 books and over—technical papers / reports, including some path-breaking studies in pressing, drying, and calendaring. He also has many patents to his credit.
Mardon is the recipient of over 20 national / international awards and honors. The honor “Fellow” has been bestowed upon him by the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI), the Instrument Society of America, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the City and Guilds Institute of London. He is also the recipient of the PITA Silver Jubilee Medal (1988); TAPPI’s highest technical award, the Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal (1990); and the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association’s John Bates Gold Medal (1990).
Jasper Mardon passed away in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 1997.
