Dr. Gordon Jackson

After I completed my B.Sc. I still wanted to learn more. I asked Professor Sargent if he was willing to supervise my PhD research. Without hesitation, he said, "Yes."

Emeritus Professor R. W. H. Sargent
© Imperial College London

In 2016, after he was awarded the MM Sharma medal, Professor Eva Sorensen, said “Roger is very much the founding father of the Process Systems discipline. He has, over several decades, spearheaded the development and application of mathematical modelling and optimisation based on system thinking – the basis of modern chemical engineering" (as cited by IChemE).     →

I remember the challenges of trying to complete my PhD work, and only being able to run the process design program once per day, because the maximum amount of mainframe memory was about 60K. My runs used up a large proportion of the college's computer resources.

I remember typing up my thesis on an IBM Golf Ball typewriter. At that time, cut and paste meant that you used scissors and paste, because word processors had not yet been invented. I had to retype my thesis three times from beginning to end.

I remember the precision with which Professor Sargent dissected my thesis, so that I could present a coherent argument and adequately defend every word in every sentence during the final examination. My external examiner was a recognized expert in the field who had to certify that I had met the requirements for the award of a Ph.D. Those requirements were essentially the same as they are today, to "form a distinct contribution to the knowledge of the subject and afford evidence of originality by the discovery of new facts and/or by the exercise of independent critical power (Requirements")."

I was able to satisfy Professor Peter Hutchinson from the University of Cambridge, who was my external examiner, and a recognized expert in my field of study. Therefore, I joined Roger's academic geneological family, which spans seven generations, over 50 Ph.D.'s and over 2,000 members (IChemE).

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