Jack F. Richardson

Jack F. Richardson, 90, president of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in 1975 and 1976 and former head of the chemical engineering department at Swansea University, in Wales, died on Jan. 4.

Richardson earned a B.Sc. in 1941 and a Ph.D. in 1949, both in chemical engineering, from Imperial College London. In 1947, he became a lecturer, and later a senior lecturer, in chemical engineering at Imperial College. After spending a brief time in industry, he served as head of chemical engineering at Swansea for more than 25 years until his retirement in 1987.

He was named to the Order of the British Empire in 1981, primarily for his work on government committees and on John M. Coulson and Richardson’s “Chemical Engineering” book series. Richardson was awarded the Arnold Greene Medal from IChemE in 1969, and he chaired the institution’s publications board from 1982 to 1985. In 2006, IChemE published a special edition of its journal Chemical Engineering Research & Design to celebrate Richardson’s 85th birthday.

Richardson is survived by his wife, Joan.