My friend and colleague John Hearle, who has died aged 90, was emeritus professor of textiles and former dean of technology at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (Umist). Until recent months he was still making important contributions to understanding how fibres behave.
When he left Cambridge University in the 1940s with a first in physics, little was known about the structure of fibres. Through hundreds of peer-reviewed papers, and many books and articles, John was successful in promoting an “engineering design culture”.
He pioneered the use of computer modelling to improve performance of a wide range of fibre assemblies, from heavy-duty marine ropes to delicately tailored skirts. As well as transforming fundamental thinking, other advances included innovative development of three-dimensional hi-tech fabrics for architectural, surgical, aerospace and automotive uses.
Born in Gloucester to William, an agricultural supplies merchant, and his wife, Esther (nee Stanley), John went from the Crypt school to St John’s College, Cambridge, interrupted by military service. He spent some time at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, and the Shirley Institute, a research centre dedicated to cotton production technologies, before going to Umist in 1949 as an assistant lecturer in textiles.
He married Joy Pebody in 1955 and they had three sons, David, Adrian and Marcus. Joy died in 1982 from a brain haemorrhage.
As well as being a successful department head (from 1974), a distinguished international speaker, chairman of two small companies, Tension Technology International and TexEng Software, and a consultant to several US enterprises (including 30 years with DuPont from 1970), he made major contributions to the Textile Institute (TI), as editor-in-chief of its peer-reviewed journal from 1987 to 2000, chairman of council and other roles. For broader audiences, John edited the book Polyester: 50 Years of Achievement, Tomorrow’s Ideas and Profits (1993).
He was recognised by the TI through honorary fellowship, vice-presidency, and Warner and institute medals; and by honorary membership of the US Fiber Society and the British Society of Rheology.
John’s commitment to heritage found further expression as chair of the Mellor Archaeological Trust, securing funding for a project to reveal one of the world’s largest 18th-century water-powered cotton mills, in Mellor, Greater Manchester. This was preceded by what became a 10-year excavation of bronze and iron age, Roman and medieval remains in his own garden and surrounding land, under the direction of the University of Manchester archaeology unit. In 2010 he was made MBE for services to archaeology.
He was introduced to local history activity by his second wife, Ann (formerly Ashworth, nee Aldous), whom he married in 1985. For his 80th birthday he climbed Bowfell in the Lake District, and later he and Ann travelled in the uplands of Yemen.
Ann survives him along, with his sons, his stepchildren Stephen and Catherine, five grandsons and four step-grandchildren. His sister, Barbara, predeceased him.
