Donald and Agnes MACKAY

DR. DONALD MACKAY 'Don' Professor Emeritus, OC, OOnt, Ph.D., PEng, 1936 - 2023 and AGNES MACKAY "Ness" (née McGILL) 1930-2023 _______________ Prof. Donald "Don" Mackay and Agnes 'Ness' Mackay died together, with strength, calmness and dignity on Friday, October 20, 2023, at the Peterborough Regional Health. Don and Ness are survived by loving sons, Neil and Ian; grandchildren, Elizabeth, Kieran and Shannon; and great-grandson, Rhydian; plus many nieces and nephews. Ness was born in the historic centre of Edinburgh, Scotland, close to the Royal Mile. She was very proud of her family's humble origins in Edinburgh where her father was a career soldier, serving throughout World War I with distinction, and later stationed at Edinburgh Castle. She also took pride in her mother's family origins in York with a long line of chocolate workers. Ness worked for Ferranti Ltd., a firm of electrical engineers specialising in defence electronics and early computer development. In 1957, she immigrated to Canada to work for BP with a reference from Ferranti stating that she was '…most conscientious and reliable with a fund of common sense to carry her through this somewhat exacting work." Don grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and entered Chemical Engineering at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow (later the University of Glasgow) in 1954, graduating with a BSc in 1958 and PhD in 1961. During this period, he was able to enjoy a passion for mountain climbing, tackling 'Munros' in Scotland with his lifelong friend, Iain McGregor, and had vacation jobs as diverse as working in a distillery and on a crab 'creeler'/trawler. Don and Ness met in Toronto when he had started what became an almost 30-year working relationship at the University of Toronto Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry. Initially working as a Postdoctoral Fellow with Prof. Olev Trass, later teaching and research positions lead to appointment as Professor. They married in 1964, coinciding with a three-year period of employment with ICI in Teesside in the UK. Don and Ness returned to Toronto, picking up where he left off at the University of Toronto. Here, he had a long and productive research partnership with Dr. Wan Ying Shiu, co-authoring over 100 research papers. In 1995, he took up a position at Trent University in Peterborough as Founding Director of the Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre. Since 2002, he had been Professor Emeritus at both the University of Toronto and Trent University. Don received grants from a wide range of sources, which allowed him to support graduate students, travel widely, and present his substantial research to international meetings and conferences. Author of numerous books and over 650 scientific research papers with some exceptional students – many of whom were like an academic family. Many have gone on to highly successful academic research careers themselves, and he was always keen to pay tribute to their research commitment and creativity and how this contributed to his own career. In the early stages of his career, he conducted research on the behaviour and remediation of oil spills in the Arctic. During this time, he had the opportunity to spend many interesting summers in the Canadian Arctic. Some of these experiences were later reflected in his hobby of soapstone carving, also enjoyed by Ness. His later research focussed upon developing a better understanding and representation of the environmental behaviour of toxic substances. He was the originator and developer of the so-called fugacity-based "Mackay Models," which provide valuable insight into the behaviour of chemicals in the natural environment, as well as a framework for understanding transport and degradation. These 'multi-media' models have international recognition, and are now used to help guide regulatory and environmental policy decisions worldwide. He worked in a very collaborative environment and was one of the early organisers in the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). In 2001, he was the first Canadian recipient of the prestigious Honda Prize for his work on eco-technology. In 2003, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada, followed by the Order of Ontario one year later. Enjoyment of the natural world for both Don and Ness were reflected in significant family time at their much-loved cottage in the Haliburton Highlands. Don and Ness very much enjoyed travelling and had the good fortune of many work trips to Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. They also enjoyed the opportunity to explore the world with cruises in the Caribbean, South America, the Antarctic and Scandinavia. Throughout his life, Don was relentlessly curious and always considered himself to have the inquisitive nature of a scientist, but with the practical approach of an engineer in the finest Scottish tradition. This was mirrored by Ness' down-to-earth blend of Scots and Yorkshire common sense that provided a hearty partnership throughout just under 60 years of marriage. In accordance with Ness and Donald's wishes, cremation has taken place. Online condolences may be made at: www.highlandparkfuneralcentre.com