John Hearle obituary

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".