(2a) Introduction

An introduction to the sessions celebrating the 70th Birthday of John MacGregor

It is with great pleasure that we kick off our special sessions with an introduction of John MacGregor. In our introduction, we will spend some time providing a historical overview of John’s key areas of active research: from his early days in polymerization and process control, to his world class developments in multivariate statistics. Many of these areas will be presented in detail by our invited speakers. In the two sessions we will hear from John's students and also from his industrial collaborators. Toghether we honor the monumental scientific legacy that has expanded the theory but also made an impact at the plant floor.

But more importantly, we would like to give our audience a more personal introduction of John MacGregor: a compassionate and kind supervisor, and a person who is successful in life, by all measures. It is with pride and good memories that we call ourselves former JFM students, and we look forward to honoring him in this session.