David Goring was born in Toronto, Canada, on November 26, 1920. He studied at University College in London, England, earning a bachelor of science degree in chemistry in 1942. He continued his formal education, receiving a doctorate in physical chemistry from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1949 and, in 1953, a doctorate in colloid chemistry from Cambridge University in England.He spent his scientific career in Canada, starting as an assistant research officer in the Maritime Regional Laboratory, National Research Council, from 1951 till 1955. In 1955, he moved to the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada (PAPRICAN), starting with the rank of scientist, retiring in 1985 with the rank of principal scientist.
In 1971, he was appointed director of research at PAPRICAN, serving until 1977. He then served as vice-president, scientific and vice-president, academic from 1977-1983 and 1983-1985, respectively.
From 1960-2003, he was actively involved in teaching and training, first in the Chemistry Department at McGill University and later at the Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry Department’s Pulp and Paper Centre, University of Toronto.
Dr. Goring devoted the majority of his working life to the study and understanding of the structure of the three main components of wood: lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. His ground breaking, original work on how wood components are modified by chemical pulping has been of great importance to the pulp and paper industry.
His publications on the thermal softening of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin are the basis of much of the recent work on the effects of elevated temperatures in the thermo-mechanical pulping of wood. Dr. Goring’s work formed the foundation of the thermo-mechanical pulping industry. It was also important for the press drying, high temperature calendaring, and thermally induced bonding of webs in the production of paper sheets.
His original work on the modification of the surface of cellulose fibers in order to make them more reactive shed light on how they bond in paper sheet formation and how they bond to polymer coatings. This has led to the more efficient production of paper and new polymer coated paper products. Important patents have been granted in this field.
In 1973, Dr. Goring received the Anselme Payne Award from the American Chemical Society. In 1986, he received the Gunnar Nicholson Gold Medal Award, the highest award from the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) that can be bestowed on an individual. He was awarded the John S. Bates Memorial Gold Medal from the Technical Section of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association in 1995.
He is a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada, the Chemical Institute of Canada, the International Academy of Wood Science, and TAPPI.
He supervised 23 Ph.D. thesis students and numerous others in the academic field. He has lectured by invitation at various universities and industrial R&D laboratories around the world. He has over 200 publications.
He married Elizabeth in August 1948. They have three children, James, Rosemary, and Christopher.
