Roy P. Mackal is a distinguished biochemist, engineer, and biologist who has spent most of his academic life at the University of Chicago, where he obtained his B.A. in 1949 and a Ph.D. in 1953.
His biochemical research, much of it DNA-related, has brought him international recognition. As an engineer he has developed numerous technical innovations, including the design and construction of automatic parachute and recovery systems for sounding rockets and a hydrogen-generation device for weather balloons.
As a biologist he has become well known for his sometimes controversial involvement with cryptozoology. He participated in several important cryptozoological expeditions. One took him to Scotland in the 1960s, to study the Loch Ness Monster, and to the Congo in the 1980s, in search of the supposedly brontosaurus-like Mokele-mbembe. Another African trek in 1988 had Mackal pursuing the Kongamato. He is the vice president of the International Society of Cryptozoology, having been involved in its founding at the suggestion of his friend Jerome Clark and new associate J. Richard Greenwell. Between 1965 and 1975 he was scientific director of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau. The titles of his books, The Monsters of Loch Ness (1976), Searching for Hidden Animals (1980), and A Living Dinosaur? In Search of Mokele-Mbembe (1987), suggest his dedication to cryptozoology, to which he brings a healthy and enthusiastic optimism as well as an analytical and practical intellect.
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SOURCE:
The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters,Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature
Written by Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark – Copyright 1999 Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark