Dr. Austin Albert Einstein Mardon, Ph.D. CM KCSS FRSC FRCGS is an associate adjunct professor at the University of Alberta's John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre and assistant adjunct professor at the University of Lethbridge, Department of Neuroscience. Mardon is married to lawyer and activist Catherine Mardon with whom he has co-authored several books. As a Canadian author and researcher, Mardon regularly publishes research on geography and astronomy. Mardon also co-researches in other fields such as medicine and has co-authored a variety of introductory subject primers through the Golden Meteorite Press. Mardon has published over 360 scholarly papers and 200 non-fiction and fiction books. These publications have received over 87,000 views making Mardon one of Canada's most prolific academic scholars. According to Academia.edu, Mardon's view count places him amongst the top 0.1% of scholars. As a mental health advocate, Mardon has served in many related volunteer and professional capacities. For instance, Mardon has served in both board and committee member roles for Alberta Health Services, the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta, and the Canadian Mental Health Association. In 1985, Mardon founded the Antarctic Institute of Canada, a non-profit based in Edmonton, Alberta. Originally founded to lobby the federal government to increase Antarctic research, the Institute now supports academic writing, research, and multimedia on a variety of topics.

Biography

Family history

Mardon's paternal grandfather, also named Austin Mardon, graduated from Cambridge University prior to becoming a professor in comparative classics and history. Mardon’s father, Ernest George Mardon, attended Trinity College in Dublin before becoming an English professor at the University of Lethbridge. In 1937, Mr. and Mrs. Mardon (Mardon’s grandparents) purchased Ardross Castle, Lealty Farm, and 80 acres of land. A 19th Century castle built in the Scottish baronial style, the Ardross Castle property, at one point, encompassed 60,000 acres of the Scottish countryside. Mr. Austin Mardon and his wife lived at Ardross Castle until 1983, when the estate was eventually sold and acquired by the McTaggart family. Today, the Castle hosts private events and is used as a filming location.

Early years

Mardon was born June 25, 1962, in Edmonton, Alberta, to May and Ernest George Mardon. During his youth, Mardon resided in Lethbridge, Alberta, where he would often fall ill and be subject to bullying. During the winter months, Mardon would travel to Hawaii with his mother and sister. Locally, Mardon attended St. Patrick's Elementary School, St. Mary's Junior High School, and Catholic Central High School. Prior to University, Mardon also attended Invergordon Academy in Ross-shire, Scotland. In his late teens, Mardon attended the Grenoble Alpes University, a public research university in Grenoble, France. After receiving a French Diploma in 1979, Mardon returned to Canada where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Geography at the University of Lethbridge. In 1985, after graduating, Mardon served with the Canadian Armed Forces as part of the Primary Reserve. From 1981 through 1985 Mardon completed basic training and was stationed at the Canadian Armed Forces base in Dundurn, Saskatchewan.

Education

Between 1979 and 1985, Mardon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural Geography from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. Following his undergraduate studies, Mardon pursued a Master of Science degree, from 1985 through 1988, in Geography at South Dakota State University. Subsequently, from 1986 to 1990, Mardon obtained a Master of Education degree in Education Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. After obtaining his Master of Education degree, Mardon engaged in graduate coursework in Space Science at the University of North Dakota throughout 1990. Then, from 1993 through 2000, Mardon worked towards and received a Doctorate (Ph.D.) degree in Geography from Greenwich University on Norfolk Island, Australia. From 2001 to 2005, Mardon continued his studies through graduate coursework in Theology at Newman Theological College in Edmonton, Alberta. Simultaneously, from 2002 to 2004, Mardon engaged in graduate coursework in both Geography at Kharkov National University in Kharkiv, Ukraine and Comparative Education at the University of South Africa.

Career

While doing graduate work at South Dakota State University in 1986, Mardon was invited to be a member of the 1986-87 Antarctic meteorite expedition for NASA and the National Science Foundation. 170 miles from the South Pole, Mardon and his team found hundreds of meteorites. During this expedition, Mardon suffered environmental exposure which damaged his lungs and gave him a permanent cough. He received the Antarctica Service Medal for his efforts. On his return to Alberta, Mardon gave lectures on Antarctica at the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge. While he later secured an interview to be a member of the Canadian/Soviet Arctic traverse from northern Siberia to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, he was not accepted for that expedition. He was also supposed to join an Argentinian Antarctic expedition in the late 1980s, but a fire at the Argentinian Antarctic base caused the expedition to be cancelled. Eventually, Mardon went on another meteorite recovery expedition, this time in the Canadian Arctic near Resolute in the Northwest Territories. Although the mission did not yield results, Mardon wrote a paper on his conversations with locals and what the Inuit thought of meteorites. One of Mardon’s most significant contributions to astronomical science was a series of articles he wrote on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Chronicle is a running commentary on English medieval events. With the assistance of his father, a medieval scholar, Mardon discovered eleven cometary events, along with two meteor showers, mentioned in the Chronicle that are not mentioned anywhere else in astronomical literature.In 1991, Mardon was invited to join an expedition to the South Pole sponsored by the Geographical Society of the USSR. After travelling to Moscow to meet with expedition officials, Mardon quickly came to realize that he was under investigation by the Soviet government. Soon after Arriving in Moscow, Mardon was arrested first by the GRU, then by the KGB. After being held and questioned, Mardon was eventually released from custody but was to be accompanied by a “guide” at all times. Sometime later, Mardon secured passage back to Canada and eventually received an official letter of apology from Moscow. In 1992, Mardon was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following his diagnosis, Mardon began work as an activist for people with mental illnesses. Mardon has written multiple books on the subject of mental illness, and has been bestowed several honours and awards for his work as a mental health advocate. In 2006, Mardon was awarded the Order of Canada for his work as a mental health activist. In 2011, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) awarded Mardon the CMA Medal of Honour in recognition of, “personal contributions to the advance of medical research and education.” While awarding the medal to Mardon, CMA president Jeff Turnbull said, “Dr. Mardon has worked tirelessly to help Canadians better understand the issues around mental illness. In courageously talking openly about his own experiences, he is truly making a difference in coaxing mental illness out of the shadows in this country.” Over the years, Mardon and his wife have established several awards for College and University students. For instance, in 2012, at Newman Theological College, they established the Dr. Catherine & Austin Mardon CM Student Award Bursary and, at the University of Alberta, they endowed the Dr. Catherine & Dr. Austin Mardon CM Schizophrenia Award. Finally, in 2013, at Norquest College, they put into place the Dr. Catherine & Austin Mardon CM Schizophrenia Award. Today, Mardon is an assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Lethbridge as well as an associate adjunct professor at the University of Alberta's John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre.

Honours, Appointments, Awards, and Degrees

Honours

Appointments

Medals

Other awards

Degrees

Mardon has earned and received several degrees and honorary degrees from various universities. These include:

Non-fiction: Geographical Thought and Exploration

Non-fiction: Legal and Political Analysis

Non-fiction: Science and Social Discourse

Children's Books