Robert Paul Kibblewhite MBE (20 April 1941 – 20 August 2015) was a New Zealand scientist noted for his research into the properties of wood fibre, particularly in relation to the pulp and paper industry.
[4] He then undertook postgraduate study in the United States at the Institute of Paper Chemistry, at that time part of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, graduating with an MS in chemical engineering in 1967 and a PhD in 1969.
[5] Following his PhD, Kibblewhite returned to the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (now known as Scion) in Rotorua, where he remained for the rest of his working life.
[9] With Diane Brookes he also developed what has become known as "Kibblewhite's kink index", which is used to quantify deformations in wood fibres arising during processing.
In 2003, while tramping with a group in the Tongariro National Park, his guide dog named Taupo, a white Labrador, was poisoned and required medical evacuation by helicopter.