Arthur Porter (1910–2010) was a British-Canadian engineer and pioneer in computing and biomedical engineering.
Porter was born in Ulverston, England, on 8 December 1910, [1] the son of John William Porter and Mary Anne Harris. [2]
He studied at the University of Manchester where he gained undergraduate (BSc) honours in physics followed by an MSc. [3] He went on to obtain his doctorate (PhD) at Manchester under the supervision of Douglas Hartree). [1] His graduate work and doctoral thesis was on a differential analyser (early analog computer) constructed from Meccano parts. [3]
He spent the period from 1937 to 1939 on a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [1] This was followed by wartime research with the Admiralty Research Laboratory and the National Physical Laboratory. [1] After the war, he was Professor of Instrument Technology at Royal Military College (1946–1949). [1]
Porter then moved to Canada where he was Head of Research at Ferranti Ltd in Toronto from 1949 to 1955. [1] He then returned to London to take up the post of Professor of Electrical Engineering at Imperial College London from 1955 to 1958. [1] Following this, he was Dean at the University of Saskatchewan (1958–1961), [1] followed by two periods as Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto (1961–1968 and 1973–1975). [1] During his career, his colleagues included Douglas Hartree and Marshall McLuhan. [3]
Porter was a member of Project Lamplight in the 1950s. [3] Other posts he held included Chair of the Royal Commission on Government Organization (The Glassco Commission, 1960–1962), [3] Academic Commissioner at the University of Western Ontario (1970–1972), [1] Chair of the Science Committee of the Ontario Science Centre, [4] Chair of the Canadian Environmental Council, [4] and Chair of the Ontario Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning. [4] He also chaired the science advisory committee for Expo 67, the World's Fair held in 1967 in Montreal. [3]
Honours conferred on Porter include the Canadian Centennial Medal (1967) [4] and the Order of Canada (1988). [4] He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1970. [1] Porter became a US citizen in 1995. [2] He was hospitalised following a stroke and died at Forsyth Memorial Hospital, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on 26 February 2010. [1] Porter was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2013. [5]
Publications
- Cybernetics Simplified (1969)
- The Report of the Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning (1980, 9 vols.)
- So Many Hills to Climb: My Journey from Cumbria to North Carolina (2004)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Memorial Tribute to Arthur Porter, OC, PhD, DSc (Hon), FRSC, FIEE" (PDF). University of Toronto. 26 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Dean Arthur Porter". Winston-Salem Journal. 4–5 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "In Memoriam: Arthur Porter". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ a b c d e "Founding Chair of Industrial Engineering Inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame". University of Toronto. 22 October 2013.
- ^ "The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame: The Hall". Ingenium Canada. Archived from the original on 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
External links
- Porter, Arthur 1910 - 2010 (Science Museum Group)
- Oral History of Arthur Porter, 8 March 2008 (Computer History Museum)
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
Arthur Porter (1910–2010) was a British-Canadian engineer and pioneer in computing and biomedical engineering.
Porter was born in Ulverston, England, on 8 December 1910, [1] the son of John William Porter and Mary Anne Harris. [2]
He studied at the University of Manchester where he gained undergraduate (BSc) honours in physics followed by an MSc. [3] He went on to obtain his doctorate (PhD) at Manchester under the supervision of Douglas Hartree). [1] His graduate work and doctoral thesis was on a differential analyser (early analog computer) constructed from Meccano parts. [3]
He spent the period from 1937 to 1939 on a Commonwealth Fund Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [1] This was followed by wartime research with the Admiralty Research Laboratory and the National Physical Laboratory. [1] After the war, he was Professor of Instrument Technology at Royal Military College (1946–1949). [1]
Porter then moved to Canada where he was Head of Research at Ferranti Ltd in Toronto from 1949 to 1955. [1] He then returned to London to take up the post of Professor of Electrical Engineering at Imperial College London from 1955 to 1958. [1] Following this, he was Dean at the University of Saskatchewan (1958–1961), [1] followed by two periods as Professor of Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto (1961–1968 and 1973–1975). [1] During his career, his colleagues included Douglas Hartree and Marshall McLuhan. [3]
Porter was a member of Project Lamplight in the 1950s. [3] Other posts he held included Chair of the Royal Commission on Government Organization (The Glassco Commission, 1960–1962), [3] Academic Commissioner at the University of Western Ontario (1970–1972), [1] Chair of the Science Committee of the Ontario Science Centre, [4] Chair of the Canadian Environmental Council, [4] and Chair of the Ontario Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning. [4] He also chaired the science advisory committee for Expo 67, the World's Fair held in 1967 in Montreal. [3]
Honours conferred on Porter include the Canadian Centennial Medal (1967) [4] and the Order of Canada (1988). [4] He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1970. [1] Porter became a US citizen in 1995. [2] He was hospitalised following a stroke and died at Forsyth Memorial Hospital, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on 26 February 2010. [1] Porter was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2013. [5]
Publications
- Cybernetics Simplified (1969)
- The Report of the Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning (1980, 9 vols.)
- So Many Hills to Climb: My Journey from Cumbria to North Carolina (2004)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Memorial Tribute to Arthur Porter, OC, PhD, DSc (Hon), FRSC, FIEE" (PDF). University of Toronto. 26 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Dean Arthur Porter". Winston-Salem Journal. 4–5 March 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f "In Memoriam: Arthur Porter". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
- ^ a b c d e "Founding Chair of Industrial Engineering Inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame". University of Toronto. 22 October 2013.
- ^ "The Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame: The Hall". Ingenium Canada. Archived from the original on 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
External links
- Porter, Arthur 1910 - 2010 (Science Museum Group)
- Oral History of Arthur Porter, 8 March 2008 (Computer History Museum)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |