Winnett Boyd
Encyclopedia
Winnett Boyd is a Canadian engineer
who made major contributions to the development of the jet engine
and nuclear reactor
design.
during World War I
, where he met Marjorie Sterne St. George, an American. They married, and in 1917 returned to Winnett's home town in Bobcaygeon, Ontario
. Growing up, Boyd lived in Bobcaygeon, Port Hope
, Bermuda
and Toronto
.
In 1935, Winnett began studying Mechanical Engineering
at the University of Toronto
's School of Practical Science
. He graduated with a B.Sc. in 1939 and was offered a staff scholarship by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). He completed one year of graduate studies at MIT as well as a Teaching Assistantship.
, and for the Aluminum Company of Canada
in Montreal
and Shawinigan Falls
.
In the fall of 1943, Boyd joined the Royal Canadian Navy
, but was soon sent to the National Research Council
(NRC). During this time the NRC was in the midst of implementing the suggestions of the Banks Report, which suggested ways of helping with the UK's jet engine development. Among its suggestions was the creation of a cold weather testing station, which the British could not supply as easily as the Canadians, as well as the creation of a local jet engine manufacturer in order to avoid dependence on the UK or US. The NRC sent a number of engineers, including Boyd, to study jet engine design in the United Kingdom over the next year. In the meantime, the government formed Turbo Research as Crown Corporation in Leaside
, now part of downtown Toronto
. A number of the engineers involved in the creation of the Report worked there, while others created the Cold Weather Testing Station in Winnipeg
.
On his return to Canada in 1944, the NRC sent Boyd to Turbo Research. The team initially had to decide between the centrifugal
or axial
engine designs, and Boyd outlined designs based on both, the TR.1 being the centrifugal version, and the TR.2 and TR.3 being two variations of the axial design. The team eventually decided to move directly to the more promising axial design, and started real work on the TR.3 in 1945. Boyd split off to start work on a smaller design, the TR.4, which was later named the Chinook. Work on the TR.3 was later abandoned.
In 1946 Turbo Research was sold to Avro Canada
, and Boyd became the Chief Designer of what was known as their Gas Turbine Division. In September 1946 they started development of the much larger TR.5, which soon became known as the Orenda. The Chinook ran for the first time in 1948, but was largely abandoned by that point. The Orenda ran for the first time in February 1949, and matured into a superb design that was the most powerful production engine between 1949 and 1952. Over the next few years just under 4,000 examples would be produced, and used on a variety of designs including the Avro CF-100
Cannuck and Canadair
versions of the F-86 Sabre
. Boyd resigned from Avro on December 31, 1950 after the company started planning a major reorganization and suggested Boyd become a consultant.
In 1951, he founded a consulting firm as Winnett Boyd Limited. At about the same time, he started working as a consulting engineer for the C.D. Howe Company, where he responsible for the design of the National Research Universal Reactor
, or NRU. The NRU is still operating at the Atomic Energy of Canada plant in Chalk River
. The NRU is still considered one of the world's finest research reactors and produces a large supply of isotopes used for medical reasons.
In 1956, Boyd began designing the Daniels-Boyd Nuclear Steam Generator (D-BNSG), a nuclear powerplant based on Farrington Daniels
' pebble bed reactor
design. After two years of promoting the D-BNSG, the project was ended. He later wrote on the topic, notably in The Nuclear Future of Canada in 1958/59. In 1959, Boyd became the first President of Arthur D. Little
's Canadian affiliate in Toronto. He worked there until his retirement in 1981, while maintaining his work at Winnett Boyd Limited.
, which is also concerned with world affairs.
Boyd ran for the Progressive Conservatives
in the 1972 General Election in the York—Scarborough
riding, but lost to the Liberal
candidate, Robert Stanbury
. He used this campaign to publicly discuss the capitalist
ideologies of his friend, Louis O. Kelso
. In 1974, Boyd co-founded BMG Publishing with Kenneth McDonald and Orville Gaines. BMG published eight books pertaining to Canadian politics between 1975 and 1979.
Boyd began developing a bicycle brake in the 1970s. In the early 1990s he built bicycles called the BMG Suburban, equipped with the back-pedalling brake he invented. Boyd sells these bicycles independently.
Boyd won numerous engineering awards, including the University of Toronto's Engineering Alumni Medal in 1948, becoming an Associate Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute in 1954, and certificate of recognition from the Corporation of Professional Engineers of Quebec in 1959. In 1981, Boyd was inducted into the University of Toronto's Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction.
Boyd's writing has been published widely in a variety of periodicals. He has also had three books published: Personal Thoughts: A Series on the Canadian Prospect (1966), The National Dilemma and the Way Out with Kenneth McDonald (1975), and Rebel Engineer (1998).
Winnett Boyd retired to Bobcaygeon.
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who made major contributions to the development of the jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
and nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
design.
Early life and education
Boyd's father, Winnett Wornibe Boyd, was stationed in WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, where he met Marjorie Sterne St. George, an American. They married, and in 1917 returned to Winnett's home town in Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Bobcaygeon, Ontario
Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent-Severn Waterway in the City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada.Bobcaygeon was incorporated as village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas"...
. Growing up, Boyd lived in Bobcaygeon, Port Hope
Port Hope, Ontario
Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, about east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County...
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
In 1935, Winnett began studying Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
's School of Practical Science
University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering
The Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering is an academic division of the University of Toronto devoted to study and research in engineering. Founded in 1873 as the School of Practical Science, it is still known today by the longtime nickname of Skule...
. He graduated with a B.Sc. in 1939 and was offered a staff scholarship by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
(MIT). He completed one year of graduate studies at MIT as well as a Teaching Assistantship.
Engineering career
Between 1940 and 1943, Boyd worked as an engineer for Demerara Bauxite in British GuianaBritish Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
, and for the Aluminum Company of Canada
Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and Shawinigan Falls
Shawinigan, Quebec
Shawinigan is a city located on the Saint-Maurice River in the Mauricie area in Quebec, Canada. It has a population of approximately 51,904 people ....
.
In the fall of 1943, Boyd joined the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
, but was soon sent to the National Research Council
National Research Council of Canada
The National Research Council is an agency of the Government of Canada which conducts scientific research and development.- History :...
(NRC). During this time the NRC was in the midst of implementing the suggestions of the Banks Report, which suggested ways of helping with the UK's jet engine development. Among its suggestions was the creation of a cold weather testing station, which the British could not supply as easily as the Canadians, as well as the creation of a local jet engine manufacturer in order to avoid dependence on the UK or US. The NRC sent a number of engineers, including Boyd, to study jet engine design in the United Kingdom over the next year. In the meantime, the government formed Turbo Research as Crown Corporation in Leaside
Leaside
Leaside is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The area takes its name from William Lea and the Lea family, who settled there in the early years of the nineteenth century. The area first developed as farmland along with Toronto through the nineteenth century. It was incorporated as a...
, now part of downtown Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. A number of the engineers involved in the creation of the Report worked there, while others created the Cold Weather Testing Station in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
.
On his return to Canada in 1944, the NRC sent Boyd to Turbo Research. The team initially had to decide between the centrifugal
Centrifugal compressor
Centrifugal compressors, sometimes termed radial compressors, are a sub-class of dynamic axisymmetric work-absorbing turbomachinery.The idealized compressive dynamic turbo-machine achieves a pressure rise by adding kinetic energy/velocity to a continuous flow of fluid through the rotor or impeller...
or axial
Axial compressor
Axial compressors are rotating, airfoil-based compressors in which the working fluid principally flows parallel to the axis of rotation. This is in contrast with other rotating compressors such as centrifugal, axi-centrifugal and mixed-flow compressors where the air may enter axially but will have...
engine designs, and Boyd outlined designs based on both, the TR.1 being the centrifugal version, and the TR.2 and TR.3 being two variations of the axial design. The team eventually decided to move directly to the more promising axial design, and started real work on the TR.3 in 1945. Boyd split off to start work on a smaller design, the TR.4, which was later named the Chinook. Work on the TR.3 was later abandoned.
In 1946 Turbo Research was sold to Avro Canada
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
, and Boyd became the Chief Designer of what was known as their Gas Turbine Division. In September 1946 they started development of the much larger TR.5, which soon became known as the Orenda. The Chinook ran for the first time in 1948, but was largely abandoned by that point. The Orenda ran for the first time in February 1949, and matured into a superb design that was the most powerful production engine between 1949 and 1952. Over the next few years just under 4,000 examples would be produced, and used on a variety of designs including the Avro CF-100
Avro CF-100
The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production, serving primarily with the RCAF/CAF and in small numbers in Belgium...
Cannuck and Canadair
Canadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. It was a subsidiary of other aircraft manufacturers, then a nationalized corporation until privatized in 1986, and became the core of Bombardier Aerospace....
versions of the F-86 Sabre
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...
. Boyd resigned from Avro on December 31, 1950 after the company started planning a major reorganization and suggested Boyd become a consultant.
In 1951, he founded a consulting firm as Winnett Boyd Limited. At about the same time, he started working as a consulting engineer for the C.D. Howe Company, where he responsible for the design of the National Research Universal Reactor
National Research Universal Reactor
The National Research Universal reactor, located in Chalk River, Ontario, is one of Canada’s national science facilities. It is a multipurpose science facility that serves three main roles....
, or NRU. The NRU is still operating at the Atomic Energy of Canada plant in Chalk River
Chalk River
Chalk River is a Canadian rural community part of the Laurentian Hills municipality in Renfrew County, Ontario. It is located in the Upper Ottawa Valley along Highway 17 , 10 km inland from the Ottawa River, approximately 21 km northwest of Petawawa, and 182 km northwest of Ottawa...
. The NRU is still considered one of the world's finest research reactors and produces a large supply of isotopes used for medical reasons.
In 1956, Boyd began designing the Daniels-Boyd Nuclear Steam Generator (D-BNSG), a nuclear powerplant based on Farrington Daniels
Farrington Daniels
Farrington Daniels , was an American physical chemist, is considered one of the pioneers of the modern direct use of solar energy.- Biography :Daniels was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 8, 1889...
' pebble bed reactor
Pebble bed reactor
The pebble bed reactor is a graphite-moderated, gas-cooled, nuclear reactor. It is a type of very high temperature reactor , one of the six classes of nuclear reactors in the Generation IV initiative...
design. After two years of promoting the D-BNSG, the project was ended. He later wrote on the topic, notably in The Nuclear Future of Canada in 1958/59. In 1959, Boyd became the first President of Arthur D. Little
Arthur D. Little
Arthur D. Little is an international management consulting firm originally headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and formally incorporated by that name in 1909 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who had discovered acetate. Arthur D. Little pioneered the concept of contracted...
's Canadian affiliate in Toronto. He worked there until his retirement in 1981, while maintaining his work at Winnett Boyd Limited.
Later interests
Boyd attended the Pugwash Conferences in 1965 and 1967. Boyd was a founding member of the Canadian Association for the Club of RomeClub of Rome
The Club of Rome is a global think tank that deals with a variety of international political issues. Founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy, the CoR describes itself as "a group of world citizens, sharing a common concern for the future of humanity." It consists of current and...
, which is also concerned with world affairs.
Boyd ran for the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
in the 1972 General Election in the York—Scarborough
York—Scarborough
York—Scarborough was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1988. It was located in the province of Ontario...
riding, but lost to the Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
candidate, Robert Stanbury
Robert Stanbury
Robert Douglas George Stanbury, PC, QC is a Canadian public servant, lawyer and former politician, journalist and corporate executive.Stanbury was educated at St...
. He used this campaign to publicly discuss the capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
ideologies of his friend, Louis O. Kelso
Louis O. Kelso
Louis Orth Kelso was a political economist in the classical tradition of Smith, Marx and Keynes. He was also a corporate and financial lawyer, author, lecturer and merchant banker who is chiefly remembered today as the inventor and pioneer of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan , the prototype of...
. In 1974, Boyd co-founded BMG Publishing with Kenneth McDonald and Orville Gaines. BMG published eight books pertaining to Canadian politics between 1975 and 1979.
Boyd began developing a bicycle brake in the 1970s. In the early 1990s he built bicycles called the BMG Suburban, equipped with the back-pedalling brake he invented. Boyd sells these bicycles independently.
Boyd won numerous engineering awards, including the University of Toronto's Engineering Alumni Medal in 1948, becoming an Associate Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute in 1954, and certificate of recognition from the Corporation of Professional Engineers of Quebec in 1959. In 1981, Boyd was inducted into the University of Toronto's Engineering Alumni Hall of Distinction.
Boyd's writing has been published widely in a variety of periodicals. He has also had three books published: Personal Thoughts: A Series on the Canadian Prospect (1966), The National Dilemma and the Way Out with Kenneth McDonald (1975), and Rebel Engineer (1998).
Winnett Boyd retired to Bobcaygeon.