(meteorobs) Dr D W R (Don) McKinley

[David Entwistle]

Meteor Observers,

September 22nd, 2007 will mark the 95th anniversary of the birth of one 
of the pioneers of radio-meteor astronomy and the author of what is 
still regarded as the standard reference book on the subject, 'Meteor 
Science and Engineering' - Dr D W R McKinley.

The NRC Archival Services have kindly provided the following biography 
and fellow radio-meteor observer Felix Verbelen provided the following 
links. If anyone knows any more, then please get in touch, as I'd be 
very interested.

Picture of McKinley standing at back left.

<http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/people/faculty/tenn/asphistory/millman.
html>

<http://quark.physics.uwo.ca/~drm/history/space/w_t2.html>

Biography from NRC Archival Services

Dr. D.W.R. McKinley, former Vice-President (Laboratories) of the 
National Research Council of Canada whose work with radar during the 
second world war earned him the Order of the British Empire, retired in 
December, 1973, after a 35-year career with NRC.

Born in Shanghai in 1912, Dr. McKinley graduated from the University of 
Toronto in 1934. He obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics from the same 
university in 1935 and 1938 respectively.

Dr. McKinley joined NRC in 1938 and almost immediately went to work on 
the Cathode Ray Direction Finder. His wartime activities led him to 
England in 1940 where he served as scientific liaison officer (radar).

He returned to Canada in 1941 to be placed in charge of research and 
development of the Long Wave Early Warning Radar System, spending two 
years on this project. Following this, Or. McKinley initiated the 
Microwave Early Warning Radar Project and supervised the research and 
development of the prototype and of the model shop production for the 
RCAF.

He initiated the development of the Microwave Zone Position Indicator 
radar (MZPI) and supervised the early work done on it. He also had 
charge of design and construction of the Microwave Height Finder radar.

His expertise in radar was applied to the construction of equipment for 
the detection of meteors in the upper atmosphere, combined with optical 
observations to explore new areas of research. His book "Meteor Science 
and Engineering" (McGraw Hill 1961 ) is considered to be a standard 
reference work in this field.

Dr. McKinley was appointed Assistant Director of the Radio and 
Electrical Engineering Division in 1954, Associate Director in 1960, and 
Director in 1963. Five years later. he was named Vice-President 
(Laboratories).

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, of the American Physical 
Society and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 
and a member of the American Astronomical Society, of the Association of 
Professional Engineers of the Province of Ontario, of the Royal 
Astronomical Society of Canada. of the Engineering Institute of Canada, 
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the 
Canadian Association of Physicists. He also served for seven years as 
Chairman of the Canadian National Committee of the International 
Scientific Radio Union.

Throughout his career, Dr. McKinley has been recognized as a man with 
remarkable foresight in the fields of technological development. Many of 
the successful projects of NRC's Radio and Electrical Engineering 
Division, such as the Algonquin Radio Telescope, can be counted among 
his achievements.


-- 
David Entwistle