A Vancouver pioneer

OLGA LIVSHIN

“John S. MacDonald is the father of high-tech in B.C.,” said Daniel Friedmann, president of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), introducing his former colleague to the avid audience at the Kollel Business Club last month.

The Kollel’s upstairs space was packed with more than 50 men who came to MacDonald’s presentation. Only a few women were sprinkled among the crowd, emphasizing the overall mood of restrained energy and anticipation. And no wonder: MacDonald is a preeminent figure in Canadian cutting-edge technology and engineering.

MacDonald’s career path seems straight as a laser beam. As a teenager, he started his close acquaintance with engineering on a fishing boat, fiddling with radio. Years later, after receiving his PhD in engineering, he taught at the University of British Columbia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 12 years.

In 1969, MacDonald co-founded MDA, which he guided successfully from a one-room operation to a multimillion-dollar corporation, until his retirement in 1998. His vision and drive contributed to the shaping of the Canadian Space Program and propelled Canada to the forefront of space technology, especially imagery processing.

MacDonald’s public achievements are even more impressive. He has been an advisor to the governments of Canada, the United States and other countries on science and technology. He is an officer of the Order of Canada and, in 1999, was named one of 50 most influential British Columbia business leaders of the 20th century. In 2000, he was awarded the John H. Chapman Excellence Award of the Canadian Space Agency. In 2006, he was inducted as a laureate of the British Columbia Business Hall of Fame and received the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.

Even in retirement, MacDonald can’t stay idle. In 2001, he co-founded Day4 Energy. The company’s ultimate goal is harnessing the power of the sun. “Our technology has the potential to change the world, and it’s cost-effective,” MacDonald said proudly. From his point of view, good engineering is akin to an art form; an engineering solution could be as beautiful as a Leonardo painting or a Beethoven symphony. He has never stopped reaching for that beauty, exploring new approaches and angles.

His presentation was augmented by slides describing several innovative energy solutions, some of which MacDonald’s Day4 Energy pioneers around the world. “There is a close relationship between our prosperity as society and the energy usage,” he explained, adding that, until recently, the earth supplied large quantities of inexpensive energy, but the situation is changing.

MacDonald outlined the three main energy issues Western civilization currently faces: dependence on foreign energy, environmental concerns and economic circumstances, tied to the classic supply-and-demand quandary. “What will happen when we have exhausted the oil fields?...When will it happen?”

According to his slides, the optimistic forecast is that humanity will reach the point of no return, when energy demand overcomes the existing supply, by 2040. The pessimistic predictions shorten the timeline by two decades. Then, the worldwide demand for energy will drive prices up.

In the future, he said, mainstream energy sources will have to switch to renewable types: solar and geothermal power, wind, hydro and the tide and wave energy of the oceans. Such sources have the advantages of being local, environmentally benign and practically inexhaustible, but our civilization still confronts the huge tasks of learning to manage them efficiently. Although scientific research abounds, commercial applications are still in the making, said MacDonald. At the moment, the project of converting renewable energy sources into a usable power grid is considered the frontier of modern energetics. Day4 Energy, he continued, is already involved in developing the solar energy option, specializing in photovoltaic technology.

MacDonald also spoke about climate change. As a scientist and an engineer, he reinforced his presentation with tables of raw data and photographs. His conclusions were not encouraging. Rapid increase in world temperature is inevitable; it’s already started. Those who deny the changes are, in all probability, funded by the oil industry, he said.

MacDonald is not among the deniers. “We have to do something,” he insisted. “We have to save earth and ourselves.”

The presentation ended on an optimistic note, as MacDonald talked about our local riches both in renewable energy and in brainpower. Afterward, everyone trooped downstairs to Maple Grill for dinner and networking.

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She’s available for contract work. Contact her at [email protected].

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