Roderick C. Tennyson, Ph.D., M.A.Sc., B.A.Sc., P.Eng., FCASI

rctennyson@aol.com

Dr. Roderick C. Tennyson graduated with a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from the University of Toronto in 1960 and subsequently received his M.A.Sc. (1961) and Ph.D. (1965) degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). He joined the staff at UTIAS in 1965 and became a Full Professor in 1974, during which time he specialized in the development of new structural design criteria for aircraft and spacecraft, with special emphasis on structural mechanics and advanced materials. Much of his work in the past decade has involved the study of materials for spacecraft applications and has led to three space shuttle experiments, one mission on the Russian MIR space station, and a current experiment on the International Space Station (in collaboration with NASA) investigating the durability and effectiveness of new (patented) surface treatment processes on the protection of polymers. He was the only Canadian among a team of international researchers on the NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), which flew for six years and was retrieved in 1990. LDEF has provided the most extensive database for materials behaviour in the space environment up to the present time. This research has led to the development of surface modification technology, currently being marketed by a new start-up company, HydraSil Corp.

He has published over 200 technical reports and lectured extensively on aerospace structures and materials at many international conferences. Over the years, he has served as a Scientific Advisor during the start-up of the Ministry of State for Science and Technology, a member of the Canadian Defence Science Advisory Board, the Airworthiness Advisory Board of Transport Canada, the National Research Council’s Institute for Aerospace Research Advisory Board, the Ontario Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Board and was Chairman of the Division of Engineering Science at the University of Toronto. From 1985 to 1995, he was Director of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Centre of Excellence, the Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science, for five years.

He was Director of the Fibre Optic Sensor Technology Program within ISIS Canada for four years (1998-2002), where he also served on the Board of Directors. He served as President of the Canadian Foundation for the International Space University (1987-2001) and is a Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute (CASI). In 1991, he was selected as the Turnbull Lecturer by CASI for his significant achievements in Aerospace Engineering, and in 1996 he was selected as the G.N. Patterson Lecturer as a distinguished alumnus of UTIAS. He recently completed a four-year term (1997-2001) as Director of the University of Toronto Government Research Infrastructure Program (GRIP). He is the co-founder of a new start-up company, FOX-TEK, specializing in fibre optic sensor technology where he serves as a Scientific Advisor and is the co-applicant on two patent applications on new fibre optic sensor systems.

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