Professor Emeritus James DeLaurier from UTIAS was inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (CAHF).
DeLaurier has been a leader of development for aeronautics and aviation in Canada for more than four decades. After earning a PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, he showed his invaluable contributions by working with NASA for the Apollo Program between 1965-66 and Sheldahl Corporation in 1970. Following that, he established a research team at UTIAS and founded the Subsonic Aerodynamics Laboratory in 1974. The DeLaurier lab was prototyping a new breed of airships and designing flight dynamic simulations for airships and aerostats. DeLaurier led the first free-flying aircraft solely powered by microwave power transmission and the first human-powered ornithopter to fly straight and level (Snowbird). The Sikorsky Prize winning flight of the human-powered helicopter “Atlas”, along with Snowbird, gained CAHF’s awarding of the Belt of Orion Award for Excellence in 2015.
The 48th Annual Induction Ceremony took place at The Crowne Plaza at the Montreal Airport on October 27, 2022 to recognize and honour individuals and organizations for making outstanding contributions to Canadian aviation.