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Canada's Great Inventor: George J. Klein
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Often cited as the most productive inventor in Canada in the 20th century George J. Klein worked at NRC for over forty years. An inductee of the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame, Dr. Klein was known as a kind, generous, and modest man, as well as an exceptionally productive and creative inventor.
Dr. Klein's numerous inventions included: the electric wheelchair for quadriplegics; the microsurgical staple gun; a wide range of industrial gearing systems; and internationally important innovations in aviation and space technologies.
His early research, for example, made it practical to use skis on aircraft, and his later inventions included the STEM antenna, which became a renowned Canadian contribution to the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo Space programs. Dr. Klein also headed the engineering team that designed ZEEP, Canada's first nuclear reactor, in the 1940s.
Even at the age of 72, he was called out of retirement to act as chief consultant on gear design for the CANADARM project, and continued to further its development and related space technologies into his 80s.
Want to learn more about Dr. Klein? Read George J. Klein: The Great Inventor published by NRC Research Press.
