James DeLaurier

A professor at the University of Toronto’s Aerospace Institute (UTIAS), James DeLaurier’s career has been spent at the leading edge of research and development of aviation. After earning his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University, he worked at NASA during the Apollo Program, then at the Sheldahl Co. before joining the UTIAS, where he founded the Subsonic Aerodynamics Laboratory in 1974.

Some of his most enduring work includes his contributions to the Stationary High Altitude Relay Platform (SHARP), multiple iterations of flapping wing flight and ornithopters – including ‘Mr Bill’ and ‘Great Flapper’ as well as the Snowbird Human-Powered Ornithopter, aerostats and airships, and the Atlas Human-Powered Helicopter, which, along with ‘Snowbird’ were instrumental in CAHF’s awarding of AeroVelo the Belt of Orion Award for Excellence in 2015.

For his outstanding contributions to the development of the science and engineering of aeronautics in Canada, and for his research and mentorship over the course of more than four decades, Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame is pleased to induct James DeLaurier as a member for 2022.