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In Memoriam: Kenneth M. Baird, 1923 - 2022
Apr 18, 2022
Kenneth MacClure “Mac” Baird, Optica Past President (1983) and recipient of the C.E.K. Mees Medal (1989), passed away peacefully at this home in Ottawa on 18 April 2022. Baird was known for his contributions to standards research and optical metrology, particularly measurements that led to a new definition of the international meter.
Baird was born in China in 1923 to Canadian missionary parents. The family returned to Canada in 1925 and settled in St. John, New Brunswick. Baird received a BSc. in physics from the University of New Brunswick in 1943. After completing his undergraduate degree, Baird joined the Canadian National Research Laboratories, where he did research on aerial reconnaissance and high speed photography. After the World War II, he was awarded full financial support to study at Bristol University, England where he received his Ph.D. in solid state physics.
On his return to the NRC in 1951, Baird directed Canada’s primary length standard facilities for the transition of the International Meter from a prototype metal bar to a wavelength of light. His research on isotope lamps, perturbations to wavelengths and interferometry (including the development of the world’s first interference comparator for meter bar calibration in terms of standard wavelengths) placed Canada among the main contributors to the redefinition of the International Meter in 1960.
Baird also maintained Canada’s primary standard of mass as well as length, and standards for quantities derived from them, such as density, pressure, vacuum and certain engineering standards. For much of this work Baird engaged the industrial community, producing results such as design of the first commercially produced internal reflector laser and an important optical interference device for the security of valuable documents.
Through their work on the International Meter, Baird and a small team of researchers also achieved the following: one of the first demonstrations of saturated absorption spectroscopy, development of the technique of transition – difference generated frequencies in spectroscopic wavelength and frequency measurements, and the first measurement of the frequency of visible light (in collaboration with the U.S. National Bureau of Standards). Baird and his colleagues also played a major role in redefining the International Meter in 1982.
Baird’s research made him one of North America’s foremost metrologists. He published over 50 scientific papers and held 5 patents. He was president of the International Commission for Optics a member of the I.A.U. and chairman of its working group on wavelength standards. He was also a member of the International Advisory Committee for the Definition of the Meter, serving as chairman of its steering committee for the redefinition of the meter in 1982. In recognition of a long and distinguished career at the NRC, and the numerous contributions he made to the science of metrology in Canada and abroad, Baird was named to the Order of Canada in 2015.
Baird was an active volunteer for Optica, formerly OSA, and became a Fellow in 1961. He served on various councils and led a number of technical groups for the Society. He served on the Board of Directors and was elected 1983 President. He was awarded the C.E.K. Mees Medal in 1989. He was also a member of the Canadian Association of Physicists and chairman of its Optical Physics Division.
Baird was a genuine renaissance man with a vast range of interests and an inexhaustible zest for life. He was passionate about golf, as well as skiing, sailing and flying. He traveled the world, spoke German and French, and enjoyed classical music. A generous and caring family man, Baird loved to fix and build things and always had time to share his passion for life and science with family and friends. He is predeceased by his beloved wife of 60 years, Erna Monika, and will be sorely missed by his loving children Kenneth, Esther (Stanley Fimberg), Jennifer (John Ruddy), and Adrian, and grandchildren Nikola and Sonya.
The family extends its thanks to Dr. Heather-Rae Galbraith, Carolina Varga, and all the nursing staff at the Rockcliffe Retirement Residence for their enduring care and help. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Parkinson’s Research.
Kenneth M. Baird was a pioneer in standards research and optical metrology. Optica and the scientific community mourn the loss of Kenneth MacClure “Mac” Baird.
