Calvin Dodd MacCracken (1919-1999) was an American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an id ...

who made important contributions to energy storage technology and the construction of

ice rinks An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

Early life

MacCracken was born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

to Henry Noble MacCracken, a president of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

and Marjorie Dodd MacCracken. Cal MacCracken entered

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

at age 16 and graduated in 1940. After briefly working with Thomas Edison's son he attended

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

, where he earned a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

. From college, MacCracken went to work at

General Electric Corporation General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ener ...

, where he designed the first

combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Intern ...

and throttled the first jet engine.

Later life

In 1947, MacCracken left General Electric to found Jet Heat Inc. (now known as CALMAC Corp.) in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from po ...

. In the following 50 years as CEO of CALMAC, he produced over 250 inventions and had 80 patents. MacCracken is best known for his work in energy storage and ice rinks. He developed the IceBank® energy storage system, a form of

thermal energy storage Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with widely different technologies. Depending on the specific technology, it allows excess thermal energy to be stored and used hours, days, months later, at scales ranging from the individual process, ...

used to cool buildings by making ice at night when electricity rates are less expensive. IceBank® energy storage functions like a battery for a building's air-conditioning system. IceBank® saves dramatically on the cost to cool buildings by reducing a building's on-peak use of electricity. The IceBank ice battery system uses standard cooling equipment plus an energy storage tank to shift all or a portion of a building's cooling needs to off-peak, nighttime hours. During off-peak hours, ice is made and stored inside IceBank energy storage tanks. The stored ice is then used to cool the building the next day. IceBank® offers a critical service to grid, since air-conditioning is the main culprit behind spikes in peak electrical demand. This on-peak reduction decreases the need to build new power plants or turn on expensive “peaker” power plants. Over 1GW of IceBank energy storage is used in over 4,000 installations in 60 countries for commercial buildings, schools, government buildings, hospitals, hotels and retail. MacCracken also invented the IceMat ice rink. This ice rink system was placed at over 2,000 ice rinks worldwide, including the one at

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...

in New York City. IceMat creates uniform ice with dramatic reduction in pumping power. IceMat rolls out like a carpet and connects to a refrigeration unit for quick installation at both temporary and permanent ice rinks. This flexible design has since become the industry standard for ice rinks. MacCracken also invented the SunMat roll-out

solar collectors Solar collector may refer to: * Solar thermal collector, a solar collector that collects heat by absorbing sunlight * Solar Collector (sculpture), a 2008 interactive light art installation in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada See also * Concentrating ...

, comfort controls for

space suits A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

used by the Apollo program, the JetHeet furnace, the AquaJet water powered sump pump, the KPad for

burn victims A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur main ...

, the HI-V high velocity furnace with flexible duct system for adding

central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

and air conditioning to homes and the Roll-A-Grill hot dog cooker. Another of MacCracken's inventions was the Alumazorb low-emissivity ceiling that dramatically reduces

radiant heat Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of particles in matter. Thermal radiation is generated when heat from the movement of charges in the material (electrons and protons in common forms of matter) is ...

loads from the warm ceiling to the cold ice below, reducing energy consumption for freezing ice by up to 30 percent. MacCracken was so far head of his time, that on a “futuristic” 1953 T.V show entitled 2000 A.D., he correctly predicted, in detail, the coming of the Solar Age. In 1955, MacCracken attended the first Solar Energy Convention in Arizona. On November 10, 1999, MacCracken died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at a retirement community in New Hampshire. His first marriage ended in divorce. He was survived by his second wife.

Achievements

MacCracken was an 11-time national

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

champion and local councilman. In the 1960s, he appeared in TV commercials for Ballantine Ale that were run by the

P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company was an American brewery founded in 1840, making Ballantine one of the oldest brands of beer in the United States. At its peak, it was the 3rd largest brewer in the US. The brand is currently owned and ope ...

. Author of the book "A Handbook for Inventors", MacCracken was responsible for 80 patents. MacCracken was honored for his contributions to ice sports through posthumous receipt of the

Ice Skating Institute The Ice Skating Institute (formerly the Ice Skating Institute of America) is a trade association for ice rinks, and also an international governing body for recreational figure skating. It was founded in 1959 to proliferate the building of permanent ...

’s Frank J. Zamboni Award. He was an inaugural inductee into the

New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame The New Jersey Inventor's Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to honor individuals and corporations in New Jersey for their inventions. Award recipients are recognized at the annual Award Banquet Dinner. The New Jersey Inventors Hall of ...

and was inducted in the

ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ) is an American professional association seeking to advance heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems design and constructio ...

Hall of Fame in 2016, for his contributions to the growth of ASHRAE. (Interestingly, MacCracken's grandfather Henry M. MacCracken originally coined the term "Hall of Fame") Today his son, Mark M. MacCracken continues in his father's legacy as CEO of CALMAC. CALMAC Corp. boasts over 1GW of energy storage and 2000 ice rinks have been installed in 60 countries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacCracken, Calvin D. 1919 births 1999 deaths People from Poughkeepsie, New York 20th-century American inventors Princeton University alumni General Electric people American squash players Sportspeople from Poughkeepsie, New York American male tennis players