Henry Martyn Paynter (August 11, 1923 – June 14, 2002) was an American scientist and professor of mechanical engineering at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He is best known as the inventor of

bond graphs A bond graph is a graphical representation of a physical dynamic system. It allows the conversion of the system into a state-space representation. It is similar to a block diagram or signal-flow graph, with the major difference that the arcs in ...

, a methodology to describe

dynamic systems In mathematics, a dynamical system is a system in which a function describes the time dependence of a point in an ambient space, such as in a parametric curve. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock p ...

.Overview of Paynters academic work
at me.utexas.edu. At archive.org.

Biography

Henry Martyn Paynter IV was born in Evanston, Illinois and grew up in New York City and its environs. He received the B.S. in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1944, the M.S. in mathematics and science in 1949, and the first Sc.D. ever awarded in hydroelectric engineering in 1951, all from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

. At MIT he joined the Department of Civil Engineering in 1946 and became an assistant professor in 1951. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1954 on a half-time basis to initiate a

Systems Engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their Enterprise life cycle, life cycles. At its core, systems engineering uti ...

curriculum. He became full time in mechanical engineering in 1959 and was promoted to associate professor the following year. He became a full professor in 1964. He was regarded as a creative, charismatic, and passionate teacher who deeply influenced the careers of his students. He urged them to think "big" and "deep" about engineering and science. He published on a wide variety of subjects in more than 100 papers, patents, articles, and book chapters, as well as several books. After he retired, Paynter was a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering. Paynter had been awarded the Alfred Noble Prize of the Joint Engineering Societies in 1953. He was elected to the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 1977. In 1979 the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) awarded him the Oldenburger Medal, and in 1984 the ACC Education Award.

Family and death

Paynter was married to Gayllis Anne Beasley and fathered six children. He died at Vermont at the age of 78.In memoriam Henry M. Paynter
at web.mit.edu, 2002. Accessed 23-11-2021.

Work

Paynter is celebrated for his contributions to "the analysis, design and control of complex multimedia systems and for developing the Bond graph modeling language."

Analog computing

In his work, Paynter became one of the world's leading experts in analog computing. His work was closely associated with George Philbrick, who is credited along with Clarence A. Lovell of Bell labs as the developer of the

operational amplifier An operational amplifier (often op amp or opamp) is a direct coupling, DC-coupled Electronic component, electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input, a (usually) Single-ended signaling, single-ended output, and an extremely high gain ( ...

. Paynter's earliest research lead to the formation of the Pi-Square Engineering Company. This company applied fast electronic analog computing to industrial process control. Paynter also collaborated closely with the

Woodward Governor Company Woodward, Inc. is an American designer, manufacturer, and service provider of control systems and control system components (e.g. fuel pumps, engine controls, actuators, air valves, fuel nozzles, and electronics) for aircraft engines, industrial e ...

on hydro plant control.

Bond graphs

Bond graphs are a unique way of describing dynamic models, designed to model the interaction between different kinds of physical systems, like electrical, mechanical, hydraulical and chemical. This is possible because one thing all these components have in common is power.

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

can flow from one component to another and bond graphs are designed to keep track of these flows in an easy way. Bond graphs were invented on April 24, 1959: The Bond graph modelling approach was presented for the first time in the "Ports, Energy and Thermodynamic Systems" on April 24, 1959, at MIT, which was later published (Paynter, 1961). Paynter was elected to the

in 1997, one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

Publications, a selection

* Paynter, Henry M., ''Analysis and design of engineering systems'', The M.I.T. Press, Boston, 1961 .