Professor Michael Arthur Laughton

FREng Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK and from aroun ...

(born 18 December 1934) is

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of Electrical Engineering at

Queen Mary, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

, and currently Visiting Professor at the Department of

Environmental Science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical ...

and Technology at

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cul ...

Early life

He attended

King Edward VI Five Ways King Edward VI Five Ways (KEFW) is a highly selective co-educational state grammar school for ages 11–18 in Bartley Green, Birmingham, England. One of the seven establishments of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI, it is a volun ...

, a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school, ...

in Birmingham, then moved to Canada. Laughton attended Etobicoke Collegiate Institute in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, Ontario. At the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

, he gained a

BASc BASC may refer to: * Berkeley APEC Study Center * Berlin Air Safety Center * British Association for Shooting and Conservation * Bulacan Agricultural State College, Philippines * Business Alliance for Secure Commerce See also * Bachelor of Ap ...

in 1957. From the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, he gained a PhD in 1965 and a DSc (Eng) in 1976.

Career

Laughton was formerly Pro-Principal of Queen Mary and Westfield College and Dean of Engineering of the University of London. Together with D. F. Warne, Laughton coedited a book, '' Electrical Engineer's Reference Book'', by M. G. Say that is presently in its 16th edition. As a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senior ...

, Laughton is currently the UK representative on the Energy Committee of the

European Council of Applied Sciences and Engineering The European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE) is a European non-profit organization, which groups 19 to 20 European national academies of engineering, applied sciences and technology. The organization provides a ...

(EuroCASE), a member of the energy and environment policy advisory groups of the

, the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

and the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of T ...

, as well as the Power Industry Division Board of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 membe ...

. Laughton has acted as Specialist Adviser to UK Parliamentary Committees in both upper and lower Houses on alternative and renewable energy technologies and on

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

. He put great emphasis on the fact that the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is an island and therefore cannot rely significantly on imported energy. Apart from participating in many international forums and writing many technical papers relating to the field of energy, Laughton has spent the last decade informally scouring

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

for out-of-the-way inventors. Part of Laughton's motivation is sheer

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

charity, but there's also a more fundamental message he wants to convey to his academic colleagues. He says, "The

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

happened because of craftsmen-inventors... It did not spring from the minds of university-educated people. For too long have we worshipped at the altar of paper qualifications to the exclusion of a wider view. We must recognise the enormous value of the true innovator in effecting the technical changes in society which create real wealth."

Personal life

He married Margaret Coleman in 1960. They divorced in 1994 and have two daughters and two sons.

Academic qualification

BASc, PhD, DSc (Eng),

, CEng, FIEE

References

External links

World Energy Council

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928032150/http://www.scientific-alliance.org/opinions/opinions_press_releases/thedayafter.htm The Scientific Alliance {{DEFAULTSORT:Laughton, Michael Academics of Queen Mary University of London Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Living people 1934 births University of Toronto alumni People from Birmingham, West Midlands Alumni of the University of London Electrical engineering academics British electrical engineers Fellows of the Institution of Engineering and Technology People educated at King Edward VI Five Ways