Balfour Watson Currie, (November 1, 1902 – January 8, 1981) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

scientist specializing in the fields of

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

and

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stud ...

Early life

Born in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, he came to

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

at an early age. His parents moved to a farm homestead at Netherhill, near

Kindersley Kindersley is a town surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Kindersley No. 290 in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located along Highway 7, a primary highway linking Calgary, Alberta and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. At a population of 4,597 ...

, in the west central region of the province. Because of his pioneer heritage, he was equally comfortable with internationally renowned scientists or with farmers in the field. He came to the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

as a student and received a Bachelor-level degree in Physics (1925) and a Master-level degree in Physics (1927). His Ph.D. program at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

was completed in 1930.

Career

He was a staff member of the Department of Physics at the

(1928 - 1981), was Professor of Physics (1943–70) Head of the Department (1952–61), founder of th
Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies
(1956–66), Dean of Graduate Studies (1959–70) and Vice-president, Research (1967–74). Upon his retirement as Vice-president, he was appointed by the President of the University to be Special Advisor in Research Matters (1974–78). Later in 1974, he became Canadian Coordinator of the International Magnetospheric Study, and gave it his fullest attention until its completion at the end of 1979. During this period, he also pursued an earlier research interest in the possible influence of solar activity on prairie weather and rainfall. Early in his career, he spent two years in the Canadian Arctic. Currie and Frank Davies worked together at

Chesterfield Inlet Chesterfield Inlet (Inuit: ''Igluligaarjuk'')Issenman, Betty. ''Sinews of Survival: The living legacy of Inuit clothing''. UBC Press, 1997. pp252-254 is an inlet in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is an arm of northwestern Hudson Bay, and the ...

during the Second

International Polar Year The International Polar Years (IPY) are collaborative, international efforts with intensive research focus on the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor in 1875, but died before it first occurred ...

(1932-1933). An online archive of Currie's work on 2nd IPY studies of the Polar Year data continued under his direction at the

after World War II.

Recognition

In recognition of his outstanding contributions to his fields of study, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Meteorology Society of Great Britain in 1940, and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

in 1947. In 1967, he received the

Patterson Medal The Patterson Distinguished Service Medal is awarded by the Meteorological Service of Canada The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC; french: Service météorologique du Canada – SMC) is a division of Environment and Climate Change Canada, wh ...

from the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society. In 1972, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

"for his services to science and education especially in the fields of meteorology and climatology". In 1977 he received an honorary Doctor of Science (space research) from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Selected publications

* BW Currie, (1939) ''Earth Currents'', ''

Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada The ''Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada since 1907. The title in French is ''Journal de la Société royale d'astronomie du Ca ...

'', Vol. 33, p. 313
scanned PDF
* WD Penn and BW Currie (1949) ''A recording meter for auroral radiations'', '' Canadian Journal of Research'', Vol. 27
biblio. record
* WG Kendrew, BW Currie (1955) The Climate of Central Canada (book) E. Cloutier, Queen's Printer *BW Currie, (1955) ''Auroral Heights over Central-Western Canada'', ''

Canadian Journal of Physics The ''Canadian Journal of Physics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in physics. It was established in 1929 as the '' Canadian Journal of Research, Section A: Physical Sciences'', obtaining its current title in 195 ...

'' 33(12): 773-77
abstract

References

External links

Obituary - Currie, Balfour-Watson 1902-1981
Obituary in The Journal of the Royal Astron. Soc. of Canada vol. 75 no. 5, p. 219, October 1981.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Currie, Balfour 1902 births 1981 deaths Canadian people of American descent Canadian climatologists Canadian meteorologists Canadian university and college faculty deans Canadian university and college vice-presidents Companions of the Order of Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Academic staff of the University of Saskatchewan Presidents of the Canadian Association of Physicists