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 land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

. 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. Examples include the mathematical models that describe the swinging of a clock pendulum, the flow of water in a 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 professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

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 land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

. 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 util ...

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, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...

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 George A. Philbrick was responsible, through his company George A. Philbrick Researches (GAP/R), for the 1953 commercialization and wide adoption of operational amplifiers, a now-ubiquitous component of analog electronic systems, and the invention ...

, 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 DC-coupled high-gain electronic voltage amplifier with a differential input and, usually, a single-ended output. In this configuration, an op amp produces an output potential (relative to c ...

. 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, industri ...

on hydro plant control.

Bond graphs

Bond graphs are a unique way of describing

dynamic model A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, b ...

s, 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 most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

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 .