Carson F. Morrison, P.Eng. (1902–1993) was a university professor, innovative engineer, magazine editor, co-founder of the North American firm Morrison Hershfield, and president of a standards association. He was considered to be a touchstone for professional ethics and morality in

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

. He is remembered for his ideas and advice, knowledge and imagination.

Early life and education

Morrison was born on a farm in File Hills, in what is now

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

but then, in 1902, was called the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

. He graduated from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

Structural Engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and joints' that create the form and shape of human-made Structure#Load-bearing, structures. Structural engineers also ...

. He later taught there part-time and then continued on to

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

where he received his Master of Science degree in Structural Engineering. His masters thesis (1927) is titled "The Effect of the Manner of Support and of Certain Details of Construction on the Secondary Stresses in a Roof Truss".

Working life

Morrison was a

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 ...

and Mathematics Lecturer,

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

(1927–1928). He was with the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

from 1928 to 1968, first as a Lecturer and later as a professor. His primary teachings were in the field of civil engineering. His knowledge and interests particularly lied in wood structures and guyed towers. During the post-war years Morrison, along with fellow engineers Charles Hershfield, Joe Millman, and Mark Huggins responded to the building boom by establishing the firm Morrison Hershfield Millman and Huggins in Toronto in 1946. At that time the firm offered civil, structural, and

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

services. With the company until the time of his death in 1993, Morrison's roles included that of Principal, President and chairman. The firm eventually grew to become the North American company Morrison Hershfield, providers and integrators of specialized multidisciplinary engineering and related expertise. As a result of the engineering expertise of Morrison Hershfield's co-founders, many of the projects were investigations and problem solving. An early project undertaken by Morrison was to provide a solution to the "galloping" of the guys supporting the newly constructed

radio antenna In radio-frequency engineering, an antenna (American English) or aerial (British English) is an electronic device that converts an alternating electric current into radio waves (transmitting), or radio waves into an electric current (receivi ...

array towers at the Canadian International Service short wave transmitter at Sackville,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. This phenomenon results under specific climatic conditions which causes the guys to oscillate in a dramatic fashion. Failure to provide appropriate damping exposes the structure to serious risk. Morrison was also a published author and editor. One book he published that was of significant impact on the engineering community was "Professional Engineering Practice: Ethical Aspects" (1982). This book covered topics ranging from the Structure of the Code of Ethics to, Professional Engineers in the Manufacturing Industry, to International Engineering Work. Updated versions of this book are still used in engineering programs today as a basic guide to professional conduct. Morrison was the founding editor of Canadian Consulting Engineer magazine and took a lead in establishing the Canadian Consulting Engineering awards. He held the role of editor from 1959 to 1978. From 1973 to 1975, Morrison was president of

Canadian Standards Association The CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association; CSA) is a standards organization which develops standards in 57 areas. CSA publishes standards in print and electronic form, and provides training and advisory services. CSA is composed ...

Notable projects

* Pinetree Line and Mid-Canada Line site supervision and engineering in Ontario's far north * Widening of the Leaside Bridge in Toronto, Ontario * Investigation into the tragic 1959 collapse of the Listowel Arena, Listowel Ontario, which took 8 lives. This led to changes in the

building codes A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for construction objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permissi ...

to recognize the effects of non-uniform snow loading, together with the establishment of a requirement for regular inspection of all arenas. * Investigation into the 1966 collapse of Heron Road Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario. The collapse took nine lives. Using two models, Morrison demonstrated that a properly-braced falsework could hold two times the weight of one with inadequate bracing. Just like the bridge, which was under construction at the time, the model that was not properly braced crashed to the ground. * Site selection for the Prince Albert Radar Laboratory in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Awards and achievements

* Honorary Member, Ontario Association of Architects, 1963 * Professional Engineering Gold Medal,

Professional Engineers Ontario Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO; known until 1993 as the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario, APEO) is a self-regulatory body that licenses and governs Ontario's professional engineers. PEO was created on June 15, 1922. It has a ...

, 1974 * Elected as a Fellow of the

Engineering Institute of Canada The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) ( French: l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs; ICI) is a federation of fourteen engineering societies based in Canada, covering a broad range of engineering branches, and with a history going back to 1887. ...

, 1974 * Canadian Silver Jubilee Medal, 1977 * The

John Jenkins Award, 1980 * Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada / Canadian Consulting Engineer Magazine Carson F. Morrison Award, 1984 (an award named in Morrison's honour) *

admitted Carson Morrison to the Order of Honour in 1984. The highest distinction, the rank of Companion recognizes contributions that exceed those of Officer. It is exclusively given to individuals who have profoundly influenced the engineering profession through their service. *

Standards Council of Canada The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) () is a Canadians, Canadian Crown corporations of Canada#List of federal Crown corporations, crown corporation with the mandate to promote voluntary standardization in Canada. The SCC is responsible for: * ...

Jean-Paul Carriere Award, 1984. Awarded for distinguished service to Canadian standardization.

External links

History of the firm Morrison HershfieldCanadian Consulting Engineer - Carson Morrsion

References