News

August 05, 2008

Geoffrey Ballard, Father Of The Fuel Cell, Dies At 75

By Christian Gradley

Geoffrey Ballard, the internationally recognized “father of the fuel cell,” died on Saturday in Vancouver, British Columbia. He was 75.

His death was announced by Paul Howard, a longtime family friend and business partner, who said that for ten years Mr. Ballard had been battling a number of potentially life-threatening health problems. After two weeks in a medically induced coma, Mr. Ballard passed away, with family close at hand.

Dr. Ballard was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, the son of an electrochemist. Soon after earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Queen’s University, Dr. Ballard crossed the border southwards to obtain a PhD. in geophysics from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. After working for Mobil Oil, followed by a brief stint with the US Department of Defense, in 1974, Dr. Ballard was appointed as the head of the newly founded Federal Energy Conservation Research Office in Washington D.C....