BASc, MASc, PEng
5T3 Electrical
Inducted: 2008
An engineer whose monument will be an invisible curtain of public safety.
Following graduation, Byron Goodfellow worked with Philips in the application of the transistor technology used in the first generation of colour televisions. Upon completing his master’s degree, Byron switched to IBM and focused on the use of computers in a variety of engineering applications including pipe stress analysis in submarines. This led to his appointment as the first Director of the IBM Lab. There, he realized exotic software was the future for computers and recommended to the corporation that the concentration of a new lab be on software applications instead of hardware development – a shift that has led to an IBM Canada Lab with over 10,000 employees.
By 1977, Byron was named Director of Operations for IBM Ottawa, where he became involved in the development of security features for computers, including complex encryption methods – techniques that still have wide application. His contributions since starting at IBM helped influence the evolutions of the organization as a software leader.
In 1988, he joined Nortel as the Account Vice President, Secure Network Applications, heading the customer application team of the Bell Northern Research (BNR) organization where one of his major clients was the FBI. Byron also worked with the National Research Council, the Defence Research Establishment and the Communication Security Establishment for DND. He continues to consult in these matters.
- Pioneered computer software for the private sector, as well as military applications.
- Contributed to the complex field of computer security.
- Founding member of CANARIE, the Canadian Advanced Network for Applications in Industry and Education.
- Founding member and past Chair of the Canadian Information Processing Society.
- Advocate for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Sunnybrook Veterans Hospital, and the Canadian Club of Ottawa.