Maestro of Science : Omond McKillop Solandt and Government Science in War and Hostile Peace, 1939-1956

One of the brightest Canadian scientists of his generation, Omond McKillop Solandt was a physiologist by training, an engineer by disposition, and a manager by necessity. A protégé of insulin's co-discoverer, Charles Best, Solandt worked as a scientist for the British government during the Second World War, including as a pioneer of operational research and a manager of scientific establishments. Ending the war as a colonel, he served on the British Mission to Japan, where he studied the effects of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, before returning to Canada to become chairman of the newly created Defence Research Board. There he spearheaded Canada's attempt to create a new and innovative government science infrastructure that served the needs of the Canadian military at the dawn of the nuclear age and worked alongside allies in Britain and the United States.In Maestro of Science, Jason S. Ridler draws on interviews with Solandt and his colleagues and declassified records from Canada and the United Kingdom to paint a vivid picture of the influence and achievements of a Canadian leader in Cold War military research. Contents 7 List of Tables 9 Acknowledgments 11 Abbreviations 13 1 Introduction 17 2 Idyllic Childhood: The Early Years of Omond McKillop Solandt, 1909–1927 36 3 Protégé: Omond Solandt and Charles Best in Toronto and Leningrad, 1927–1935 47 4 Commencement: Solandt, Cambridge, and the Ontario Polio Epidemic, 1936–1939 59 5 First Taste of War: Solandt and the South West London Blood Depot, 1940 68 6 Tank Doctor: Omond Solandt, Director of the Physiological Research Laboratory, Lulworth, 1940–1942 79 7 Managing Science: Omond Solandt and the British Army Operational Research Group, 1943–1945 96 8 Atomic Battlefield: Solandt and the British Mission to Japan, November 1945 118 9 The Only Man for the Job: Omond Solandt and the Origins of the Defence Research Board, 1943–1946 129 10 A Doctor among Soldiers: Solandt, Canada’s First Scientific Chief of Staff, 1946–1956 148 11 A Decade of Leadership: Omond Solandt, Chairman of the Defence Research Board, 1946–1956 175 12 Rockets, Germs, and UFOs: Solandt, the Establishments, and Public Perceptions of the DRB, 1946–1956 196 13 Canada’s Defence Research Diplomat: Solandt and the DRB’s International Connections, 1946–1956 215 14 Atomic Realist: Omond Solandt and Nuclear Weapons, 1945–1955 230 15 Conclusion 251 Appendices 263 Notes 268 Bibliography 343 Index 365

One of the brightest Canadian scientists of his generation, Omond McKillop Solandt was a physiologist by training, an engineer by disposition, and a manager by necessity. A protégé of insulin’s co-discoverer, Charles Best, Solandt worked as a scientist for the British government during the Second World War, including as a pioneer of operational research and a manager of scientific establishments. Ending the war as a colonel, he served on the British Mission to Japan, where he studied the effects of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, before returning to Canada to become chairman of the newly created Defence Research Board. There he spearheaded Canada’s attempt to create a new and innovative government science infrastructure that served the needs of the Canadian military at the dawn of the nuclear age and worked alongside allies in Britain and the United States.

In Maestro of Science, Jason S. Ridler draws on interviews with Solandt and his colleagues and declassified records from Canada and the United Kingdom to paint a vivid picture of the influence and achievements of a Canadian leader in Cold War military research.