Series 4 - Research

Records in this series document Prof. French’s many research projects especially those that relate to the development and refinement of inventions of specialized instruments to measure traces of elements and organic compounds. Most of the research files relate to the period after 1988 when SCIEX, in partnership with the University of Toronto, was given funding by the Ontario Technology Fund to establish an “International Analytical Instrument Company”. The original proposal and agreement as well as reviews, reports, notes, minutes and memos document this pivotal partnership and the research undertaken.
The main projects documented include: Liquid Sample Introduction System (LISQS), Monodisperse Dried Microparticulate Injector (MDMI), the Quadrapole Rod Development Program (ELAN) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Records relating to patents held for these technologies can be found in B2006-0024/007.

Early in his career, Prof. French’s pioneering research in gasdynamics and molecular beams resulted in the involvement in Project Viking to measure upper atmospheric data on Mars. Unfortunately, few records on this research have survived here. There is one file with some original data for the Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyser (TAGA). As well, there is some documentation on a few early projects including work done as a graduate student on the Iroquois Engine for Orenda Engines and research done in aerothermodynamics for the Missile and Space Vehicle Department (1960-61).