Open Access Article Originally Published: August 29, 2007
Dr. Paul MacCready passed away in his sleep yesterday, 28 August 2007 from a recently diagnosed illness. He was a long-time supporter of EV World, as well as a pioneer in the development of energy efficient mobility technologies from the human-powered Gossamer Condor to the EV1 electric car. We here at EV World offer our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. All of us will greatly miss him.
I clearly remember both the first and last times I met Paul MacCready, whom I had long admired since the exploits of the Gossamer Condor, the first human powered flight.
The first time was at an electric vehicle conference in Phoenix, Arizona. He graciously paused to talk and pose for a photography with one of his microlight aircraft models, which he'd been flying around the exhibition hall. Clearly, flight was his passion, and the financial pillar upon which the company he built, AeroVironment (AVinc) continues to prosper.
The last time was just outside his Monrovia, California offices as he was getting ready to drive home from work in his Toyota RAV4 electric car, which he was also indirectly responsible for helping create when his company developed the prototype of the electric car that would one day become the General Motors EV1. I took some more pictures of him and promised that we'd do a follow-up interview with him. Sadly, I didn't keep my promise and now that interview will never happen.
I would love to have asked him his views today on the future of electric cars now that we appear to have the battery chemistry to make them happen, which we didn't have back when he and his team, led by Alec Brooks and Wally Rippel first tackled the problem of a modern electric vehicle. Those two gentlemen have since moved over to Tesla to continue their passionate pursuit of EVs.
When I interviewed him back nearly 10 years ago now, he made an interesting comment about not thinking the electric car alone was the answer to the challenges facing personal mobility in the 21st century. When I asked him what he would design differently on the EV1, he remarked that he wasn't sure he'd even build the car today. Here's what he said to me back then.
"The one great thing this whole electric car mandate in California has done," MacCready observed, "it's got people to start... thinking more broadly about what is mobility and what do we need. Gee, adding a zero emission car that maybe doesn't take any energy to the car fleet of California, doesn't do anything for pollution. Getting rid of an old car that's polluting a lot, that helps. But one more nice car just adds to traffic and parking problems. We have to look at the whole system of mobility rather than just a vehicle."
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Reader Comments
7 comments so far...
13-Nov-2008
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Dr. Paul MacCready's contributions to the auto world is very much appreciated. Moreover, the auto world will sure miss this great man. I find his work about the development of energy efficient mobility technologies from the human-powered Gossamer Condor to the EV1 electric car very legendary. gas saving tips
Posted by: Sarah Lewis
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15-Sep-2007
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I'd say that caling MacReady a giant is an immense and outlandish exaggeration of a person who accomplished virtually nothing of significance. Human powered flight is of no practical nor scientific nor technological benefit - he simply demonstrated that today's technology can produce stong ultralight materials, often too expensive to be of practical value. If he helped define the EV-1, then I'd say MacReady's vision wasn't all that clear. I can't imagine why he would, after having
practically lived thru the demise of the electric cars early in the century, ever have been so blind as to not see that it all comes down to electrical storage, nothing more, and something we still don't really have. He totally missed the concept of the plug-in hybrid. He
was trying for the home run but didn't realize that it was impossible - that's an impractical, in-the-box thinker, not a visionary. He had simply resuscitated a 1907 design, one that failed just as surely as the EV-1 would.
Automobiles have been 90% electric for decades, that's nothing new. It's the propulsion system that needs to be electrified. The only thing even remotely new about the EV-1 was regenerative braking, hardly a basis for a practical electric car. Now if MacReady had actually designed a practical battery, we would have statutes being errected at this point.
Posted by: Kent Beuchert
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29-Aug-2007
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He was a true visionary. Everything he did was more efficient than anyone else. He really knew how to think outside the box and create.
Posted by: jim stack
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29-Aug-2007
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Sorry to hear about Dr. MacCready's death. He combined technology smarts with social smarts -- a rather rare combination.
Bill Moore's comments here bring up some questions and thoughts that should not fade away with Dr. MacCready's passing. In my own family, the price of gas going up has kept us home more. And we have dusted off the one bicycle in the house, so that it gets used again. Both are good things.
We invented cars. But cars have also invented us. So much of our land goes into roads. And neighborhoods disappear into strip malls and parking lots. A good long look at the whole system of mobility, rather than just replacing gasoline cars with electrics, might help us re-invent both cars and ourselves.
Posted by: john
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29-Aug-2007
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Sad news indeed. He was someone I have admired for many years, mostly because of his ability to observe nature and translate natural phenomena into real life engineering solutions.
As John says, his contributions must (will) not be forgotten.
We blame global warming (in part) on vehicle emissions, but roofs and carparks and roads are also to blame. The modern city with its mirrored skyscrapers, black roads, roofs and carparks is one of the most efficient solar collectors one can build.
Peter
Posted by: Peter Fynn
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30-Aug-2007
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I agree with Dr. MacCready's observations as mentioned in the article. The only way to overcome the insanity we have placed ourselves in is to educate our young ones so as they grow into adults the concepts are not foriegn. Recycling is a prime example of this. In the late 60's and into the 70's the mantra in my school days was recycling is good and needs to be done. Accross the USA it took about 25 years later to make it universal. If we want to apply constructive urban planning methods as a widespread universally accepted theme, they need to be introduced to our young citizens so that they can implement and integrate with them 25 to 30 years down the road without thinking that somehow it's compromising their freedom. I don't think Dr MacCready objected to owning a car, just how we use it on a routine basis because we created an environment that essentially forces us to resort to it. Yanking people out of their cars today on short order is too big a perspective shift for folks to swallow. Just as recycling was to a fair number of folks of my parent's generation, 'why do I need to sort my garbage'? If it was that hard to shift a perspective on a no brainer like recylcing with adults of that vintage, imagine how hard it is to have people relinquish their cars for an alternative mass transit or planned community concept across the US. Unfortunately this is a hard sell and can only come by changing the attitudes of our next up and coming young citizens.
Posted by: Serafino Carri
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30-Aug-2007
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I met this kind and humble man earlier this Feb at a conference at art-center in Pasadena. He was so approachable and took his time to explain to me, personally, a couple of key points about the EV-1 and also had a few things to say about our Aptera.
We was an engineer's engineer, which in this space is about the highest compliment you can give anyone.
Posted by: steve f
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