As we celebrate 100 years of the department of electrical and computer engineering at UNB, we are proud to recognize the alumni who built its legacy. Throughout 2026, we will share profiles and stories highlighting the milestones and people who have shaped the department’s history.
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When Albert Foster Baird (BScE’14, MScE’17, DSc’40) arrived at UNB for the first time, he stepped onto a campus that was still defining its engineering programs. Over the next three-and-a-half decades, he would help shape the university’s engineering offerings and earn national recognition for his contributions to the field.
Born in Salmon Creek, N.B., on Dec. 6, 1891, Foster Baird was one of eight children of Henry “Harry” Baird, a lumberman, and Margaret Fowler. In 1905, the family moved to Fredericton, where he attended Charlotte Street School and Fredericton High School, graduating in 1910. In the same year, he enrolled at UNB to study electrical engineering, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1914 and a master’s degree in 1917. In recognition of his contributions to engineering education, UNB awarded him a doctorate in 1940.
After graduating in 1914, he moved to the United States to teach physics at a college in Manhattan, Kansas. A year later, he was asked to return to UNB to “take over one of the departments” and teach physics and electrical engineering. This was followed by a year at Macdonald College in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, McGill University’s agricultural college, before again returning to UNB to head the department of electrical engineering and physics.
By 1925, the student body had grown to a size that made it impossible to carry on the work of physics and electrical engineering under a single head. Two separate departments were soon created, and Dr. Baird was appointed the first chair of electrical engineering. This position placed him at the centre of curriculum development and laboratory instruction during a period of rapid expansion in engineering education. His leadership helped establish the foundation of the department’s growth and its reputation in Canadian engineering education.
During the Second World War, his work shifted from university teaching to military training. He was the chief instructor for the navy and air force radar technicians. After the war, he led the University Naval Training Division and trained naval officers.“At that time, I was given a lieutenant commander’s [commission] in the Navy Special Branch and sent to sea to give a report on what I thought was the best form of training for university naval training officers.”
Upon returning from that mission, he was asked to serve as the acting president of UNB. From 1947 to 1948, he guided the university through a period of transition and growth as returning veterans entered higher education in large numbers. He also presided over the 1948 Encaenia ceremony and conferred an honorary degree on C.D. Howe.
One of the first ham radio operators in New Brunswick, Dr. Baird helped local citizens to establish Fredericton's first commercial radio station, CFNB, and encouraged students to found a radio club that ultimately became CHSR-FM.
Beyond the university, Dr. Baird maintained close ties to the engineering profession. He was a member of the Association of Professional Engineers for 60 years, contributing to the growth of his field both within and beyond New Brunswick. He also contributed to the written history of his field. In 1950, he published The History of Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, a detailed account of how engineering education developed at the university from its earliest years. The work remains a key reference in the university’s archives. In 1968, he was invested as an Officer in the Order of Canada for “services in the fields of engineering and education.”
Dr. Baird retired from UNB in 1951, leaving a lasting legacy, which included the Dr. A. Foster Baird Alumni Scholarship, which supports engineering students each year; a part of the university’s engineering library is named in his honour, recognizing his influence on the faculty and the institution’s academic life; and his name is commemorated in the Baird-Turner Reading Room in Head Hall. In 1975, UNB's Associated Alumni recognized him with an Alumni Award of Honour.
Albert Foster Baird died on Sept. 12, 1986, in Fredericton, N.B., at the age of 95. He left behind a record of more than half a century of service and the training of generations of Canadian engineers. His career charts the growth of electrical engineering education at UNB from its early years through major periods of change, leaving a documented record of service across teaching, administration, and professional leadership.
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Quotes and some background information in this story are from Dr. Albert Foster Baird in a 1982 interview with his granddaughter Barbara Baird (BA’74, LLB’76).
Banner image: A. Foster Baird in his office in 1928. In his 36 years at UNB, he also served as its first dean of applied science and forestry.
Carosaul images:
1. Dr. Baird in 1973
2. Dr. Baird with R.E. Tweeddale in front of Head Hall in 1967
3. Even after his retirement in 1951, Dr. Baird remained active in the faculty.
4. Members of the engineering faculty gathered around Dr. Baird as they examined components in the then-new power laboratory, constructed in 1957.
