Robert Scott: The engineer who helped people move again

Robert ‘Bob’ N. Scott (BScE'55) joined UNB as a professor of electrical engineering in 1959. Two years later, the Forest Hill Rehabilitation Centre in Fredericton approached the university for assistance with two patients with high-level spinal injuries who were unable to use their powered wheelchairs. Dr. Scott and the Technical Assistance and Research Group for Physical Education (TARGPR) modified the wheelchairs so they could be controlled using mouth movements. This practical application of the technology allowed the patients to move about freely without the aid of an orderly to operate the chair controls.

Soon, the group became interested in myoelectric systems through which impulses from muscles could control electronic limbs. Myoelectric control of powered splints to assist quadriplegics in eating became the focus of activity. That project set him on a new path. As he worked more closely with clinicians and patients, he began to focus on how technology could better support people with physical disabilities as practical tools they could use every day.

Today, this technology is standard in many modern prosthetic limbs. To support this growing field, Bob founded what is now called the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME) at UNB in 1965 and became its first director. What started as a small research initiative grew, under his leadership, into an internationally respected centre. For 25 years, he guided the institute as it attracted top researchers from around the world and became a global leader in prosthetic and rehabilitation engineering.

IBME researchers today continue to build on the foundation he created, using advanced computing and signal analysis to push prosthetics even further. The institute’s reputation traces directly back to Dr. Scott’s vision.

Beyond UNB, Bob made important contributions nationally and internationally. He published more than 150 academic papers and served on the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, helping shape the country’s research direction. He also held international appointments with the U.S. National Research Council Committee on Prosthetics Research and Development, reflecting his influence beyond Canada.

He was equally focused on how engineering could work within the health-care system. He played a key role in developing the profession of clinical engineering in Canada and created a hospital engineering program for the Province of New Brunswick. This work helped ensure medical technologies were safe, effective, and properly supported in hospitals. He also served for several years on the board of directors of the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation in Fredericton, staying closely connected to patient care. In 1982, he founded the Child Prosthetics Research Centre in Fredericton, recognizing that children with limb loss faced unique challenges and needed solutions designed specifically for them.

He taught at UNB until 1995. Over those decades, he influenced generations of students through his belief that engineering should serve people. Colleagues and former students remember him as someone who focused on real-world impact and human dignity.

Robert N. Scott helped move prosthetic research to where it is today. His ideas made artificial limbs more responsive, more usable, and more human. Long after his death in 2014, his work continues to shape research at UNB and around the world.  

Dana Wasson: The father of computing at UNB 

Before computer science was taught at universities, Dana Wasson (BScE’56) was helping shape the field. When Dana arrived at UNB, computers were huge machines that took up entire rooms. Few people understood what they could do, and even fewer imagined they would one day be part of everyday life. But Dana knew.    

Born in 1934 in Jemseg, N.B., Dana showed strong academic ability early on and entered UNB directly from grade 11. In the final year of his undergraduate degree, Dana – inspired by a story in Popular Science – partnered with fellow student Bob Cass (BScE’56, MScE’57) to design and build from scratch, a four-function, refrigerator-sized electronic calculator out of vacuum tubes, an unusual and forward-looking project at the time.

After graduating from UNB, Dana headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to complete his master’s degree but was lured back to New Brunswick in 1958 to teach in UNB’s electrical engineering faculty. This would prove to be the beginning of a 40-year career, which saw him become one of Canada’s true technology visionaries and computer pioneers. While a faculty member at UNB, he completed his PhD at the University of Waterloo.

By 1959, Dana played a key role in bringing the university’s first programmable computer to campus. He arranged for UNB and NB Power to co-finance the purchase of the Royal-McBee LGP-30. A few years later, in 1964, he became the first director of UNB’s computing centre. He oversaw the steady expansion of computing infrastructure, ensuring that students and researchers had access to increasingly powerful systems. This included the IBM 360/50G mainframe, the most powerful computer east of Montreal, which UNB purchased in 1968. 

Dana understood that technology needed people who could shape it. He began building academic programs, beginning with the first department of computer science in Canada, offering a master of computer science degree through the electrical engineering department. In 1974, he became the first director of the School of Computer Science, and UNB conferred its first bachelor of science in computer science degree. In 1987, the computer science PhD program was approved by the university. By 1990, his efforts culminated in the creation of a standalone faculty of computer science, the first of its kind in Canada, with him as dean. 

He was also an early champion for co-op education in computer science, advocating for real-world work experience. As an educator and researcher, he had wide-ranging interests. His research touched on pattern recognition, computer vision, and early machine intelligence. 

In 2005, he was named a pioneer of computing in Canada, a national recognition awarded to early leaders in the field. At UNB, his legacy is visible in both name and impact. The computing centre bears his name, and a student prize continues to recognize excellence in the field he helped establish. His influence also extended beyond the university. Through advisory roles and professional organizations, he contributed to the growth of the tech sector in New Brunswick and across Canada. At a time when the future of computing was uncertain, Dana Wasson made it real. He passed away in September 2018 in Fredericton, N.B.

Read more about Dana and the Wasson family’s computer science legacy.

Amazing alumni like Robert Scott and Dana Wasson started their journey at UNB. If you’re interested in helping future innovators follow in their footsteps, you can support the Electrical and Computer Engineering Opportunities Fund. Your support can empower today’s students to gain knowledge, mentorship, and hands‑on experiences that launch exceptional careers. To make a gift, visit unb.ca/donate.