My father, Walter Murgatroyd, who has died aged 101, worked for many years as a researcher in the field of civilian nuclear engineering before becoming disillusioned with the industry’s inability to properly deal with its waste. He then switched to working on thermal power, exploring how to use energy more efficiently and to generate it in new ways.
Walter was born in Bradford to Harry, who worked in textile manufacturing, and Martha (nee Strachan), a housewife. He was educated at Blackpool grammar school, after which the second world war interrupted his engineering studies at Cambridge University; he was sent to work on designing engines for fighter jets, first with Hawker Siddeley and then with Rolls-Royce.
After the war Walter resumed his studies, staying on at Cambridge to research and design pumps for liquid metals, using electromagnetism rather than moving parts in contact with the dangerous and corrosive fluids. In austerity Britain he required great ingenuity to obtain the necessary materials and craftsmanship for his work.
In 1954 he joined the newly formed Atomic Energy Research Establishment as principal scientific officer, responsible for assessment of the various types of nuclear reactor then in development and tasked with working out what resources would be needed.
Two years later he was appointed head of nuclear engineering at Queen Mary College in east London (now Queen Mary University of London) – the first such chair in Europe. While there he helped to build an experimental reactor in the Lea valley in London on what many years later was to become part of the 2012 Olympic park. When work began on the site, no trace was found of any radiation, making it one of the safest parts of the otherwise heavily polluted area.
By 1968 he had become frustrated with the politics and vested interests of nuclear power generation, in particular the lack of progress on waste disposal, and decided to move away from the sector by becoming chair in thermal power at Imperial College London. There he foresaw the end of the era of cheap fossil fuels, recognising the need to reduce demand for energy – whether by curtailing economic growth, or by using energy more efficiently.
He remained at Imperial College until retirement in the early 1980s, and over that period was often called on (via the United Nations or British Council) to advise on energy matters abroad. He was also asked to provide expertise to the energy select committee of the House of Commons.
Walter was a good judge of character, and always knew the right questions to ask. Music was hugely important to him, and he could also be great fun. His strong regard for truth and personal integrity gained him wide respect, though it did not always make life easy.
He married Denise Schlumberger in 1952; she died in 2014, and their son Alan died in a car crash in 1980. Walter is survived by two other children, Linda and Francis, and three grandchildren.
