Canadian of the week, November 13, 2006

Today's Canadian of the week was partially inspired by our flight home from Houston. This Canadian, born in Weston, Ontario, was a medical graduate from the University of Toronto. While he worked for the university's Banting and Best Medical Research Institute as a cancer researcher, he developed an idea that helps pilots. The original idea was a suit with water filled rubber bladders that aided pilots when they were executing high speed high G turns. The suit was designed to limit the blood flow to the extremities and keep it near the brain. This helps pilots from blacking out. Current versions of the suit use compressed air instead of water. The invention is know today as the G-suite and is worn by Astronauts and Fighter pilots throughout the world. Today's Canadian is Wilbur R. Franks.