James Boyd

(1904-1987)

2003 Inductee from Mining's Past

Dr. Boyd was born in Kanowna, Western Australia. He received a B.S. in Engineering and Economics from the California Institute of Technology in 1927 and his M.Sc. in Geophysics and D.Sci. in Geology at Colorado School of Mines, where he subsequently taught until 1941. During WWII, he served on the Army and Navy Munitions Board and the War Production Board, including a term as Executive Director of the Industry Division of the Office of the Military, Government for Germany.

In 1946, Dr. Boyd became Dean of Faculty of Colorado School of Mines. In 1947, he was appointed director of the U.S. Bureau of Mines. In 1951, he took the position Vice President, Exploration of Kennecott Copper Corporation. In 1960, he became president of Copper Range Company and then Chairman of the Board of Directors in 1970. The following year he was appointed Executive Director of the National Commission on Materials Policy, and subsequently he was appointed chairman of the Materials Advisory Panel of the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.

During his career, Dr. Boyd was the recipient of awards from American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Engineers (AIME), and from his two alma maters, California Institute of Technology and Colorado School of Mines. He delivered distinguished and memorial lectures to AIME, ASM, TMS, and the American Ceramic Society. He received the "Parker Medal" of AIPG, of which he was Vice President in 1966. In 1967, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Boyd served as a director of Detroit Edison, New Jersey Zinc, Felmont Petroleum, the Copper Development Association, and International Copper Research Association.

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