Bob Silver

Scotland's answer to Gordon Leitner, simultaneously and independently inventing the multi-stage flash process.

Bob Silver (r) receiving the UNESCO science prize – Glasgow Herald

After other engineering experience, Bob joined G&J Weir in 1952 as research director. Seeing the opportunity presented by the rising oil-producing Middle East, he developed multi-stage flash out of the shipboard distillation equipment Weir produced (independently of Gordon Leitner doing much the same at the same time). He took out patents on the process (causing no little cross-Atlantic acrimony until the parallel claims of Silver and Leitner were established), and in 1968 received the first UNESCO Prize for Science for it.

In 1962, Bob entered academia, and lectured at Heriot-Watt University, then Glasgow University, until 1979, on desalination, among many other subjects.

A true Renaissance man, Silver had at least two plays produced professionally, a volume of poetry published, and contributed prolifically to public media debate. He was also a long-term leading member of the Scottish Nationalist Party (which calls for Scotland to become independent of the UK), and stood as a parliamentary candidate for them in 1979.