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Helmut BURKHARDT Obituary
HELMUT BURKHARDT
Dipl. Phys., Dr. rer. nat. Professor Emeritus, Ryerson University We are sad to announce the sudden and peaceful passing of Dr. Helmut Burkhardt on December 18, 2017. He leaves his wife, Renate; children, Susanne, Henrike and Johann; sister, Heidi; and grandchildren, Mathias, Felix, Ludwig and Josef. Born 1933, in Bessarabia to Otto and Ida (nee Wanke) BURKHARDT, Helmut was a refugee in the second World War, eventually settling in Stuttgart, where he completed his PhD. In 1967, he moved to Toronto with his wife. After doing research in thermonuclear fusion and magneto hydrodynamic energy conversion, he became a pioneer in renewable energy decades ahead of his time. As Director of the Ryerson Energy Centre, he organized many conferences with the International Society for Systems Sciences and Science for Peace. After retiring, Helmut pursued his true passion: world peace through good global governance. A child of war, he was an active member of many groups including Science for Peace, the Canadian Pugwash Group and the Toronto chapter of the World Federalists Organization, where he will be remembered as passionate, thoughtful and tireless in his pursuit of peace. Helmut maintained an inspirational sense of adventure and curiosity about the world well into his 80s. He was a steadfast and loyal husband, father, brother, cousin, uncle, grandfather and friend who cared deeply and was always there for his family, whom he kept close. We will miss him dearly. Peace on earth, we love you Opa. A celebration of life will be held January 6, 4:30 - 7 p.m. at Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave, Toronto. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Science for Peace and the World Federalist Foundation.
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Memories and Condolences
for Helmut BURKHARDT
1 Entry
Paul York
October 2, 2025
I knew Professor Burkhardt when I was growing up in Toronto, through his teenage children, who were my friends at the time. He was always kind and soft-spoken and had interesting things to say. He invented a "solar somovar" to heat water from the sun, intending its use for people in Africa who lack firewood to cook with. He also, as I recall, organized a talk on overpopulation that I attended and reported on for the student newspaper for the University of Toronto in 2009. Addressing a controversial topic, Professor Burkhardt stated, "It´s important to expose the misconceptions that only overconsumption is the cause of ecological problems, and not overpopulation. A drastic reduction of the few overconsumers, and a reasonable and just increase in consumption by the numerous poor will raise the world average consumption of resources in a planet already suffering from ecological stress near the tipping point." I imagine he would have been a good teacher, and he always impressed me as a good father. I thought of him today for some reason and was saddened to learn that he passed away in 2017. I am sharing this memory belatedly.
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