Donald McLean

Donald F. McLean received the B.Sc. degree (honors) in natural philosophy (pure physics) from the University of Glasgow, Glasgow, U.K., in 1975, and the Ph.D. degree in television history from Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, U.K., in 2018.

He began his career at EMI Central Research Laboratories, Hayes, London, U.K., where he was involved in the research and development of the computed tomography (CT) scanner, led by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield. From there, he applied his expertise in signal and image processing to design and deliver new military reconnaissance exploitation environments for NATO and applied his expertise in digital television to the design of new ground station data recording systems for the European Space Agency. Acclaimed for his balanced analysis of television history, he authored an award-winning book, Restoring Baird’s Image, considered seminal in the field of media archeology.

Dr. McLean has been a fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (later, Institution of Engineering and Technology) since 1982. In 2019, he was the elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He held the position of Chair of History Group of the Royal Television Society for five years.