Donald Bruce Montgomery

Portsmouth - Donald Bruce Montgomery, 89, passed away peacefully with family by his side on July 1, 2022, at Portsmouth Regional Hospital following a short illness. Bruce was born in Hartford, CT on July 1, 1933, son of the late Frances Irene Gridley Montgomery and Donald Hugh Montgomery. Bruce was a resident of Portsmouth, NH, and Sandwich, NH. Bruce married his high school sweetheart, Nancy Ford Fenn, in 1954 and they were together 52 years until her passing in 2006. They spent 40 years in Wayland, MA, raising their family in an antique house that required Bruce’s handy man skills. A work sabbatical took the family to live in both Oxford, England and Lausanne, Switzerland. This began Bruce and Nancy’s mutual love for travel that in later years took them to different parts of the world. Bruce later met Elisabeth Bartlett Sturges with whom he spent many happy years in Portsmouth until her passing in 2021. Bruce always felt fortunate to have had two loves in his life. Bruce received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College, Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from MIT, and a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society. Bruce was Associate Director of the MIT Plasma Fusion Center, where he was chief engineer and program manager for MIT’s Alcator tokamak projects. He was an active contributor to the Tokamak Physics Experiment at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and a US contributor to the ITER International advanced fusion power reactor program in France. After retiring from MIT, he continued to work as a consultant in the field of magnet design and fusion energy and served as Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Magplane Technology. Bruce contributed significantly to the fields of science and engineering. In 1965, he was awarded Massachusetts Young Engineer of the Year. In 1989, he was the first recipient of the IEEE Fusion Technology Award. In 2002, he received the IEEE Council on Superconductivity Award. In 2008, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for the development, design, and construction of high-magnetic-field devices for conventional and superconducting applications. Bruce authored the book titled Solenoid Magnet Design, first published in 1969, which remains a standard reference in the field. Bruce was passionate about New Hampshire history. A longtime resident of Sandwich, NH, he served as President of the Sandwich Historical Society. He was a contributor to the book Sandwich New Hampshire 1763-1990 and a frequent contributor to the Society’s annual Excursion Bulletins. Bruce loved to learn new facts about town history and enjoyed researching and exploring the Sandwich Notch and other historic sites. As a resident of Portsmouth, NH, he was an active member of Strawberry Banke Museum and a past member of the Portsmouth Athenaeum. He is survived by his son Timothy Montgomery and his wife Susan of Scituate, MA; daughter Melissa Sweeny and her husband Tom of Groton, MA; as well as his grandchildren, Jenna Sweeny, Christopher Sweeny, and Benjamin Sweeny. Bruce was predeceased by his brothers Hugh Montgomery, Alexander Montgomery, and George Montgomery. Services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Bruce’s memory to the Sandwich Historical Society by clicking here or by mail to P.O. Box 244, Center Sandwich, NH 03227.

Donald Bruce Montgomery

July 1, 1933 - July 1, 2022