Geoff Ballard, the Canadian entrepreneur who transformed pollution-free fuel cells from an exotic power source used in the space program to an everyday engine used in industry, buses and, perhaps soon, in cars, died Aug. 2 in Vancouver, British Columbia, from complications of liver disease. He was 75. In 1999, Time magazine named Ballard a "Hero of the Planet" for his efforts to reduce pollution in cities by getting fuel cells into cars -- an effort that has borne little fruit but that is receiving renewed emphasis because of the rising price of gasoline.
A geophysicist by training, Ballard spent the first years of his career working for the U.S. Army, specializing in hiding fuel tanks for U.S. bombers in Greenland's ice fields.
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