The humble garage has been home to many business success stories – including Bob Smyth, Sc’65, which is why his gift of $500,000 to help the operations of the newly renamed Smyth Garage is so significant.
Smyth first learned about Queen’s at a conference during high school and when the time came it was the only school he applied to. After completing his mechanical engineering degree, Smyth worked for Canadian Westinghouse in Hamilton and was given control of the manufacturing process for a massive 25-ton steel support ring for the first nuclear reactor in Pickering. “We got it through the shop, but it was too big to go through the shipping door,” Smyth recalled. “We had to knock a hole out of the top corner to get it out.”
Smyths’ adventures in the energy sector continued, with travelling to Stettler, Alberta to work with Gulf Alberta Pipeline; then moving to Ottawa to the National Energy Board (NEB). When at the NEB, he put his skills to use on another passion: as President of the Huntley Curling Club, where he helped to get a two-sheet club building constructed and operating.
It’s this kind of hands-on work that drives the work of current Smith Engineering students – especially the work of the design teams. The design bay in McLaughlin Hall has been the site of building, testing, innovation, and cooperation as the teams construct and test prototype vehicles. Now, thanks to a Smyth’s generosity, this important facility can continue to be a home for design teams and experiential learning opportunities outside of the classroom."
"The Smyth Garage is truly integral to our team,” writes Karina Jorgensen-Fullam and Josh Solomon, 2026 co-Captains of the Mini Baja team. “It is where we assemble vehicle components, store our parts and tools, and spend countless hours problem-solving as a team. Having this dedicated space allows us to safely and efficiently build our vehicle while fostering collaboration, mentorship, and hands-on engineering skills. Mr. Smyth’s generosity directly supports our learning, and we are deeply grateful for the impact his gift will continue to have on current and future Queen's Baja team members."
During his career, Smyth had always enjoyed tinkering in his garage – a passion he retains to this day. While working on a project involving the Rainbow Pipeline, Smyth started thinking about ways to effectively repair stress corrosion cracking, an integrity condition identified within the pipeline industry.
Through his experimentation and building on his experience in the oil industry, Smyth developed a steel compression reinforcing sleeve, the PetroSleeve. Petro-Line ended up installing 200 of the sleeves that winter. To date, over 60,000 PetroSleeves have been installed across Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Australia and most recently, France.
Smyth is now retired from Petro-Line, but his love for spending time in the garage endures. He now devotes his time to more personal projects such as making model airplanes, curling, and being the treasurer of Chinook Winds RC Club. He's also finding ways to give back. Through his recent gift for the garage, coupled with his previous donations to support student bursaries, Smyth hopes to help others in achieving their dreams. "The reason I got what I got was because of my education,” he said. “I support bursaries for average students because I was an average student. I am hoping this has helped others – I have always tried to be helpful.” Smyth’s earlier donations support student success through the Science 1965 Admission Award and the R. J. Smyth Pipeline Bursary.
“The Smyth Garage is more than four walls in the basement of McLaughlin Hall to the Queen's Racing Formula SAE Team,” says co-captain Lindsay Stroz, “The space is what provides the foundation for our team to turn ideas into real parts, classmates into teammates and roadblocks into breakthroughs. This space gives us the freedom to learn hands-on, make mistakes, and become better engineers, shaping our skills, collaboration and future careers. We cannot thank Mr. Smyth enough for his generosity and impact to our team.”
Perhaps recalling back to those early days at Canadian Westinghouse, and in an echo of the student sentiment above, Smyth advises students today to always remain open to learning.
“You have to listen, be a part of the group, and recognize that everybody will make mistakes…just don’t make the same mistake twice.”