James W. Healy
Most people filling up their tanks are probably thinking about the price of gasoline. If you’re James W. Healy, however, you’re probably thinking about fueling efficiency and hazardous vapor reduction. As founder and former president of Healy Systems, Inc., Healy has designed and patented several vapor recovery systems that improve gas flow and lower emissions by at least 95 percent. His systems are distributed to oil companies and pump and dispenser manufacturers, and are used in more than 10,000 service stations domestically and thousands more offshore. In fact, Healy’s Enhanced Vapor Recovery Phase II System is the only one certified by the California Air Resources Board.
“As a kid, I loved building things like scale models of planes and boats,” he says. When he opted to pursue engineering at Northeastern, he surprised himself with his talent for drafting and 3-D visualization. “Classmates peeked over my shoulder at my work,” Healy remembers. He recalls many Northeastern mentors, but is particularly grateful to Professors Joe Speare and Al Ferretti. “They were truly wonderful teachers.”
After graduation, Healy worked for Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Arthur D. Little for eight years. Then in 1965, he founded Cambridge Engineering, Inc., which was renamed Healy Systems Inc. in 1989. His professional success and recent sale of Healy Systems have enabled Healy to establish a $4 million charitable remainder unitrust naming Northeastern as the beneficiary.
Previously, in 1999, he endowed the James W. Healy Engineering Scholarship. “The co-op program allowed me to earn while I learned, which made my education possible. I could not have afforded it otherwise,” says Healy.
