[2] He studied at the University of Manchester where he gained undergraduate (BSc) honours in physics followed by an MSc.
[1] His graduate work and doctoral thesis was on a differential analyser (early analog computer) constructed from Meccano parts.
[4] He also chaired the science advisory committee for Expo 67, the World's Fair held in 1967 in Montreal.
[3] Honours conferred on Porter include the Canadian Centennial Medal (1967)[4] and the Order of Canada (1988).
[2] He was hospitalised following a stroke and died at Forsyth Memorial Hospital, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on 26 February 2010.