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Remembering Professor Les W. Shemilt
January 16, 2012
Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Engineering, Leslie Webster Shemilt passed away on December 20, 2011, five days short of his 92nd birthday.
Professor Shemilt came to McMaster in 1970 from the University of New Brunswick, where he was the founder and first Head of the Department of Chemical Engineering. At McMaster, he served as the Faculty’s second Dean from 1970 to 1980, and played an important role during a time of rapid growth in Faculty programs. He served on many Boards including those of the National Research Council and the Council of Royal Society of Canada, and was Chairman of an advisory committee on the nuclear fuel waste management program for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited. He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1985) and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (1987), an Officer of the Order of Canada (1991), and was the recipient of three honorary degrees (St. Staszic University, Poland, 1992; McMaster University, 1994; the University of Waterloo, 1996).
A long-standing member of The Bootmakers of Toronto and the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, Professor Shemilt was installed as a “Master Bootmaker” on the occasion of his 90th birthday celebration held at the University. He is survived by his wife Beth, and daughter Roslyn and son Roderick and their families.
Leslie Shemilt played a formative role in the early life of the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster. He will be missed by those who knew him and admired his work.
