History
McMaster Engineering has a long history of excellence in industry-driven research and student-focused education.
Big Ideas: Meet Jack
John (Jack) Hodgins was McMaster’s first Dean of Engineering
In 1956, McMaster named its first Director of Engineering Studies – Dr. John W. Hodgins, a Chemical Engineering professor from the Royal Military College – to develop a full engineering program for the university. The program was approved by the McMaster University Senate in February 1958. The engineering building, now John Hodgins Engineering Building, officially opened a few months later. The first class of 25 students graduated in 1961.
Five departments were established in the first two years – Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Metallurgical Engineering—and, later, Engineering Physics joined them. The first engineering degrees from McMaster were Master of Engineering (MEng) degrees, with the first ones awarded in 1959. The first doctoral degrees (PhD) were awarded in 1965.
The undergraduate programs grew in step, and by 1972, over 100 engineers received their Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) degrees, with the annual total passing 200 by 1980, and in 2014 this number equalled 588. The year 1971 marked the start of the Engineering & Management program. In the early 1980s, Electrical Engineering started its unique Computer Engineering program, and Mechanical Engineering began its program in Manufacturing Engineering. In 1992 the Engineering & Society program began.
The Faculty of Engineering began joint faculty appointments, research associates and collaborative research activities with McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Courses in Biomedical-Engineering were offered as electives in all engineering programs.
In 1997, the Faculty of Engineering began a joint venture with the Department of Engineering Technology at Mohawk College and created the Bachelor of Technology program.
Deans of Engineering
Heather Sheardown, Dean (2022 – Present)
Expandable List
Since the strong founding vision of John W. Hodgins, the Faculty has enjoyed equally strong leadership and an organized succession through its deans.
| Dean | Years served |
|---|---|
| Heather Sheardown | 2022 – Present |
| Ishwar K. Puri | 2013-2021 |
| David S. Wilkinson | 2008-2012 |
| Mo Elbestawi | 2001-2007 |
| Mamdouh Shoukri | 1994-2001 |
| Gary R. Purdy | 1989-1994 |
| Arthur C. Heidebrecht | 1981-1989 |
| John W. Bandler | 1979-1981 |
| Leslie W. Shemilt | 1969-1979 |
| John W. Hodgins | 1958-1969 |
HISTORY
- Faculty of Engineering born in 1958
- First 25 students graduate
- New Departments: Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Metallurgical and Engineering Physics
- McMaster Engineering Society began in 1959
- McMaster Nuclear Reactor: the first university-based nuclear reactor in the British Commonwealth
- “Fireball” designed based on the heraldic emblem “gurgles enflamed” shown on the Arms of Hamilton College
- Camp 13 established, wardens overview of Kipling Day
- Fireball Formal Dance initiated
- Faculty quadruples (+100 graduates)
- Engineering & Management program introduced (1st grads in 1975)
- First bioengineering courses
- First woman MES President, Susan Sproule
- On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of engineering, John Hodgins Engineering building was so named after first dean, John W. Hodgins
- Courses in bio-engineering were offered as electives in all engineering programs (Eng phys, Chem and Electrical profs with joint research projects led the way)
- Institute of Materials Research, later renamed the Brockhouse Institute of Materials Research in honour of Nobel laureate Dr. B. Brockhouse
- Faculty doubles (+200 graduates)
- Computer Engineering and Manufacturing Engineering programs launched
- Communication Research Laboratory opens, lead by Simon Haykin
- MacEngineer newsletter launched
- McMaster’s centennial year 4,500 total engineering graduates
- Hodgins Memorial Lecture began
- Engineering & Society program introduced
- New Computing & Software department
- Venture program for youth begins
- BTech Degree Completion Program launched
- MES launched the McMaster Laboratory Advancement Benefaction (macLAB) – lab equipment endowment fund
- Engineering Musical launched
- School of Engineering Practice and Technology founded with a gift from alumnus Walter G. Booth
- Faculty expands: John Hodgins Engineering Annex, McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute, Engineering Information Technology Building, McMaster Steel Research Centre
- LEAP Summer Academy for secondary school students begins
- World’s most advanced and powerful microscope unveiled at McMaster Engineering’s Canadian Centre of Electron Microscopy
- LEED Gold Certified Engineering Technology Building opened
- BTech Four Year Bachelor of Technology Program launched
- Celebrated 50th anniversary in 2008
- First grads from Department of Computing and Software
- Gerald Hatch Centre for Engineering Experiential Learning opened
- Launch of new Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences program
- Launch of McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
- Launch of new Innovation Minor in collaboration with the DeGroote School of Business and The Forge
- Launch of MacChangers, a co-curricular program that pairs multidisciplinary teams with community partners to propose innovative solutions to local challenges
- Celebrated 60th anniversary in 2018
- Launch of The Pivot in 2019, a transformation of engineering education focused on experiential learning inside and outside the classroom
- Led by McMaster Engineering, McMaster University becomes the first university to offer digital degrees
- Donna Strickland, a McMaster alumna who received her BEng in engineering physics in 1981, has won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the first woman to do so in 55 years and one of only three in the history of the award
- Fall 2020: Launch of the Integrated Cornerstone Design Project in Engineering program, a full-year project-based experience where students are exposed to a series of design podcasts that develop both technical and professional skills
- Summer 2022: Heather Sheardown becomes the first woman Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.
- Fall 2022: 40 per cent of incoming engineering students to McMaster University are women.
Nobel Laureate
Donna Strickland
Bachelor of Engineering in Physics (BEng), 1981
Donna Strickland, a McMaster alumna who received her Bachelor of Engineering degree (BEng) in engineering physics in 1981, has won the Nobel Prize in Physics, the first woman to do so in 55 years and one of only three in the history of the award.
Information Box Group
McMaster Engineering alumna wins Nobel Prize in Physics
October 2, 2018
Alumna Donna Strickland reflects on engineering physics, McMaster and the whirlwind of winning a nobel prize
September 27, 2019
Nobel laureate Donna Strickland among 12 distinguished figures to be honored with honorary degrees at Spring Convocation Ceremonies
June 23, 2022
National Awards
McMaster University researchers are recipients of prestigious Canadian awards.
Information Box Group
Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Engineering Learn More
Fellows of the Academy are nominated and elected by their peers, in view of their distinguished achievements and career-long service to the engineering profession.
Order of Canada Learn More
The Order of Canada recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Learn More
Election to fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) is the highest distinction for scientists, artists, and scholars in Canada.