posted on Nov. 10: McMaster honours four with honorary degrees

These degrees are awarded to persons who are distinguished scholars or who have made outstanding contributions to the creative or performing arts; to persons who have distinguished reputations in the area of public service or who have had long and distinguished careers; or to persons who have made noteworthy
contributions to McMaster and/or the local community.

Jack Granatstein, Doctor of Letters

An outspoken author, speaker and radio and television commentator on
Canadian history, J. L. Granatstein has had a distinguished career in the army and as university professor.

Born in Toronto in 1939, Granatstein holds a BA from the Royal Military College in Kingston (1961), an MA from the
University of Toronto (1962), and a PhD from Duke University (1966). After serving 10 years in the Canadian Army, he joined the
Department of History at York University in 1966, where he remained until his retirement in 1995. Currently, he is the University's
distinguished research professor of history emeritus.

Granatstein, who writes on 20th-century Canadian history, concentrating on the military, defence and foreign policy,
Canadian-American relations, the public service, politics and universities, has published over 30 books. One of his most popular
titles is Who Killed Canadian History? (1998). Our Century: The Canadian Journey is scheduled for publication this year. His
book, The Generals (1993), won both the J.W. Dafoe Prize and the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography.

Granatstein is also special adviser to the director of the Canadian WarMuseum, having just retired as director and CEO of the
Museum in June.

Peter Martini, Doctor of Laws

Peter Martini has been active in masonry as a business owner and
industry leader. Educated at St. Michael's College, Martini
expanded his father's business into one of the major masonry contracting firms in Ontario.

He is a founding member of the Canadian Masonry Contractors' Association and has served as its president. He is also a founding
member of the association's Ontario branch, and of the Metropolitan
Industrial and Commercial Masonry Contractors Inc., serving
both organizations in various executive positions. Martini currently serves on the board of directors of over 25 private and public
corporations involved in all facets of manufacturing in Canada and the
United States.

Martini received the 1978 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Masonry Contractors' Association.

He was instrumental in the development of the Toronto Masonry Design Awards and lobbied for the development of a continuing
education program for industry members. The resulting Engineered Masonry Design Program, first offered at McMaster, has been very
successful and is currently expanding throughout the province.

Louis Nirenberg, Doctor of Science

Louis Nirenberg's curriculum vitae reflects a distinguished career in
mathematics.

The American Mathematical Society has honoured him with two awards — the Bocher Prize (1959) and the Steele Prize (1994) —
and he received the National Medal of Science in 1995. He has held both Alfred P. Sloan and Guggenheim fellowships. He was
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1969.

Nirenberg is currently a professor of mathematics at New York University.

His affiliation with the university has spanned several
decades. After completing his B.Sc. at McGill University in Montreal
(1945), he moved to New York where he obtained both his MS
and PhD degrees at NYU. He became a research associate at NYU in 1949 and held successive positions as associate and assistant
professor, was appointed as a full professor in 1957.

He is a former director of NYU's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (1970-1972), a centre for research and advanced
training in mathematics and computer science which has long been a leader in mathematical analysis, applied mathematics, and
scientific computation, with special emphasis on partial differential
equations and their applications.

Nirenberg served as vice-president of the American Mathematical Society from 1976 to 1977. He holds honorary doctorates from
the University of Pisa, the University of Paris, and McGill University, and is a member of the Instituto Lombardo (Italy), the
Academie des Sciences de France, the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Valerie Tryon, Doctor of Letters

Before she was 12, Valerie Tryon had played for a BBC broadcast program in England and was appearing regularly in concert.

She was one of the youngest students ever to be admitted to the Royal
Academy of Music, graduating with the highest award in piano playing and a bursary to study in Paris with Jacques Fevrier.

Her repertoire is vast and ranges from Bach to the contemporary composers. She is well known for sensitive interpretations of the
Romantics, especially Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. One of Tryon's
passions is chamber music and she currently plays with the
Rembrandt Piano Trio based in Toronto.

She is the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Harriet Cohen Medal, and the (Franz) Liszt Memorial Plaque.

Republish this Article for Free

Republish this Article

We believe in the free flow of information. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 2.5 Canada (CC BY-ND 2.5 CA), so you can republish our articles for free, online or in print.

All republished articles must be attributed in the following way and contain links to both the site and original article: “This article was first published on Daily News. Read the original article.”

These degrees are awarded to persons who are distinguished scholars or who have made outstanding contributions to the creative or performing arts; to persons who have distinguished reputations in the area of public service or who have had long and distinguished careers; or to persons who have made noteworthy<br />
contributions to McMaster and/or the local community.<P><br />
<br />
<b>Jack Granatstein, Doctor of Letters</b><P><br />
An outspoken author, speaker and radio and television commentator on<br />
Canadian history, J. L. Granatstein has had a distinguished career in the army and as university professor.<P><br />
Born in Toronto in 1939, Granatstein holds a BA from the Royal Military College in Kingston (1961), an MA from the<br />
University of Toronto (1962), and a PhD from Duke University (1966). After serving 10 years in the Canadian Army, he joined the<br />
Department of History at York University in 1966, where he remained until his retirement in 1995. Currently, he is the University&#039;s<br />
distinguished research professor of history emeritus.<P><br />
Granatstein, who writes on 20th-century Canadian history, concentrating on the military, defence and foreign policy,<br />
Canadian-American relations, the public service, politics and universities, has published over 30 books. One of his most popular<br />
titles is <I>Who Killed Canadian History?</I> (1998). <I>Our Century: The Canadian Journey</I> is scheduled for publication this year. His<br />
book, <I>The Generals</I> (1993), won both the J.W. Dafoe Prize and the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography.<P><br />
Granatstein is also special adviser to the director of the Canadian WarMuseum, having just retired as director and CEO of the<br />
Museum in June. <P><br />
<b>Peter Martini, Doctor of Laws</b><P><br />
Peter Martini has been active in masonry as a business owner and<br />
industry leader. Educated at St. Michael&#039;s College, Martini<br />
expanded his father&#039;s business into one of the major masonry contracting firms in Ontario. <P><br />
He is a founding member of the Canadian Masonry Contractors&#039; Association and has served as its president. He is also a founding<br />
member of the association&#039;s Ontario branch, and of the Metropolitan<br />
Industrial and Commercial Masonry Contractors Inc., serving<br />
both organizations in various executive positions. Martini currently serves on the board of directors of over 25 private and public<br />
corporations involved in all facets of manufacturing in Canada and the<br />
United States.<P><br />
Martini received the 1978 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Masonry Contractors&#039; Association.<P><br />
He was instrumental in the development of the Toronto Masonry Design Awards and lobbied for the development of a continuing<br />
education program for industry members. The resulting Engineered Masonry Design Program, first offered at McMaster, has been very<br />
successful and is currently expanding throughout the province.<P><br />
<b>Louis Nirenberg, Doctor of Science</b><P><br />
Louis Nirenberg&#039;s curriculum vitae reflects a distinguished career in<br />
mathematics. <P><br />
The American Mathematical Society has honoured him with two awards -- the Bocher Prize (1959) and the Steele Prize (1994) --<br />
and he received the National Medal of Science in 1995. He has held both Alfred P. Sloan and Guggenheim fellowships. He was<br />
elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1969. <P><br />
Nirenberg is currently a professor of mathematics at New York University.<P><br />
His affiliation with the university has spanned several<br />
decades. After completing his B.Sc. at McGill University in Montreal<br />
(1945), he moved to New York where he obtained both his MS<br />
and PhD degrees at NYU. He became a research associate at NYU in 1949 and held successive positions as associate and assistant<br />
professor, was appointed as a full professor in 1957.<P><br />
He is a former director of NYU&#039;s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences (1970-1972), a centre for research and advanced<br />
training in mathematics and computer science which has long been a leader in mathematical analysis, applied mathematics, and<br />
scientific computation, with special emphasis on partial differential<br />
equations and their applications. <P><br />
Nirenberg served as vice-president of the American Mathematical Society from 1976 to 1977. He holds honorary doctorates from<br />
the University of Pisa, the University of Paris, and McGill University, and is a member of the Instituto Lombardo (Italy), the<br />
Academie des Sciences de France, the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. <P><br />
<b>Valerie Tryon, Doctor of Letters</b><P><br />
Before she was 12, Valerie Tryon had played for a BBC broadcast program in England and was appearing regularly in concert.<P><br />
She was one of the youngest students ever to be admitted to the Royal<br />
Academy of Music, graduating with the highest award in piano playing and a bursary to study in Paris with Jacques Fevrier. <P><br />
Her repertoire is vast and ranges from Bach to the contemporary composers. She is well known for sensitive interpretations of the<br />
Romantics, especially Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. One of Tryon&#039;s<br />
passions is chamber music and she currently plays with the<br />
Rembrandt Piano Trio based in Toronto. <P><br />
She is the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Harriet Cohen Medal, and the (Franz) Liszt Memorial Plaque. <br />
<br />
<br />

Media Enquiries

Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24073
Email: comms@mcmaster.ca

The Communications and Public Affairs Office is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The University has a broadcast quality television studio to facilitate live and pre-recorded interviews with media. Learn more about our experts.