Thode at 100

The McMaster community will pay tribute to one of the University's most important
builders
Thursday.

Thode at 100, a celebration of Henry George “Harry” Thode, will see friends,
family,
colleagues and the public gather to pay tribute to and reminisce about Thode's life and
achievements.

President of the University from 1961 until 1972, Thode is creditied with being
one of
the driving forces transforming McMaster into the world-renowned research institution
it
is today.

“Harry Thode was an outstanding physical scientist whose main work, known and
admired internationally, was done at McMaster,” said Alvin Lee, President emeritus, who
will speak at the celebration. “He was the main founder and early builder of the modern
McMaster University. His vision of a research-intensive University, in which students
learn
by studying with professors at the leading edge of their disciplines, still informs the
University.”

Born on September 10, 1910 in Saskatchewan, Thode came to McMaster in 1939 as
an
assistant professor of chemistry. He is best-known for bringing a research nuclear
reactor
(still in operation today) to campus. The University's science and engineering library is
named for him.

Thode at 100 runs from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the atrium of the Michael
G.
DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery. RSVP to Dave Fraser at
dfrase@mcmaster.ca
or ext. 23067.