Remembering John A. Davies, professor emeritus
John A. Davies, research professor emeritus of Engineering Physics passed away on July 25, 2016. John held adjunct positions at McMaster since 1970 and joined the department on a part-time basis in 1985 after his retirement from the Atomic Energy of Canada Labs (AECL) at Chalk River. From 1989 to 1992 he served as director of the McMaster Accelerator Laboratories.
John earned a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Toronto and spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Leeds in the UK before joining Chalk River Nuclear Labs in 1956. He worked in the newly developing field of radiation effects in matter and is widely considered a pioneer of ion implantation in solids.
He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Danish Royal Society of Arts and Sciences, and the Böhmische Physikalische Gesellschaft, and held an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Royal Roads Military College.
John was always generous with his time, was considered a great mentor by students and colleagues alike. He is survived by his wife Florence (Flo), six children, 15 grandchildren and “6.6” great-grandchildren.
