McMaster Faculty of Engineering

McMaster Faculty of Engineering
The John Hodgins Engineering Building is still the teaching, research and administrative hub on campus for many of the Faculty's seven departments
Established	1958
Dean	Dr. David S. Wilkinson
Location	Hamilton, ON, Canada
Website	Faculty of Engineering

The Faculty of Engineering of McMaster University was established in 1958 and was modeled after some of the leading institutions in the world. The high quality of its innovative and comprehensive programs and the faculty’s strengths in education and research, has made it one of the foremost engineering schools in North America.^[1]

History

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 on 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.

McMaster Fireball

Five departments established in the first two years – Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering and later, Engineering Physics. The first engineering degrees from McMaster were (Master of Engineering) M.Eng. degrees, with the first ones awarded in 1959 and first doctoral degrees Ph.D. were awarded in 1965. The undergraduate programs grew in step, and by 1972, over 100 engineers received their (Bachelor of Engineering) B.Eng. degrees, with the annual total passing 200 by 1980.

The Faculty of Engineering began joint faculty appointments, research associates and collaborative research activities with McMaster's Faculty of Health Sciences courses in Bio-Engineering were offered as electives in all engineering programs. 1971 marked the start of the Engineering and Management program and later that decade, the Engineering and Society program began. In the early 1980s, the Electrical Engineering started its unique Computer Engineering program, and Mechanical Engineering began its program in Manufacturing Engineering.

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. The program offers four-year bachelor-degree programs in Process Automation Technology, Biotechnology and Automotive and Vehicle Technology, as well as degree-completion programs in Civil Engineering Infrastructure Technology, Computing and Information Technology, Energy Engineering Technology and Manufacturing Engineering Technology.

McMaster Fireball

The fireball is the official symbol of McMaster Engineering. It historically comes from the coat of arms of Hamilton College. McMaster's Faculty of Engineering emerged from Hamilton College in 1958 and hence adopted a red fireball as its own emblem in 1960.^[2]

It is used widely by both the faculty and students to represent everything from culture, to excellence in research and innovation. On yet another symbolic level, the fireball is used to represent the fact that energy that cuts across all areas of science and engineering. The Faculty of Engineering, which was founded in 1958 adopted the fireball as their symbol.

Student life

The Faculty of Engineering at McMaster has a very active student life. The McMaster Engineering Society (MES) is the student-run organization dedicated to fostering "the development of well rounded undergraduate engineering students through accessible support of academics, athletics, and recreational and professional activities, while maintaining the integrity and unique traditions of our faculty society."

Traditions

Like many other engineering faculties in North American, McMaster University has a distinct history of tradition spanning back to its establishment. Students in the engineering department have the option to purchase leather jackets with their faculty and graduation date embroidered on the arms and back of the coat. Since its establishment these jackets have been seen as a distinctive characterist of the engineering faculty on the university campus.^[3]

Representatives to the faculty are chosen each year to lead the upcoming first years and represent the faculty of engineering at events. These representatives are endowed a red jumpsuit which they can personalized throughout their stay at McMaster Engineering. These representatives, nicknamed "Redsuits" or "Reds" are a fixture in the surrounding town Hamilton, as well as various events on campus. Known for their rowdy behavior and clever tricks around campus, the Redsuits have become synonymous with McMaster Engineering as well as McMaster University.^[4]

Facilities

Over the years, the Faculty of Engineering has expanded its facilities to meet the growing needs of both the undergraduate and graduate students. The faculty's facilities now include:

• John Hodgins Engineering Building
• McMaster Information Technology Building – 82,000-square-foot (7,600 m²) building, home to the Department of Computing and Software
• Communications Research Laboratory – stand-alone building, home to Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Applied Dynamics Laboratory – research lab for Department of Civil Engineering
• Thode Library of Science and Engineering
• Nuclear Research Building, McMaster Nuclear Reactor
• McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute – 10,000-square-foot (930 m²) addition to the Engineering Building
• Engineering Technology Building - The engineering departments newest 125,000-square-foot (11,600 m²) building hosts the Bachelor of Technology Program, School of Biomedical Engineering and the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice

The world's most advanced microscope

The Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy at McMaster is home to the world's most advanced microscope. The titan 80-300 cubed microscope has a magnification of 14 million and is used for material, medical and nano-research.^[5][6]

Current Departments & Schools

Departments:

• Chemical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Computing & Software
• Electrical & Computer Engineering
• Engineering Physics
• Materials Science & Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mechatronics Engineering

Graduate Schools:

• School of Biomedical Engineering
• School of Computational Engineering & Science
• School of Engineering Practice

Five-year Programs:

• Engineering & Management
• Engineering & Society
• Engineering & International Studies

References and external links

• About McMaster Engineering
• Engineering and Management Programme
• The Plumbline
• ^ [7]
• ^ McMaster Fireball
• ^ McMaster Traditions
• ^ McMaster Red