The McMaster Faculty of Engineering is the engineering school of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The faculty was established in 1958 and was the first engineering program to developed problem-based learning curriculum. It currently has seven departments in chemical engineering, civil engineering, computing and software, electrical and computer engineering, engineering physics, material science and engineering and mechanical engineering. The faculty offers bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees.
The faculty is home to 1 Canada Excellence Research Chair, 13 Canada Research Chairs, 4 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council chairs, and 14 Endowed Chairs.
Programs
The B.Eng. undergraduate programs are accredited through the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board. All undergraduate students take a common first-year program which outlines the fundamentals of engineering disciplines. At the end of the first year, students choose one of fourteen program disciplines. This includes some five-year programs such as Engineering & Management, Engineering & Society, or streams in Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences.
Graduate programs in biomedical engineering are offered through the School of Biomedical Engineering, and graduate engineering practice programs through the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice.
The joint McMaster-Mohawk Bachelor of Technology program offers four-year bachelor-degree programs in engineering technology, including 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.
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 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 (M.Eng.) degrees, with the first ones awarded in 1959. The first doctoral degrees (Ph.D.) were awarded in 1965.
In 1972 over 100 engineers received their Bachelor of Engineering degrees, with the annual total passing 200 by 1980, and in 2014 this number equaled 588.
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.
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.
In 2021, McMaster Faculty of Engineering joined with the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Queen's University and University of Western Ontario to form an academic partnership called the IBET PhD Project, to increase academic and industry diversity by creating new fellowships for Indigenous and Black students pursuing doctoral degrees in mathematics and engineering to prepare for careers as professors and industry researchers.
Ranking
The 2017 Shanghai Ranking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects ranked the Faculty's civil engineering program 29th in the world, and metallurgical engineering, computer science and engineering, and transportation science and technology programs within the top 75 around the globe. Also rated within the top 101-150 programs in the world were the Faculty's water resources and telecommunication engineering disciplines.McMaster Engineering ranked among the world's best
Deans of Engineering
Dean Years servedHeather Sheardown2022- 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
Research
Research Institutes
McMaster Steel Research Centre Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research Centre for Emerging Device Technologies (CEDT) McMaster Institute for Multi-Hazard Systemic Risk Studies (INTERFACE) McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI) McMaster Centre for Software Certification (McSCert) General Motors Centre for Automotive Materials & Corrosion (CAMC) McMaster Advanced Control Consortium (MACC) Centre for Research in Macro- and Nano-Systems Centre for Mechatronics and Hybrid Technologies Centre for Advanced Polymer Process & Design McMaster Institute for Energy Studies (MIES) McMaster University Centre for Effective Design of Structures
Research Chairs + Canada Research Chair NameTitleDisciplineLabTodd HoareEngineered Smart MaterialsHeather SheardownCanada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery SystemsLeyla SoleymaniMiniaturized Biomedical Devices NSERC Industrial Chairs Saeid HabibiNSERC/Ford Chair in Hybrid TechnologiesAutomotive engineeringThia (Kiruba) KirubarajanNSERC/General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada Industrial Research Chair in Target Tracking and Information FusionFusionEstimation, Tracking and Fusion Research LaboratoryJoseph McDermidNSERC/Stelco Inc. Industrial Research Chair in Advanced Coated SteelsMaterials scienceDave NovogNSERC-UNENE Industrial Research ChairNuclear engineeringAli EmadiCanada Excellence Research Chair in Hybrid PowertrainAutomotive engineering Endowed Chairs Cameron ChurchillDon Pether Chair in Engineering and ManagementPeter MascherW. Sinclair Chair in OptoelectronicsAndre PhillionArcelorMittal Dofasco Chair in Ferrous MetallurgySaiedeh RazaviChair in Heavy ConstructionShahram ShiraniL.R. Wilson/BCE Chair in Data CommunicationsMichael TaitJoe Ng/JNE Consulting Chair in Design, Construction, and Management of Infrastructure RenewalStephen VeldhuisBraley-Orlick Chair in Advanced ManufacturingManufacturingMcMaster Manufacturing Research Institute
Student life The Faculty of Engineering at McMaster is known for its active student life. The McMaster Engineering Society (MES) offers an Engineering Co-op and Career Services (ECCS), which is a joint venture with the Faculty of Engineering. Engineering Co-op & Career Services connects students with employers, provides career-planning tools and resources, and provides opportunities for students to gain employment experience.
Some student-led groups within the faculty include: McMaster Ecocar 3, McMaster Formula Electric, Engineers Without Borders, McMaster Engineering Musical, McMaster Baja Racing and the McMaster Solar Car Team.
Traditions
Engineering students at McMaster University can purchase leather jackets with their faculty and graduation date embroidered on the arms and back of the coat. Since this tradition was established, these jackets have become a distinctive characteristic of McMaster Engineering on campus.Leather jacket sale
Student representatives to the faculty are chosen each year to lead the upcoming first years and represent the faculty of engineering at events. They typically dress in a red jumpsuit which they often personalize throughout their stay at McMaster Engineering. These representatives, nicknamed "Redsuits" or "Reds" are a fixture on campus and are known for their spirited behaviors'. The Redsuits have become synonymous with McMaster Engineering as well as McMaster University.
Undergraduate students produce an annual Engineering Musical every March that is written and directed by engineering students, with all of the 20-30 member cast and 10-15 member crew consisting of engineers. The musical takes a well known play, theme, or story and uses it as inspiration, but with a new script that includes jokes about professors, courses, faculty, and "arties".Musical | McMaster Engineering Society
The 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.What is the fireball? The fireball symbol is used widely by both the faculty and students to represent everything from culture, to excellence in research and innovation, as well as the energy that cuts across science and engineering.Traditions | McMaster Engineering Society In 2016, the Engineering Student Society of Conestoga College in Kitchener, Ontario applied to make the fireball a registered trademark. The application was withdrawn in 2017.
Facilities The faculty's facilities include: John Hodgins Engineering Building, which with 240,677 sq/ft (22,360 sq/m) is the major teaching, research, outreach and administrative hub on campus for the McMaster University Faculty of Engineering. Information Technology Building – building, home to the Department of Computing and Software and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Communications Research Laboratory 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 – addition to the Engineering Building Engineering Technology Building - building houses the Walter G. Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology and School of Biomedical Engineering Gerald Hatch Centre for Engineering Experiential Learning (Anticipated Occupancy – Start 2017)
Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy 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.
Iron Ring Clock
The Iron Ring Clock is a clock of unusual design, based on the Iron Ring received by Canadian engineers during the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. It was designed and built as a thesis project by four Mechanical Engineering students: Patrick Burton, Braden Kurczak, Michael Paddags, and Peter Whitred. It won the 2nd prize for Manufacturing at the 2003 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering Student Design Competition. The clock was donated to the University in September 2003, at which time it was also put into commission.