Harry Thode: A Nuclear Retrospective

Dr. Harry Thode (1910-1997) was a chemist, nuclear scientist, and university president who played a key role the evolution of McMaster University from a small liberal arts college to the multifaceted research and educational institution that it is today. Dr. Thode was the driving force behind the campaign to have a nuclear reactor installed at McMaster in the 1950s, and played a vital role in establishing the university as a nuclear research center. Today, the Science and Engineering library at McMaster University bears Dr. Thode’s name, and the café inside the Thode Library evokes his most evident legacy: The Reactor.

In 1987 Dr. Thode delivered an address describing the history of nuclear science at McMaster University; the text of his lecture can be found here.

Upon Dr. Thode’s passing in 1997, memorials were published by both The McMaster Times and the American Geological Society, and can be viewed by following these links.  

The McMaster Daily News has produced several articles featuring Dr. Thode over the years, including coverage of the celebration of Thode’s 100^th birthday (“Thode at 100”) in 2010, a description of his role in the construction of MNR (“McMaster’s Nuclear Reactor Turns 50”), the announcement of the winning entry in the name-the-café contest for the Thode Library (“Introducing The Reactor Café at Thode Library”) in 2008.

In 2003, the McMaster University Press published a biography of Dr. Thode, as was noted by the McMaster Daily News (“Book Celebrates McMaster Builder”).