Head and shoulders image of Dr. Harry Thode, professor of Chemistry and vice-president of Hamilton College.

Bio/Historical Note: Dr. Henry George (Harry) Thode was born in 1910 in Dundurn, Saskatchewan. He received his BSc in 1930 and his MSc in 1932 from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1934 he received his PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Chicago. Dr. Thode joined McMaster University in 1939 as an associate professor of chemistry, became a full professor in 1944; was named director of research in 1947; and was appointed head of the chemistry department from 1948-1952. Dr. Thode built a cyclotron capable of making radioactive isotopes and along with Dr. C.H. Jaimet, investigated the use of radioactive iodine in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease in humans, the first medical application of radioactive iodine in Canada. Dr. Thode became principal of Hamilton College in 1949; appointed vice-president in 1957; and in 1961 became president and vice chancellor. He retired as president in 1972. Dr. Thode was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to atomic research during World War II. Dr. Thode was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1943 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1954. The U of S awarded him an honourary Doctor of Laws degree in 1958. In 1967 he was the first scientist to be made a Companion of the Order of Canada. The Science and Engineering library at McMaster University is named after him. Dr. Thode died in 1997 in Dundas, Ontario.