Brief Biography; Gary Rush Purdy

Gary Purdy completed both Bachelor (1957) and Master (1959) degrees in Engineering at the University of Alberta, followed by a Ph. D degree at McMaster University (1962).  He joined the faculty at McMaster in 1963.  As a researcher in microstructure development in engineering materials, he has contributed to the knowledge base in the areas of multicomponent effects in diffusion and phase transformations; structures and properties of solid-solid interfaces; and phase transformations involving interfacial diffusion. He has supervised the research of some 40 senior undergraduates and 50 graduate degree candidates, and has advised over 40 postdoctoral fellows, research associates and visiting scholars.  He is author or co-author of over 200 refereed publications, and editor of a number of scientific volumes.

In collaboration with industrial partners, he has added to the understanding and control of materials production and fabrication processes. Some recent examples include the solidification processing of copper based alloys, thermal/mechanical processing of advanced automotive spring steels and aluminum alloy fabrication.

He has been recognized with numerous honours and awards including the Diplôme de Docteur Honoris Causa from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (1994), a Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (1991), and the Canadian Metal Physics Medal (1990).  He is an elected fellow of ASM International (2000), CIM ((2000), and TMS (2001). In 2003, he became one of seven elected Canadian members of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States of America, and in 2006 he received the Sawamura and Guimaraes medals of the Iron and Steel Institute of Japan.  He has given numerous invited distinguished lectures in North America, Asia and Europe.

During over 40 years as a faculty member at McMaster, he has served as Departmental Chair, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.  He has held visiting professorships at the Central Electricity Research Laboratories, Leatherhead England, the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden, and the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, France.  In 1998, he was recognized as one of seven Distinguished University Professors (all disciplines) at McMaster University.