The names of McMaster alumni and Nobel laureates Myron Scholes and Donna Strickland become permanent fixtures on campus.
Nobel Laureates and McMaster graduates Myron Scholes and Donna Strickland will be honored at a special street naming ceremony to coincide with the week announcing this year’s Nobel Laureates.
On Tuesday, October 4th, McMaster will rename two streets on campus to honor the lasting influence of the Nobel Laureates in Economics and Physics. This year marks the 60thth anniversary of Scholes’ graduation from McMaster and the 25thth anniversary of his Nobel Prize and the 45thth anniversary of Strickland’s study at McMaster.
A portion of Stearn Drive, the street that runs across the south side of the David Braley Athletic Center, will be named Scholes Way, and a section of street near the Arthur N. Bourns Building and the John Hodgins Engineering Building will be named Strickland Way.
A plaque will also be placed near each site detailing the storied achievements of Scholes and Strickland.
“This celebration gives us the opportunity to recognize the work of two exceptional McMaster graduates who have revolutionized their fields of study,” said President and Vice Chancellor David Farrar.
“The legacy of our Nobel Laureates will forever be preserved on our campus as a reminder of the excellence McMaster fosters and the immense impact we have on the world around us.”
As part of the day’s celebrations, Donna Strickland will be on campus to meet with students and participate in a variety of events, including an afternoon fireside chat with student leaders that is open to members of the McMaster community.
Throughout the day, Strickland will also meet with current Engineering Physics students and faculty members to discuss, among other things, women in STEM, resilience in academic pursuits, and future career paths.
About the award winners
In 1962, Scholes graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from McMaster University. He later met fellow economist Fischer Black while working at MIT, and together the two scholars developed the Black-Scholes equation, a mathematical model for determining the value of derivatives that revolutionized the field of options trading. Scholes was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Economics for this equation.
“Myron Scholes has had a tremendous impact on economics, and McMaster’s business school is proud to count him among our alumni,” said Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and economics professor Jerry Hurley. “We are delighted to have the opportunity to honor him and highlight his pioneering work in economic modeling, which continues to influence the field today.”
In 1981, Strickland graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from McMaster’s Faculty of Engineering. Strickland completed her PhD at the University of Rochester where, under the supervision of Gérard Mourou, she co-developed chirp pulse amplification, a groundbreaking discovery that has far-reaching applications in a number of areas including corrective eye surgery. Strickland and Mourou were awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.
“Donna Strickland is an incredibly inspirational figure for our McMaster Engineering community,” said Heather Sheardown, Dean of Engineering. “We are pleased to honor her and her groundbreaking photonics research, which has led to broad industrial and medical applications.”
In 2005, a street on campus was named Brockhouse Way to honor the world-renowned work of McMaster nuclear physicist and 1994 Nobel Prize winner Bertram Brockhouse.
Along with Scholes, Strickland and Brockhouse, Health Sciences graduate James Orbinski accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières while serving as the international president of the organization.
Stay tuned for a McMaster Engineering Instagram contest giving you the chance to ask Donna Strickland a question at the event. consequences @mcmastereng for more details.
