Arthur Newcombe Bourns, (December 8, 1919 – May 29, 2015) was a professor of chemistry and a university administrator with a long association with

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. He was professor emeritus and president emeritus of that institution. He was born in

Petitcodiac, New Brunswick Petitcodiac is a Canadian village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. History It is named after the Petitcodiac River, which begins in the village at the junction of the North River and Anagance River. The name is believed to be derived eith ...

and was educated at

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadia ...

and

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, graduating in 1944 with a doctorate in

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. In 1947, he joined the department of chemistry at McMaster University as an assistant professor, after teaching at Acadia University and the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He had begun his career as a research chemist in 1944 at the Dominion Rubber Company. Bourns became a full professor at McMaster in 1953 and served as both a chairman and a dean before becoming vice-president of science and engineering in 1967. In 1972 he was appointed president of the university, a post he held until 1980. He had a distinguished academic career, becoming a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

in 1964 and serving as a member of the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

, 1969–1975. Bourns has received five honorary degrees and was made an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1982. He married Marion Blakney and the couple had four children.

References

McMaster University fonds

Arthur Bourns
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourns, Arthur 1919 births Acadia University alumni Canadian university and college chief executives Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Academic staff of McMaster University Officers of the Order of Canada 2015 deaths McGill University Faculty of Science alumni