2000
Quebec entrepreneur and alumnus Lorne M. Trottier, BEng ’70, MEng ’73, announces a gift of up to $5 million to help build a new Information Technology undergraduate teaching facility at McGill, estimated at a cost of $17 million.
2001
The Government of Quebec announces that it will provide $7 million to complete the Lorne M. Trottier Building, prompting Trottier to double his gift to $10 million.
The McGill Institute for Advanced Materials (MIAM) is established by the Faculties of Engineering and Science. MIAM seeks to solve society’s grand challenges through fundamental and applied materials research focused on health, energy, and environment while fostering a dynamic community of McGill materials researchers. Prof. Jorge Viñals becomes the Founding Director.
2002
The Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) becomes accredited as a student society.
2003
The Lorne M. Trottier Building opens in September. The building houses six floors of advanced teaching laboratories, interactive learning rooms, and meeting spaces, and is equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
As a result of a $7-million grant awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering establishes a five-year research project called the Agile All-Photonics Networks (AAPN). This is Canada’s most far-reaching research initiative aimed at providing the benefits of all-photonic, fibre optic networks to the telecommunications industry and eventually to all users of the Internet.
The City of Montreal approves a three-year protocol d’entente with the schools of Architecture and Urban Planning at McGill and Université de Montréal. The agreement provides funding while involving students in major urban planning projects.
2006
Alumnus Les Vadasz, BEng’61, DSc’07, donates $500,000 for the creation of the Vadasz Doctoral Fellowships in support of graduate student excellence.
2007
The McGill Engineering Student Centre opens in the Frank Dawson Adams building. The Centre merges the Faculty’s Student Affairs Office (previously located on the third floor of the Macdonald Engineering Building) and the McGill Engineering Career Centre to create a comprehensive service centre that provides undergraduate students with academic, career, and internship advising and support. Associate Dean Subhasis Ghoshal becomes its Director, and Judy Pharo becomes its Associate Director.
2008
Alumnus Les Vadasz and his wife Judy continue their support for graduate research with a transformative $8-million donation to the Faculty of Engineering. This generous gift establishes fellowships that will recruit at least 15 outstanding doctoral students annually in perpetuity.
2009
McGill receives a $103-million investment from the federal and provincial governments to address some of McGill’s essential maintenance and construction projects. Of this funding, awarded under the Knowledge Infrastructure Program (KIP), over $24 million is earmarked for renewal of facilities in support of engineering innovation in the Macdonald Engineering Building.
Prof. Stephen Yue is named first Lorne Trottier Chair in Aerospace Engineering. This Chair is established thanks to a donation of $12 million by alumnus Lorne Trottier in 2007, and it initiates the formation of the McGill Insititute for Aerospace Engineering (MIAE). MAIE’s mandate is help students develop skills necessary for a future in aerospace engineering, and to create strong networks among faculty researchers and industry representatives.
The Faculty of Engineering launches the Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) program to enable students to learn more about their discipline through summer internships in McGill laboratories and research institutes.
McGill University and the School of Architecture have garnered three of the top five awards for creating new home designs in devastated areas of New Orleans.