Dr. Ross Judd
Long time Camp 13 Warden, Dr. Ross Judd, passed away on August 28, 2025. He was 89 years old. Ross graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1958 and then earned his M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering at McMaster in 1963. He stayed on as a faculty member until he retired in 2001. During his early years in the Mechanical Engineering Department he not only taught classes at McMaster, he was working on his PhD at the University of Michigan which he earned in 1968.
For generations of Mechanical Engineering students, Dr. Judd was synonymous with Heat Transfer. His passion for fundamental research in nucleate boiling and heat generation was unmistakable, and his commitment to excellence left a lasting impression on all those who learned from him. Almost every undergraduate who passed through Mechanical Engineering from 1963 up to the graduating class of 2024 took Heat Transfer from Dr. Judd. He is well known for his booming voice. He provided extraordinary service to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the engineering profession.
A professor’s job is divided into 3 parts – teaching, research and service. A great deal of Ross’s service was to the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO). He completed two decades on the Academic Requirements Committee, where he chaired the committee for four years, and served in a number of other roles, including the National Framework for Licensure Task Force. He was lauded for this work in 2002, when he was inducted as a member of the PEO's Order of Honour for championing professional ethics among engineers and students alike, and in 2014, he became an Officer of the Order of Honour in the PEO.
For more than 20 years, Ross served as a Warden of Camp XIII, where he participated in many Iron Ring Ceremonies. He wrote the key parts of the briefing session dealing with ethics that is still being used to this day.
More information about Ross is available in this tribute from the Faculty of Engineering: McMaster Tribute
