Faculty Spotlight: Materials Science Professor Led Professional Institute

Professor Emeritus of Polymer Engineering Frederick J. McGarry, former executive director of the Professional Institute, now called MIT Professional Education Short Programs, died on March 27, 2013, after a long illness.

He taught his first Professional Institute summer course, Composite Materials, in 1962 and became the program’s director in 1983. At the program’s 50th anniversary in 1999, he lauded its ongoing benefits to industry and to faculty. “It’s a bona fide intellectual exercise, because two-thirds of the students have advanced degrees; one–third have PhDs,” he said in an MIT Tech Talk article. “Faculty of the summer courses make a lot of contacts for consulting, research, and other activities within industry and government.” Through his vision he laid much of the foundation of what MIT Professional Education is today.

McGarry taught first in the Department of Civil Engineering, and then in 1975 he moved to Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) to focus on polymer education and research. His pioneering contributions include the development of rubber toughening in thermosetting resins, a vital part of modern composites technology.

Outside the classroom, McGarry served as chair of the ROTC program, secretary of the faculty, and participated in many international programs including the MIT Inter-American Program in Civil Engineering in the 1960s.

McGarry, 86, earned an AB in physics and math from Middlebury and an SB in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1950. He then received an SM in mechanical engineering/materials from MIT in 1953.