Donald R. Woods is Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University. He received his BSc from Queen’s University, his MS and PhD from the University of Wisconsin, and worked for seven different industries before joining McMaster University in 1964. He was an Athlone Fellow, a C.D. Howe Fellow, a HERDSA Fellow and a Japan Science Fellow. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering. His research interests are in process design, cost estimation, surface phenomena, problem-based learning, assessment, improving student learning, developing skill in problem solving, trouble shooting, group and team work, self assessment, change management, and lifetime learning.
Professor Woods has won numerous awards for leadership and teaching, including the Canadian 3M Fellow, honorary Doctor of Science degrees at Queen’s, Guelph, and McMaster Universities, and the President’s Award for Educational Leadership. For In-class Instruction he was co-winner of the President’s Award for Course Development, and also received the ASEE Lifetime Achievement Award from Chemical Engineering Education, the Wickenden Award from ASEE (thrice); the ASEE Ben Dasher best paper award, OCUFA teaching award, the McMaster Student Union top award for outstanding teaching and Lifetime Teaching Award, and the Faculty of Engineering Innovation in Education Award. He is one of 20 Chemical Engineers from industry, government and universities to receive the Century of Achievement Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering for distinguished contributions to Chemical Engineering.
In 1964, Professor Woods started a program to develop trouble shooting skills, and has since extensively developed the program. He has given over 50 workshops on trouble shooting at the AIChE conferences, in industry and in colleges and universities.
Professor Woods' publications include the books 'Successful Trouble Shooting for Process Engineers', 'Rules of Thumb in Engineering Practice', “Networking: How to Enrich your Life and Get Things Done”. He is coauthor of 'Chemical Plant Simulation', 'Chemical Engineering Case Problems', 'Financial Decision Making in the Process Industry”,“Process Design and Engineering Practice”, 'Data for Process Design and Engineering Practice”,“Preparing for PBL”, “Problem-based Learning: Resources to Gain the Most from PBL”, and “Problem-based Learning; How to Gain the Most from PBL”. He edited a Newsletter 'Problem Solving News' for 20 years and wrote a column on Developing Problem Solving skills in the Journal of College Science Teaching for 10 years. He is coauthor of Chapter 16 “ Conceptual Process Design, Process Improvement and Troubleshooting” in “Albright’s Chemical Engineering Handbook”.