Henry George Thode completed his BSc. and MSc. at the University of Saskatchewan; 1934, Ph.D in physical chemistry at the University of Chicago. Conducted post-doctorate research at Columbia University under the tutelage of Dr. Harold C. Urey, a pioneer in atomic research. Thode's time with Urey influenced much of his later work. In 1939, Thode came to McMaster University as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. In 1942 he was promoted to Associate Professor. During World War II he was relieved of duties to participate in the wartime work and research of the Canadian Atomic Energy Project. Thode was a consultant for Atomic Energy Canada Limited from 1945 to 1951, and from 1966 to 1981 he was the director and member of AECL Executive Committee. He was also a member of the Defense Research Board from 1945 to 1961. Thode constructed the first mass spectrometer in Canada. From 1944 to 1979, he was a Professor of Chemistry; between 1948 and 1952 he was Head of the Department of Chemistry. Thode was Director of Research from 1947 to 1961 and Principal of Hamilton College, McMaster University's early scientific school from 1949 to 1963. In 1957 he became even more involved with the University's development by directing the first nuclear reactor at a university in the British Commonwealth and becoming Vice President of the University, a position he held until 1961 when he became President and Vice Chancellor from 1961-1972. In 1979, he was given the title of Professor Emeritus, a title held until his death in 1997. Thode was also responsible for organizing and hosting the first post-war international conference on nuclear chemistry, held at McMaster in 1947. He actively participated in and encouraged visits and scientific exchanges between Canada and the Soviet Union, beginning in 1957.