High Tech and Mad Science
Posted on Monday, May 8th, 2017
Grad’s explosive career a chemical reaction to Algonquin College
For 50 years, Algonquin College’s classrooms have been home to cutting-edge technology – but alumnus Mike Gillissie remembers when that meant a computer “the size of a room.”
The 1969 Chemical Technology grad recalls filling in punch cards to use in the then “state-of-the-art” machine. “I fell in love with computers,” he says. “It probably had less power than I have in my cellphone… everyone had to take turns using it. It was a pretty amazing thing back then to go to a school that had one of these things.”
As both as a former student and current teacher, Gillissie appreciates the College’s embrace of technology. During his own degree, he recalls using top-line instrumentation in classes like radiochemistry and organic chemistry for hands-on learning – from detecting radiation to testing chemical properties.
“There was all sort of instrumentation and it was very, very expensive,” he says. “But we learned how to use it so that we would be useful… in the field.”
Just two days after his final exam, Gillissie began a 12-year employment stint at Northern Electric Research and Development Laboratories – then a manufacturer of
circuits, semiconductor lasers, and fibre-optic cables. The company would go on to become better known as Nortel. Gillissie later joined Mitel Corporation, where he spent 10 years as an environmental specialist, while laying the groundwork for becoming his own boss. The alumnus has been president of his own occupational health and safety company – ROSE Environmental Services Limited – since 1994.
As they say, you can’t fake chemistry. Gillissie credits Algonquin for giving him the academic ingredients for success, and he now helps the College do the same for other students. He started teaching part-time at Algonquin in the mid ’90s, and currently oversees various courses, including Industrial Hygiene; and Occupational Health and Safety Program Management.
Gillissie is a firm believer in the benefits of teaching. “Every time I teach it I learn something from it… the more you teach the more you learn.”
Back when Gillissie enrolled, Algonquin wasn’t even Algonquin. He applied to the Eastern Ontario Institute of Technology, which was renamed Algonquin the year he arrived on campus in 1967. “I never liked school until I started (here),” he explains, adding he was quickly enchanted by learning the fundamentals of his trade. Summarizing his time as an unofficial Algonquin mad scientist, Gillissie says, “I learned an awful lot about chemistry, and about the chemicals, and about the hazards associated with the chemicals.”
He recalls one professor who regularly tested students by bringing in “mystery” apparatuses – always with their exteriors removed. “(We’d) go in as pairs and figure out what this piece of equipment did, and how it worked,” he recalls. “It taught us to observe and use your head.”
Gillissie’s enthusiasm partially explains why he is a life-long student at Algonquin, including earning certificates in Teaching Adult Lifelong Learners, Home Inspection, and Project Management. He is currently working on a Small Engines certificate.
“The things that they teach at Algonquin are practical – they can be used in the workplace,” he notes. “I have a really good background because (of my) education at Algonquin.”
And he puts his hard-earned wisdom to use. He is also the program coordinator for Occupational Safety and Health at Algonquin – a role that sees him field inquiries from prospective students.
Gillissie says he gets “phone calls from all over the world.” After five decades, Algonquin’s reputation is clearly preceding it.
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