About Us > Governance > Douglas Barber

Douglas Barber, O.C., PhD, PEng

Professor-in-Residence, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario

Dr. Barber is the distinguished professor-in-residence in the Faculty of Engineering at McMaster University.

In 2000, Dr. Barber retired from his position as president and CEO of Gennum Corporation, the corporation he co-founded in 1973. Originally called Linear Technology Inc., Gennum develops, manufactures and markets microcircuits. Dr. Barber continued as a Director of Gennum up to the spring of 2007. A part-time engineering professor at McMaster from 1968–1994, he has authored 29 papers and holds several patents. He is an authority on business, technology, learning, innovation and economic development, and is a highly sough-after speaker on all of these topics.

A tireless advocate for research and innovation, Dr. Barber contributes his time and expertise to a number of boards. He is a Director of Micralyne Inc., NetAccess Systems Inc., the Institute for Quantum Computing, and AllerGen NCE Inc and sits on the McMaster Board of Governors. Dr. Barber is Chair of the Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board at McMaster University, Chair of the McMaster Commercialization of Research Results Task Force and a member of the Directors College. He served as a Director of DALSA (2005 - 2008) and was a member of the Conference Board of Canada Leader’s Roundtable on Commercialization, the Commercialization Advisory Council of the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and the Ontario Research and Innovation Council.

Dr. Barber earned a BSc with Great Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan, the Governor General’s Gold Medal and an MSc in Electrical Engineering. He was an Athlone Fellow and NATO Scholar and received his PhD from Imperial College, University of London. His honours include the APEO Engineering Medal, the University of Saskatchewan C.J. Mackenzie Distinguished Graduate Award, the Professional Engineers of Ontario Gold Medal and Engineer of the Year Award of the Hamilton Engineering Institute. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Waterloo, McMaster University and University of Saskatchewan and in 1999 was named Ontario’s Entrepreneur of the Year and received the National Citation for Innovation & Technology. Most recently, Dr. Barber was inducted as an Officer in the Order of Canada.