PETER K. STRANGWAY
BASc 1963, MASc 1964, PhD 1966
Upon his death, Dr. Peter Strangway left a transformational gift of over $12 million to the Temerty Faculty of Medicine to accelerate research into rare and devastating lung conditions.
Born in Toronto, Dr. Peter Kenneth Strangway (1940–2023) was a three-time graduate of the University of Toronto, obtaining a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and PhD in metallurgic engineering throughout the 1960s.
After completing his education, Dr. Strangway established a successful career in his chosen field. Following his love of engineering to cities across North America, he worked for Inland Steel in Chicago, Indiana, Hatch Ltd. in Toronto and Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation in Syracuse, N.Y. In 1998, Dr. Strangway retired to Daytona Beach, Fla., where he enjoyed volunteering for local causes.
In 1997, Dr. Strangway established the Peter K. Strangway Scholarship at the University of Toronto. Awarded annually to a student entering their third or fourth year of the materials engineering program on the basis of financial need, Dr. Strangway’s generosity has helped break down barriers to education for generations of emerging engineering leaders.
Following Dr. Strangway’s death in 2023, the university received a transformational bequest from his estate to establish the Dr. Peter K. Strangway Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Research Endowment Fund at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. A major new permanent source of funding, Dr. Strangway’s remarkable gift will accelerate groundbreaking research into this rare and irreversible condition, which causes scarring of the lungs and has no known cause.
In his will, Dr. Strangway indicated that he hoped his gift would help find a cure for the disease as well as develop treatments and medications to improve quality of life and help prolong life for those facing a diagnosis. His profound generosity will significantly uplift existing efforts taking place at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine to better understand IPF, including ongoing work to identify gaps in diagnosis and treatment.
Through his generous scholarship and his extraordinary new endowment fund, Dr. Strangway has established an inspiring and impactful legacy—one that will be felt by people and communities around the world through the success of new generations of engineers and bold new discoveries that hold the potential to save countless lives.