FONDATION LUCIEN-PICHÉ
Lucien Piché was born in Montreal on July 22 of 1915. Following brilliant high school studies, he began his study of chemistry at the Université de Montréal where he obtained in 1940 a Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Rogé Barré.
After being a lecturer at the Université de Montréal from 1938 to 1943 and a Professor at Jean-de-Brébeuf College from 1940 to 1942, he became assistant Professor at the Université de Montréal, position that he held from 1943 to 1947. At the same time, he did a post-doctoral internship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, from 1945 to 1946.
On July 22 of 1945, he married Andrée Lespérance with whom he got two children, Nicole and Robert. From 1947 to 1951, Lucien Piché joined Pharmed Ltd., a private company for which he was Director and then Vice-President. In 1951, Dr. Piché went back to the Université de Montréal as a Professor, a position that he held until 1959.
After being Vice-Dean and Head of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the Université de Montréal from 1959 to 1961, he became the first secular person to occupy the position of Vice-Dean of this University. While he held that position (1961-1971), he showed remarkable management skills: he creates the Presses de l'Université de Montréal and oversaw major infrastructure works such as the renovation of the West wing of the Roger-Gaudry building, the construction of the Maximilien-Caron and Lionel-Groulx buildings and the renovation of the Marie-Victorin building.
While assuming these important functions within the Université de Montréal, Lucien Piché also had outstanding accomplishments on the professional and scientific levels. He was a member of the organization committee of the Montreal Universal Exposition (1963-1967), President of the Chemical Institute of Canada (1957-1958), president of the Association des chimistes professionnels du Québec (the precursor to the Ordre des chimistes du Québec, 1955-1956) and member of numerous other platforms where the future of science within Québec and Canada was being discussed.
Lucien Piché was an exceptional administrator and Professor; he was a pioneer and a builder. His accomplishments go beyond the walls of his institution, the Université de Montréal. Through his involvement and hard work, Lucien Piché contributed in many ways to the future of his discipline, chemistry.
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