My condolences to his family. I was a school friend of Mike's a close friend, I haven't seen him for maybe 35 years but I always remembered him. He was a top guy, character good person. So sad to hear this. I saw Jane a few years ago at the airport and she showed me his photo he looked great. Ramzy (he knew me as Raz) xxxx

Dear Ceri and Jack,
               We learned this sad news just today. I hope friends and loved ones closer by will be able to lend support.  What a shock and 
terrible loss.



It's with profound sadness that we hear of Mike’s passing. 

He was a very well respected individual in the industry community - for his work, his wit, and his integrity, and his contributions have made a real and definable contribution to society.  

We're going to miss him, but he'll forever be in our memories.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Dearest Thomas Family,
Please accept my deepest and most heartfelt condolences. Michael and myself attended the same University in Birmingham, UK and it was my good fortune to meet Michael many years later in Canada where we worked on the same Panel of Experts. We exchanged technical ideas and memories of times gone by and I much enjoyed his company, friendship and vast knowledge that he so willingly shared with others.
My thoughts and prays are with you.
With the greatest of sympathy,
Russell Gunn, Vevey, Switzerland.

I was shocked and saddened to learn about Mike's passing. I had the pleasure of meeting him in 2002 and working with him (as staff) on cement and concrete technical committees for ten years. I remember him for his quick wit and humour in the meetings. I respected his expertise, humbleness, passion and commitment to research, volunteerism, teaching and public safety. This is a huge loss of expertise in cement and concrete. I pass my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. 

Muktha Tumkur

Sunday afternoon impromptu festival find with Mike and Lorraine. 

What a fun night in New Orleans with Mike and Paula. 

Whether it was a pool, the lake, or the ocean count Mike in for some fun. 

A great group of friends at ACI in Puerto Rico.  Mike and Paula, Thano, Racheal, Sean, Sam and Jason.  2007

I am saddened to learn of Mike's passing. I was fortunate to have him as a co-supervisor during my Ph.D. He was an incredible teacher and researcher from whom I learned a great deal and to whom I looked up as a role model. My deepest condolences to his family.


The picture was taken at the Corvallis Workshop 2022.

I had a great opportunity to have Mike as my PhD committee member.
I always learnt something from every conversation that I had with him.
He loved Indian cuisine food. I had pleasure cooking Indian food for him last year when he came to Corvallis.

He was a great person. He will be missed.

I had the pleasure of being one of Mike's students at U of T.
Mike was a brilliant academic and a great person. 
I always feel very honoured to have learned so much from him.
I was happy for Mike to see him living his best life through his illness on Facebook with his travels and times shared with family, cherished loved ones and friends.

"May there be comfort in knowing that someone so special will never be forgotten" ~ Julie Hebert

Mike inspired and left a legacy on the lives of so many people, through his teaching, through his research, through being who he was.  He was someone so special.

With sincerest condolences, Andrea Boddy

I was saddened to hear of Mike’s passing.  He was indeed an incredible person, exceptionally well respected in the industry for his knowledge and practicality. 

I had the pleasure of working with Mike on 2 CSA committees for the last many years and shared chairmanship of a CSA Technical Subcommittee. 

He will be sorely missed. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. 

Phil Trunk

I had the opportunity and pleasure of meeting Mike shortly after he arrived in Canada and was living in Toronto.   Over the years I was fortunate to be able to work with Mike on various projects involving his cement and concrete expertise and more recently working with us at CarbonCure.  A true friend whom I enjoyed discussing concrete technology while downing a few shots of Jameson!  Mike enjoyed coming to Florida each November for the Anna Maria Conference and we often had a chance to visit.  The photo with the sun setting is from the 2012 conference and Mike is the shadow on the far right.  We lost "one of the good ones".  Rest in peace my friend.  

I feel privileged to have known Mike as a professor, an industry colleague and a collaborator. He was incredibly knowledgable and giving, inspired by new ideas. A tireless champion for progress in industry organizations. An entertaining and effective presenter. Irreplaceable.

Mike was an excellent and passionate instructor, and also an awesome colleague who cared deeply about his work and his fellow professors. I will be among the many who miss him and wish his soul some well deserved rest.

VERY SAD NEWS INDEED. ITS A BIG LOSS . MAY HIS AFTERLIFE BE PEACEFUL. PROF.RIZWAN

Sincere condolences to Mike’s family. He was always full of fun and laughter like his father . May he rest in peace . With love cousin Sam xx 

I remember once years ago I was lucky enough to be on a speaking tour with Mike through several cities in the northeast.  On the last day, just as I was getting up to speak, he whispered something to me that was very inappropriate (yet good natured) and designed to make me lose it, which I did, right as I began my program, which he took great joy in seeing which made me laugh all the harder.  I can't think of a story about Mike that does not contain great kindness and great humor, and I can't think of a better thing to say of someone's life than that.

Mike will be remembered as a brilliant and witty engineer, researcher, professor, and friend. I will always remember him as a kind-hearted mentor who could find humour in any situation. He was a great leader and an exemplary mentor to myself and every student who had the opportunity to study with him. When I was a student and young engineer, Mike introduced me to many of the people that I am now fortunate enough to call my colleagues. 

Wherever we were traveling, Mike always made sure there was time to find a bar or two and have some fun! I will strive to carry his light-hearted spirit, generosity, and hard-working nature into my future work. 

Mike leaves a long legacy of students and colleagues who have worked alongside him and learned from him. His memory will live on in the ways he has supported and inspired so many of us.

Dear Family and Friends,

Professor Thomas was always one of the guys at the convention or symposium that I would try to grab for a few brief minutes of conversation.  I wish I had a transcript of the concrete durability discussions we had over the years.  I will forever miss him, but know this - he left an indelible mark on the industry I love dearly, and I believe left the world a better place than he found it.  My deepest sympathy to all his family and friends.   

Really sorry to learn of Mike's death.  He'll be missed.

Thank you for being an integral part of my early career.  While you are standing at the edge of this photo, you were always an integral and central force.  Your brilliance and wit will not be forgotten.  Rest in peace.

From the Garibaldi pub with the BRE gang 2017

I first met Michael in Trondheim in 1989, and encouraged him to apply for the position I was leaving at Ontario Hydro...that got him to Canada and since then he  rapidly became one of the stars in the Canadian, US and global cement and concrete community.  He was brilliant, quick witted, humorous and the most entertaining speaker I have had the pleasure of knowing. 

Mike Thomas was one of the true giants in the industry. He will be deeply missed but his legacy will endure. May he Rest In Peace and his family comfort.

Jose Pacheco 

I have a great deal of gratitude toward Mike. This picture was taken at the Encaenia in May 2016. He was the chair of the Department of Civil Engineering when I joined UNB in 2015. His support to renovate the asphalt lab meant a lot to my teaching and research endeavors. His passion for research was outstanding. My condolences to his family and the academic community at large for this loss.

Mike will be missed by me and the whole concrete community. His contributions will live on and will be a reminder of him. One memorable moment was a meeting we had in Doug Hooton's house after midnight discussing chloride ingress models. That resulted in Life 3 65(TM), which is still widely used.

I met Mike when he joined the Board of Directors of the ACI Ontario Chapter.  His wit kept the meetings light hearted. We remained friends thru the years at conventions and meetings enjoying meals and the odd glass of red. He will be greatly missed. Love to Lorraine and family.
Alain and Karen

Mike was generous, kind, witty, and more intelligent than anyone I have ever met. He is the reason for so many of my fondest memories, my degrees, and my job. He impacted my life more than I can say, and I know the same is true for his countless students and colleagues. His passing leaves a hole in the hearts of so many, and I send my deepest condolences to his many beloved friends and family whom he spoke about often. He leaves behind a legacy of friendship, kindness, and passion that will live on in everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. I will raise a glass in spirit with those at his celebration of life today. Rest easy, Mike. 

Mike fully clothed on the water slide after a long day of deliberations at the ACI Convention in Orlando

Testing out the hottub capacity at his beloved cottage on Skiff Lake

I will miss him!  This picture was taken on August 21, 2017 at Treat Island near Eastport, ME.

Photo of Mike and our team from all over on a visit to Treat Island in Maine about 10 years ago. So sorry to the family for your loss of a great person. His contributions in life and his work will live on as a testament to his passions. 

RIP buddy Mike. You were always a resource for easy and tough questions on concrete and other aspects of life - like English football and Indian food... 
Your interaction with the concrete industry provided a great link between research and practice. You (with Kevin) created the NRMCA Concrete Durability Course, taught 25 courses to more than 600 people with a great balance of technical content and humor. We heard the same jokes but still laughed at them. We enjoyed our evenings at these courses discussing the meaning of life among other things. 
You will be missed
Colin Lobo, NRMCA

Unformal meeting in Iceland in 2009,  where he supervised the PhD-study of Jan Lindgård - in the middle.

When Mike spoke, people were listening to his wisdom! I had the pleasure to learn to know Mike as a colleague and friend at many various international events regarding alkali aggregate reactions (AAR) in concrete. These were international conferences and research project meetings, but also more unformal meetings in Iceland. As a chairman of an international RILEM Technical Committee, I always appreciated when Mike was attending. His scientific integrity, experiences, and knowledge, in his field, were one of the best in the world. His way of communication with his particular humour made him an extraordinary personality that never will be replaced. We will miss you, Mike! I wish to bring my sincere condolences to family and friends! 

Michael will be missed by all - and foremost by the community of Civil Engineering Materials Experts among whom he was a leading figure.  He will be also missed by his colleagues and friends - he is remembered as a very kind colleague with a heart of gold.

With great sadness, I write this note on the departure of Mike. I have known and learned from Mike for more than 25 years. I met Mike upon my arrival in Canada in the mid-’90s and did my PhD and Postdoctoral work under his supervision. I learned much from Mike’s wealth of technical knowledge and ability to simplify complex mechanisms. I continued to collaborate and interact with Mike through the activities of the CSA and conferences. Seeing and talking to Mike during these activities was an additional benefit to attending the events. The last time I saw Mike was in Lisbon last May during the ICAAR. We talked, and I attended two of his presentations, which were full of passion and technical depth. I did not expect the time to come that soon to write this note. Mike’s memory will always remain in the hearts and minds of those who knew him.   May he rests in peace, and my deepest condolences to his family.  
Medhat 


Mike was truly one-of-a-kind. I learnt a lot from his papers as a young student and my students are doing the same. His impact on concrete durability and SCMs will be long remembered. RIP Mike.

Dear Mike, 
May God bless you.  
You will be missed. 
Rest in peace. 

Mike was an outstanding engineer and professor.  I knew him as a colleague at UNB and was always impressed by his intellect, humor, and energy.  He will be greatly missed.
My condolences to Jack, Ceri, and Lorraine.
-Lloyd Waugh

Concrete block making activity in Hawaii, FHWA project (early 2000's)

Mike showing condition of concrete block on the Mactaquac site.


Note for the picture: Lobster dinner during CSA AAR technical committee meeting in Fredericton (2004). How to combine hard work and fun !!

Lobster dinner with Mike and his close collaborators, and a group of Norwegian and Quebecois visitors in Eastport (Maine) (2016)

It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Mike. I have known Mike since the early 1990’s, very much since the beginning of our respective professional careers. We have worked together since on various technical committees and shared great technical and personal  experiences through several projects, travels and conferences worldwide. The few pictures attached illustrate some of those moments of collaborations and friendship. I have always appreciated Mike from his kindness, availability, sense of humour and dedication. I learned a lot from working with Mike and hope to continue to build on his legacy through excellence in research, support of grad students and codes/standards development. I particularly appreciated Mike's leadership and his capacity to rally people’s ideas/opinions to reach consensus. The notes that have and will come from collaborators and friends worldwide under the current circumstances will be a good indication of Mike’s tremendous contribution to our technical field but also in our personal life. 
My deepest condolences to Mike’s Family.
Benoit Fournier
Université Laval, Québec.

Note for the picture: CSA AAR technical committee meeting in Fredericton (2004)

We are deeply saddened of Michael’s passing.  Michael was an exceptional scholar that worked closely with the industry for more than 25 years. 
Our thoughts are with his family.

On behalf of the Canadian cement and concrete industry.

Stamatina Chasioti, Cement Association of Canada 

Mike, no words can express my feelings, we both lost our beloved one on the same day, now you are on the other side too. So many memories in Fredericton...  you will be missed but never forgotten!   

I met with Mike at several committee and workshops events and greatly appreciated his comprehensible way of communicating his research and professional view. Still, I will even more remember his personality and exchange of opinion in other matters: I still keep the Pink Floyd CD in my car, bought the very same day as he had (re-)introduced me to "A brick in the wall" when walking down from the NTNU/SINTEF premises to the city center of Trondheim some years ago.

I send my sincere condolences to all Mike's Family.
I met Mike at the ICAAR Congress in Trondheim, and since then I have been able to follow his enormous contribution to the ASR field. 
I would like to highlight his passage through LNEC (Lisbon, Portugal) in 2015 within the KPN Project.
We have lost a great scientist with a great sense of humour, but his memory will live on forever in everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
I can only wish Mike's family all the best.
António Santos Silva

Many in the concrete industry looked up to Mike. I was one of them. He was smart, witty and had some solid life rules he lived by, that he shared from time to time with us, his colleagues. I learned from Mike professional stuff, but the long-lasting influence on me is on some of the personal stuff, like his rule of “don’t work with assholes”… life’s too short.  Mike touched many of us, probably without knowing. I’ll remember him fondly.

Ivan Diaz Loya

I worked on several projects with Mike and was honored to call him my friend.He had an uncanny ability to make the complex simple and to explain complicated subject matters in understandable and amusing ways
Mike was a scientist, but he was also  practical and had the rare ability to take his research  and use it to change standards and make it useful to the concrete industry The work he did made a big difference to our industry.
Our industry will miss him and I will miss my friend.

Al Innis


OBITUARIO

Michael Thomas

8 enero, 1960 – 30 diciembre, 2022

Giffen-Mack and Trull Funeral Home

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