The best warm up tunes, a world-class ‘joggler’ and hitchBOT
McMaster’s Office of Public Relations highlights a few of the many McMaster stories making the news in the past week.
Research:
The New York Times, TIME, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Newsday, The Associated Press, The Houston Chronicle, The Independent (UK) The Australian, CTV News, CBC online, The Victoria Times-Colonist, The National Post, The Toronto Star, The Ottawa Citizen, 680 News and The Hamilton Spectator were among the outlets to cover the US launch of hitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot developed by McMaster’s David Harris Smith (Communications Studies and Multimedia) and Ryerson’s Frauke Zeller. Having been successful in hitching rides across Canada last summer, and more recently touring the Netherlands and Germany, hitchBOT is now making its way across the US.
TVO’s flagship current affairs program, The Agenda, featured two half-hour segments (here and here) with Hendrik Poinar (Anthropology, Ancient DNA Centre). In the one-on-one interviews, Poinar discusses his high-profile research mapping the genomic sequences of the woolly mammoth of the bacterium that caused the Black Death.
CBC’s Radio-Canada International featured research from the BioInterfaces Institute, which has developed a new highly sensitive test for detecting pathogens, with promising implications for halting such infections as C. difficile. The article featured John Brennan and Yingfu Li, both of the Biointerfaces Institute.
The Calgary Herald published a Canadian Press story about research led by Paul Moayyedi (Gastroenterology), showing the promise of stool transplants for treating ulcerative colitis.
The Globe and Mail, The Victoria Times Colonist, 680 News, CJOB Radio (Winnipeg) and The Windsor Star used a Canadian Press/Broadcast News story about research led by Deborah Cook (Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics), showing the positive impacts of granting simple wishes of dying patients. The Hamilton Spectator and CHCH TV also covered the story.
Community engagement:
The Hamilton Spectator published a commentary piece by Henry Giroux (Centre for Scholarship in the Public Interest), focusing on Donald Trump’s remarks about Mexicans during his presidential candidacy announcement. Breitbart.com, a major US conservative website, posted a story about comments by US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, and described their antecedents in Giroux’s writing.
Teaching, learning and student success:
The Hamilton Spectator, Waterloo Region Record and CHML radio reported on Greig Mordue leaving a senior position with Toyota Canada to take up the ArcelorMittal Dofasco Chair in Advanced Manufacturing Policy at McMaster, including cross-appointments in Social Sciences and Engineering.
The Hamilton Spectator published a front-page story about Gabrielle Foran, a PhD student in Chemistry who is also a record-holding joggler, competing in a sport that combines running and juggling.
Expert commentary:
CTV News Channel interviewed Robert Cockcroft (Physics and Astronomy), twice, about the New Horizons Mission to Pluto. Cockcroft also appeared on Global National News, CTV’s Power Play, VICE News, CHML Radio and CHCH Morning Live.
Global National News interviewed Peter Graefe (Political Science) about a Guelph voters calling for a renewed probe into the robocalls scandal.
CTV News Channel interviewed Atif Kubursi (Economics) about the historic deal between the Iran, the US and allied countries, limiting Iranian nuclear development in exchange for lifting trade sanctions.
The Toronto Star interviewed Ron Balvers (DeGroote School of Business) about the creator of the dating website Plenty of Fish pocketing $575 million from selling the site to competitor Match.com.
The National Post interviewed Charlotte Yates (Automotive Policy Research Centre) for a piece about the cost of building cars in Ontario.
The Hamilton Spectator interviewed Hannah Holmes (Economics) about the economic impact of the Pan Am Games.
The Hamilton Spectator interviewed PhD candidate Matt Stork (Kinesiology) about the benefit Pan Am athletes could derive from playing motivational music.
In the news:
The National Post published a column by former MSU VP Jeffrey Doucet commenting favourably on the university’s handling of the MAPS issue, in a piece about the relationships between universities and their student governments.
The National Post published a column that made a favourable reference to McMaster’s decision to close the pay gap between men and women faculty members.
