75 people, places and things

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Throughout the month of October, the McMaster community has been celebrating the University's 75th anniversary in Hamilton. To round out the celebration, the Daily News recognizes (in no particular order) 75 people, places and things that make up McMaster University. Think we missed something particularly notable? Click on the link at right to submit a few of your own favourite things from McMaster. Click on the image to see a larger version.

  1. McMaster's
    namesake and chief benefactor, Senator William McMaster, watches over all
    who enter University Hall. On his death, the Senator bequeathed $900,000 for
    the founding of this University.
  2. Divinity College hearkens back to McMaster's
    Baptist roots as a theological school.
  3. Problem-based learning is an educational buzzword that we're all familiar
    with but some people may not know that it was pioneered at McMaster. PBL –
    which quickly became known as the McMaster Approach, or McMaster Model – gives
    students quite a different experience from mass lectures. Students work in
    small groups, challenging each other to learn more and to solve problems together.
    Their biggest task is to learn what questions they need to ask and how to
    then find the answers.
  4. It was actually Susan
    Moulton McMaster
    , William McMaster's wife, who planted the idea
    of a University in his head. Mrs. McMaster's memory lives on at the
    campus in Moulton Hall.
  5. People who park in Zones 6 and 7 often see deer and other wildlife in the
    natural areas bordering the parking lots. Coldwater Creek serves as the University's
    border on the west campus.
  6. The $19-million 15,000-sq.-ft. McMaster
    Manufacturing Research Institute
    (MMRI) is Canada's most advanced and
    best-equipped manufacturing research laboratory. The facility serves the polymer,
    automotive and aerospace industries, as well as the tool, die and mold industry.
  7. Since 1930, McMaster has called Hamilton home.
  8. The McMaster Innovation Park will transform a largely abandoned industrial
    site into a premiere research park focused on advanced manufacturing and materials,
    bio-technology, information technology and environmental technology. The MIP
    will be the only one of its kind in the region, and will build on the University's
    existing reputation as a research centre of excellence.
  9. David Venus has an appropriate name for his title. The researcher is chair
    of the physics & astronomy
    department. However, he's not studying the stars. This physicist works
    in condensed matter physics. His group studies magnetism of ultrathin films
    (only a few atoms thick). Applications of this research area are in magnetic
    data storage.
  10. The McMaster University Student Centre
    is the hub of campus life.
  11. The President's Residence, built in the 1930s for $30,000, served as home
    for McMaster presidents. Peter George was the most recent tenant, occupying
    the residence until 2001.
  12. Faculty Hollow serves as a great natural amphitheatre for summer concerts
    and plays.
  13. The glass blowing shop
    located in the Arthur Bourns Building has provided custom design, fabrication
    and repair of scientific glassware for over 35 years.
  14. A consistent, clear identity
    is a powerful way for the University to make its mark. And one of the marks
    of McMaster is the official University logo. The McMaster University logo
    reflects McMaster's proud heritage, solid tradition of growth, and commitment
    to a strong and vibrant future.
  15. Since being named president in 1995, Peter George has amassed many McMaster
    mementos, which cover the walls of his office.
  16. McMaster boasts more than 115,000 alumni
    living in 128 countries around the world. Some notable names include former
    Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Lincoln Alexander, astronaut Roberta Bondar,
    politician and medicare advocate Tommy Douglas, premiere of Ontario Dalton
    McGuinty, and funny men Ivan Reitman, Martin Short and Dave Thomas.
  17. The McMaster Museum of Art houses
    McMaster's nationally significant collection of more than 6,000 works of art
    and presents exhibitions, lectures and events. State-of-the-art exhibition
    galleries and alternative collections facilities provide unprecedented access
    to the collection.
  18. From ancient history to the most modern technology, the McMaster campus
    is all about education.
  19. When it opened in 1999, the Allen H. Gould
    Trading Floor
    became an innovative educational and research tool in the
    DeGroote School of Business at McMaster. Today, with real live financial data
    streaming from North American Exchanges, the Trading Floor continues to give
    both students and professors real-time exposure to financial markets and the
    trading room environment.
  20. Campus Health Centre provides
    health care to all students of McMaster throughout the year. Whether you have
    a health emergency, a concern about nutrition, or a bad case of the flu, the
    Campus Health Centre can help.
  21. University Hall, one of McMaster's original buildings. When classes
    began in 1930, University Hall housed administration, arts classes and the
    library.
  22. From 1888 to 1949, the head of McMaster was given the title Chancellor.
    In 1949, George Gilmour became both President and Chancellor, and in 1950
    his title changed to President and Vice-Chancellor. From that time onward,
    the University had both a Chancellor as well as a President and Vice-Chancellor.
    E. Carey Fox, a philanthropic alumnus, was chosen as the University's
    first Chancellor. The Edward Carey Fox statue in the Arts Quad commemorates
    Fox's contributions to McMaster.
  23. McMaster's Alpine Tower is the first outdoor high challenge leadership course
    of its kind in Canada. The 50-foot climbing structure complete with ladders,
    ropes, and harnesses that presents the same challenges of rock climbing and
    high ropes course elements, is a unique recreation and teambuilding tool.
  24. The Health Sciences Centre, the largest structure on campus, is home to
    highly advanced research facilities, classroom space, a public hospital and
    a health sciences library.
  25. Appropriately, Gordon Irons, professor of materials science and engineering,
    is also the director of the steel
    research centre
    .
  26. The Daily News is the source
    for McMaster news and information. Special features such as a wireless version
    and RSS feeds enhance the University's connection to the community.
  27. Westdale village, just down
    the road from McMaster's campus, a shopper's and diner's haven.
  28. Quick, how many Tim Horton's outlets are there on campus? Can you ever have
    too many?
  29. The McMaster nuclear reactor, built under the leadership of former McMaster
    president Harry Thode and opened in 1959 by John Diefenbaker, then Prime Minister
    of Canada, was the first university-based research reactor in the British
    Commonwealth. Today, McMaster's reactor is the only Canadian medium
    flux reactor in a university environment.
  30. The Sterling Street entrance is the main artery for transit, pedestrian
    and vehicle traffic on campus.
  31. Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, a $71-million building,
    is a hallmark of education and research on the McMaster campus. Along with
    state of the art research labs, there are lecture halls, high-tech classrooms and hospital
    space.
  32. McMaster University also has a number of offices, including the Centre for
    Continuing Education, at its Downtown Centre. Located at 50 Main Street East
    in the old Wentworth County Courthouse, this extension of campus brings the
    University right into downtown Hamilton.
  33. The Board of Directors of the McMaster
    Students Union
    consists of the Vice President Education Stephanie Murray,
    Vice-President Finance Jeff Moran, Vice-President Administration John Popham
    and President Tommy Piribauer. The MSU represents more than 18,000 full-time
    undergraduate students.
  34. A fixture on the McMaster campus the white shuttle buses transport passengers
    from west campus to main campus.
  35. Ever wonder what lies behind the curved glass wall at ABB? The biggest of
    McMaster's Nuclear
    Magnetic Resonance
    (NMR) spectrometers. NMR spectroscopy, mother of the
    better-known Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), gives a non-invasive 3D picture
    of atoms within a molecule. McMaster's seven superconducting NMR spectrometers
    contribute to research in geology, chemical engineering and pharmaceuticals.
  36. Walk to the edge of the McMaster campus, and you'll find trails which
    will connect you with Cootes Paradise, the Bruce Trail, the Niagara Escarpment,
    the Waterfront Trail and the Royal Botanical Gardens.
  37. On Oct. 12, 1994 it was announced that McMaster University's Bertram
    Brockhouse
    had won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Brockhouse, professor of
    physics at McMaster University from 1962 to 1984, personified the University's
    excellence in research, innovation and teamwork.
  38. An icon as recognizable as University Hall, the hotdog stand beside Gilmour
    Hall.
  39. McMaster Children's Centre in
    Sheila Scott House opened its doors in 1975, and has continued to serve the
    McMaster community to this day. The Centre is licensed for 63 children, ranging
    in ages from 18 months to 5 years.
  40. The distinctive “clock ring” perched atop the doorframe at the
    north entrance to the McMaster University Student Centre is the legacy of
    mechanical engineering graduates Patrick Burton, Braden Kurczak, Michael Paddags
    and Peter Whitred.
  41. Within the ivy-clad walls of historic Hamilton Hall (circa 1929), the innovative
    James Stewart Centre for Mathematics features oversized public corridors furnished
    with tables, benches and blackboards to encourage group study, collaborative
    thinking and discourse.
  42. McMaster University offers 11 residence buildings totaling approximately
    3,366 bedspaces.
  43. For lunch, dinner, dancing, concerts, events, Quarters, run by the McMaster
    Students Union, has it all.
  44. Peter George's long lost twin brother has been found. Actually, it's
    Doug Collins, a 32-year employee of physical plant.
  45. From an impromptu soccer game to the occasional sunbather, the University
    Mall is the place on campus to congregate.
  46. As the largest library on campus, Mills
    Memorial Library
    is a popular meeting place. The library is also home
    to the famous Lloyd Reeds Map Collection and the William Ready Division of
    Archives and Research Collections.
  47. What is 152 feet long, 112 feet wide, 50 feet high and maroon all over?
    I know, it's sounds like a really big, really sunburned zebra joke.
    It's actually the 2,880 seat Burridge
    Gym
    , the main venue for Maruader basketball, volleyball, badminton, wrestling
    and intramural activities.
  48. More than half of the campus' 4,306 parking spaces are in Zone 6 and
    7.
  49. For those times when cafeteria fare just won't cut it, discriminating
    diners go to the University Club
    in Alumni Memorial Hall. Artichoke, broccolini & asiago cheese strudel
    anyone?
  50. SWHAT (Student Walk-Home
    Attendant Team) makes getting to and from campus or the downtown centre, across
    campus or even downtown on the bus easier and safer.
  51. Many years in the making, the Main Street entrance now provides a distinctive
    front door to the University.
  52. Titles bookstore offers course
    materials, general books. clothing and giftware, a microcomputer centre, post-office
    and much more. The main bookstore is in Gilmour Hall, mediashop.ca is in the
    Health Sciences Centre, subtitles is at the Downtown Centre, and the Tank
    is in the basement of Togo Salmon Hall (follow the fish, and you'll
    find it).
  53. The only constant is change, and change on the McMaster campus comes in
    the form of construction.
  54. The McMaster
    track
    behind the Ivor Wynne Centre is an 8-lane, 400-metre circuit with
    seating for 600 spectators. And yes, it is lit for nighttime training.
  55. The biology greenhouse
    allows life science students first hand experience in the study of botany.
    The environmental controls allow for tropical plants, including the popular
    banana tree to live throughout the year. The greenhouse in open to visitors
    most weekdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
  56. The three-storey atrium at the entrance to the Michael G. DeGroote Centre
    for Learning & Discovery provides a quiet place for patients, families,
    doctors, researchers, students, professors and staff.
  57. Gargoyles watch over the campus from their perches on Hamilton Hall and
    University Hall
  58. McMaster University, literally ivy league.
  59. Thousands of McMaster students graduate each year in convocation ceremonies
    held at Hamilton Place.
  60. Sixteen dining outlets are conveniently located across campus, so you don't
    have to go out of your way to get a meal or a snack prepared by McMaster's
    award-winning chefs.
  61. Need to catch up on reading, grab a bench or pull up a piece of floor in
    the McMaster University Student Centre.
  62. With 300 acres of grounds on campus, making sure all the lawns, flowerbeds,
    building signs, front entrance, planters and tree is cared for and landscaped
    is a daunting prospect. McMaster's grounds staff has the added pressure of
    timing all of the gardens to bloom in the spring and fall when the majority
    of people are on campus.
  63. Everyone visits the Registrar's
    Office
    at some point at McMaster.
  64. The fireplace in McMaster University Student Centre is a cozy spot to relax
    on a cold winter day.
  65. McMaster's campus radio, CFMU 93.3 FM,
    is one of the oldest in Canada. In January of 1978, Mac went on air for the
    first time. In 2002, CFMU moved to a new studio in the Student Centre.
  66. Michael G. DeGroote, one of the University's most generous donors.
  67. The Union Market is an old fashioned style general store with a modern touch.
    The student run store (with student-budget-friendly prices) helps you through
    your busy student life on or off campus.
  68. McMaster medical students and residents are the stars of Med
    Students
    , a half-hour dramatic documentary series that provides a behind-the-scenes
    look at the real life challenges faced by medical students and residents.
    Med Students airs on the Life Network.
  69. There are over 30 competitive sports
    programs at McMaster, from football to soccer, fastball to volleyball and
    rugby to water polo.
  70. The Silhouette is McMaster University's
    Student Newspaper, and the place to stay up to date on issues that affect
    McMaster, students, and the wider community.
  71. Approximately 6,000 students, as well as a number of faculty and
    staff, rely on the HSR
    (Hamilton Street Railway) each and every day to get them to and from the University.
  72. Officially, the centuries-old role of chancellor is the titular head of
    the University. But McMaster chancellor Mel Hawkrigg is more than just a figurehead.
    Mel and his wife Marilyn, who is affectionately called the “co-chancellor,”
    attend most campus events together and are fixtures within the McMaster community.
  73. Feeling a little lost? Compass can point you in the right direction. Compass
    is an MSU service located in the Marketplace of the Student Centre. The Information
    Centre is a one stop shop for information, tickets, whether for concerts,
    events, sports or transit.
  74. The combined total of McMaster's two longest serving employees – 85 years
    – has them 10 years ahead of the University's 75 years in Hamilton.
    Gus Gerontzos has worked with Hospitality Services for 40 years, and Joan
    Zywina has worked in the Faculty of Engineering for 45 years. The two longest
    serving faculty members are Byron Spencer in economics with 39 years and Henry
    Jacek in political science with 38 years. Peter George is right up there as
    well at 40 years.
  75. The McMaster campus, as seen from the top of Brandon Hall (the tallest building
    on campus).