Daily News

October 17, 2008

Where would we go if we didn't have access to a toilet? For 2.6-billion people-more than 40 per cent of the world's population-it is a daily reality. They also bear the brunt of needless death: According to the United Nations, the total number of deaths in 2002 that were attributed to poor water, sanitation and hygiene was more than 3.5-million. Diarrhoea accounts for 1.4-million preventable child deaths each year.

October 16, 2008

Who would have thought that worms found in your composter - only seen with a microscope - could be used to study genetic disorders in humans? With 700 million years of separation and roughly half of its genes similar to humans, the worm C. elegans is one of the most widely used animals in biomedical research today.

October 16, 2008

For the second consecutive year, McMaster University Library is hosting Parent Night, an initiative to gain the attention of first year students and their parents. A variety of guest speakers, including an academic skills counsellor and a peer mentor from the Centre for Student Development, the Library's first year experience librarian, and faculty member, Joe Kim will discuss strategies for achieving academic success and answer guests questions.

October 15, 2008

The Faculty of Science and the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour are pleased to present an H. Lyman Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professor public lecture by Eric Knudsen. Knudsen is a professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. "Mechanisms of Learning in the Auditory System of the Barn Owl" will be presented in the Health Sciences Centre, Room 1A1, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

October 14, 2008

McMaster's Ombuds office has released its annual report. Co-funded by McMaster University and the McMaster Students Union, the Ombuds office provides impartial, independent, and informal dispute-resolution advice and assistance to all members of the University community.

October 10, 2008

On Wednesday, President Peter George hosted a luncheon honouring long-time McMaster employees for their commitment to the University. 204 employees attended the Years of Service luncheon to celebrate their dedicated service. Of those attending, six employees have worked at McMaster for 40 years.

October 9, 2008

A $15 million gift today launched a new research institute at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University which will work towards the causes and cures of digestive diseases. The Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute will have a research focus on understanding the causes of common gastroenterology conditions, particularly inflammatory and other bowel diseases, with particular attention on the role of the intestinal microbial environment. This research will generate new therapeutic approaches to the disorders which affect more than 2 million Canadians and impact many aspects of health.

October 9, 2008

More than 500 employees attended the annual McMaster Employee Spirit Society (M.E.S.S.!) varsity football event on Friday, Oct. 3. This was the first event M.E.S.S.! hosted in the new Ron Joyce Stadium, which opened in September. McMaster employees and their families enjoyed an evening of fun and good company while watching the Marauders play.

October 8, 2008

An online student event planning tool has been developed by Student Affairs through a grant from the Student Services Committee, and in consultation with student groups and representatives from Environmental and Occupational Health Support Services (EOHSS).

October 7, 2008

The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM) continued its tradition of pairing innovative research and a great display of the arts with an integrated lecture and concert titled "A Colourful Appetite for Music: How the Brain Connects Music to Colour and Pleasure," held on Friday, Sept. 26.

October 6, 2008

You won't find the Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research (BIMR) on any campus map, but you will be able to find the Institute located squarely at every stage of advanced materials research. Established more than 40 years ago as an offshoot of the Materials Science Department, the Institute for Materials Research was the first interdisciplinary materials research institute in North America, "the first to have researchers from a variety of departments -- chemists, physicists, geologist, all types of engineers -- doing advanced materials research together, ultimately building the foundation for our internationally recognized research organization," says John Preston, recently reappointed for a one-year extension of his term as director of the BIMR.

October 3, 2008

On Monday, Oct. 6, the Office of International Student Services' macAbroad program will bring the world to your doorstep through the 2008 Student Exchange Fair. Displaying information from various host institutions around the world, this is the exchange hopefuls chance to meet with past McMaster exchange students, current international students and to find out details about upcoming information sessions.

October 3, 2008

The McMaster community learned more about the University's refreshed and updated Campus Plan during an Open House held Thursday. The event was organized by the Campus Plan Steering Committee, which has spent the past few months refreshing and updating the Plan, which was originally written in 2002.

October 2, 2008

The first ever Q Methodology conference to be held in Ontario kicked off today, bringing together academics from disciplines such as health sciences, engineering, physics, political and social sciences, journalism and business.

October 1, 2008

The McMaster Museum of Art was honoured on Friday, Sept. 26 when it received the prestigious Curatorial Writing Award from the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG) at their 31st Annual Awards ceremony.

October 1, 2008

McMaster's Centre for Peace Studies will feature Gandhian scholar Narayan Desai at its eleventh annual Mahatma Gandhi Lecture on Nonviolence. Desai, a peace activist from India, will speak on "Understanding Gandhi Comprehensively."

September 30, 2008

When Debjani Poddar received an Arts & Science Experiential Learning Travel Scholarship earlier this year, she knew exactly how she wanted to use it. The fourth-year Arts & Science student chose to spend five weeks at a refugee camp in Ghana where she volunteered with people living with HIV/AIDS.

September 29, 2008

McMaster University Provost Ilene Busch-Vishniac delivered the second annual State of the Academy address on Thursday, Sept. 25 in Convocation Hall. Covering such topics as student and faculty numbers, research funding and the budget, the address was designed to inform the McMaster community about the University's past, present and future.

September 29, 2008

Researchers in McMaster University's Nursing Health Services Research Unit (NHSRU) have identified what could be termed a "brain waste" of foreign-trained nurses in Canada. The McMaster researchers found most internationally educated nurses (IENs) are not eligible to practice on arrival. They also discovered many foreign-trained nurses abandon the idea of ever re-entering the nursing profession because of the length of time it takes to become eligible to write examinations, pass national exams and find professional employment. At the same time, the country has a projected shortage of 78,000 nurses within three years.

September 29, 2008

Tomorrow, members of the Off-Campus Experience Centre, a collaboration between the Off-Campus Resource Centre, the Society of Off-Campus Students and the Student Community Support Network, will deliver a "Welcome CD" to the homes of McMaster students living off-campus.