Daily News

July 8, 2008

Even contact lenses are joining the trend to go green. Chemical engineering researchers at McMaster University have shown that a common fluid found in our bodies can be used as a natural moisturizing agent in contact lenses. This is a step up from the current wave of self-moisturizing contact lenses that use synthetic materials as a wetting agent to prevent eye dryness and increase wearer comfort.

July 7, 2008

Aspiring writers at McMaster should note that best-selling author Lawrence Hill will be the University's next writer-in-residence. He will bring with him his passion for community involvement and his formidable talent with the printed word. This past May, Hill's latest novel, The Book of Negroes, recently won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book. The novel tells the story of a young African woman named Aminata who is taken from her home and sent as a slave to the United States.

July 7, 2008

More than 700 members of the McMaster community took part in last month's Commuter Challenge. Among participating Hamilton organizations, McMaster had the highest number of participants and saved the highest number of kilometres.

July 4, 2008

Taimur Malik is a self-confessed sports nut. So when the fourth-year honours commerce student had the opportunity to combine his sports obsession with his business studies, he jumped at the opportunity to work with like-minded sports fan Nick Bontis, associate professor in the DeGroote School of Business. "I love playing sports," said Malik. "I eat, sleep and breathe sports." Not surprisingly, his summer research project will focus on variables that influence team performance in the NBA. He will study 20 years of data for 10 NBA teams to find out what makes a successful team, and determine how those factors can be applied to the business world.

July 4, 2008

A woman in southern Ontario is one of the first cases in Canada of a rare neurological syndrome in which a person starts speaking with a different accent, McMaster University researchers report in the July issue of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. The puzzling medical phenomenon known as foreign-accent syndrome (FAS) arises from neurological damage, and results in vocal distortions that typically sound like the speaker has a new, "foreign" accent.

July 4, 2008

McMaster University Libraries are the first Canadian institution to agree to participate in the creation of the world's largest, fully searchable digital archive of international newspapers, called The World Newspaper Archive. "We're thrilled to participate in this important initiative and ensure that these resources will be preserved and easily accessible to future generations," explains University librarian Jeff Trzeciak.

July 3, 2008

Graduates of McMaster's inaugural New Manager Orientation Program (NMOP) completed the final program session with improved understanding about University systems and increased confidence in leading people. The five-month pilot program reached its conclusion June 24.

July 2, 2008

Twenty young aboriginal students in the Hamilton area are getting an introduction to engineering, science and mathematics this week. The students, who range in age from seven to 12, are enrolled in the youth program run by the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre and are participating in the popular Venture Engineering and Science Camp at McMaster University.

July 1, 2008

Dr. Alan Taniguchi is known to colleagues and students in McMaster health sciences as a leader and visionary in palliative care whose dedication is enhancing education and ultimately improving patient services. For his significant initiatives, the palliative care consultant has been selected as the 2008 winner of the John C. Sibley Award. The award is presented annually to a part-time faculty member in the Faculty of Health Sciences who has contributed in an outstanding manner to the education of health professionals.

June 30, 2008

McMaster University has been awarded the funds to recruit a research scientist to focus on improving cancer care and delivery, as one of seven new Cancer Care Ontario Research Chairs announced by Cancer Care Ontario. The McMaster chair will focus on the theme, Patterns of Cancer Care, a priority for Cancer Care Ontario whose aim is to further strengthen cancer research in the province.

June 27, 2008

Summer camp season starts Monday, June 30. More than 3,700 children are expected to attend McMaster's summer camps in July and August. This year, McMaster is offering nine academic and athletic camps, including Mini-University, basketball, football, soccer, swim and volleyball camp.

June 26, 2008

A McMaster University researcher predicts a new oral blood thinner will revolutionize treatment for preventing dangerous blood clots in patients undergoing hip and knee surgery.

June 26, 2008

McMaster University is releasing the employment contract of President Peter George in response to a freedom of information request made by the Hamilton Spectator.

June 26, 2008

Aspiring business school students in Hamilton have a new way to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the entrance exam required by more than 4,000 graduate business programs around the world, including the DeGroote School of Business. This weekend, a mobile testing unit will set up at McMaster University. The mobile testing centre is traveling to 14 universities in cities across seven Canadian provinces.

June 26, 2008

MBAs are motivated leaders. However, they are often unfairly categorized as being only motivated for themselves. A group of dedicated MBA students at the DeGroote School of Business last night offered a powerful demonstration that perception is untrue with a $10,000 donation to MBAs Without Borders.

June 25, 2008

Juliet Daniel, associate professor in the Department of Biology, is the recipient of an African-Canadian Achievement Award of Excellence (ACAA). She received the award in Toronto last month in recognition of her contributions to cancer research, which include the discovery of a new gene.

June 25, 2008

Artist Susan Detwiler explores our relationship with backyard wildlife in the Museum's summer exhibition, Feral. Her artistic practice is based on her daily observations of, and interactions with, the forested areas near her rural property in Moffat, Ont. Feral is an innovative installation of 10 works made from repurposed materials, performative video, sculpture and drawing. While Detwiler's art exploits nostalgic ideas of the wild, it also plays on the importance of vision as a survival mechanism. Included in Feral are three sculptures with camouflage fabric mimicking a hunter's blind.

June 25, 2008

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology may provide the key to better traffic management and improved pollution control in Canada, India and worldwide. That is the hope of a new research collaboration established by the McMaster RFID Applications Lab (MRAL), the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-New Delhi), IPICO Inc. and Strategic Consultants (New Delhi).

June 25, 2008

To educate a generation of young people who have an innate sense of their surroundings, the impact of human activity on the environment and environmental responsibility means that we have gained as a society. On Thursday, June 26, the School of Geography & Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Science will take on this challenge through the second annual Learning and Leading Workshop, where high school teachers get first-hand instruction from university researchers.

June 24, 2008

Single-person submersibles are being used by scientists to retrieve samples from a lake in northern British Columbia that are thought to hold clues to the history of life on Earth and on other planets. Greg Slater, an environmental geochemist in the Faculty of Science, says the objects of scientific interest are unique carbonate rock structures, known as microbialites because they are covered with microbes. Some of these microbialites grow at depths of up to 180 feet below the water's surface, too deep to reach by non-decompression SCUBA diving.