Daily News

September 8, 2008

Reciprocal, the newest exhibition at the McMaster Museum of Art, brings together recent artwork by four Studio Art Program faculty (Andy Fabo, Judy Major-Girardin, Briana Palmer and Graham Todd), and four alumni (Jacqueline Huget '88, Matt Sparling '04, Steven Thai '00 and Ehryn Torrell '00). The alumni, all practicing artists, were selected by a jury of noted Canadian artists (Sally McKay, John Hartman '73 and David Merritt).

September 8, 2008

The Centre for Continuing Education (CCE), in association with the DeGroote School of Business, is launching a new public relations program this month. The Public Relations Certificate/Diploma program offers a variety of tactical and strategic courses to help students develop public relations skills and become strategic thinkers in the field of public relations. Part-time evening courses are offered at the Downtown Centre in Hamilton.

September 8, 2008

Jamal Deen, professor of electrical and computer engineering at McMaster and Canada Research Chair in Information Technology, has been awarded the prestigious Thomas W. Eadie Medal by the Royal Society of Canada. The Thomas W. Eadie Medal is awarded in recognition of major contributions to engineering or applied science, with preference given to those having an impact on communications, in particular the development of the Internet.

September 5, 2008

From metres to pascals, from the Beaufort scale to Rockwell hardness, science relies on standard measurements, but when two McMaster kinesiologists invented a new measurement, they found promoting the adoption of their new standard required a strategy of its own. The McMaster kinesiologists wanted to study physical activity in people with spinal cord injuries, but they had a fundamental problem: there was no standard to measure the level of physical activity in this group, so they set out to establish a measure.

September 4, 2008

The European Society of Cardiology has awarded its highest honour, the Gold Medal, to Dr. Salim Yusuf for his outstanding contribution to the development of cardiology. Yusuf is the first Canadian to receive this award, announced during the opening ceremony of the ESC Annual Congress in Munich last weekend. Yusuf is a professor of medicine for the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, as well as the vice-president of research and chief scientific officer at Hamilton Health Sciences and director of the Population Health Research Institute.

September 4, 2008

In a surprising reversal of conventional wisdom, a DNA-based study has revealed that the last of the woolly mammoths -- which lived between 40,000 and 4,000 years ago -- had roots that were exclusively North American. The research, which appears in the September issue of Current Biology, is expected to cause some controversy within the paleontological community.

September 3, 2008

From unique boutiques to gourmet restaurants, Westdale has a lot to offer McMaster students. To celebrate the return of students to the community at the start of the academic year, the McMaster-Westdale Campus Town Association is launching a Welcome Back Students campaign. Westdale businesses are placing posters in their windows and banners are hanging from lampposts along King Street West, recognizing the contribution that students make to the Westdale community and welcoming them back to the area.

September 3, 2008

Sixty-five McMaster researchers have been awarded $3.8 million in grants, scholarships and fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The awards were announced last week by the Honourable James Moore, Secretary of State, as part of the federal government's $202-million investment in SSRCH researchers across the country.

September 2, 2008

An international study led by McMaster researchers has found that telmisartan, a medication used to lower blood pressure, reduced the outcome of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke in people who are unable to tolerate a widely available and effective standard treatment. Dr. Salim Yusuf and Dr. Koon Teo, professors in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and clinicians at Hamilton Health Sciences, led the study. Research results were published online by The Lancet and presented at this year's European Society of Cardiology Congress in Munich, Germany on the weekend.

September 2, 2008

Twenty-eight years ago, a survey of McMaster undergraduate students indicated a need for improved instruction by teaching assistants. In response, the Centre for Leadership in Learning (CLL) created TA Day, a one-day series of workshops addressing the challenges teaching assistants face when interacting with undergraduate students.

September 2, 2008

Just days after arriving on campus, McMaster's first-year students are already giving back to those in need as part of the United Way's Drive Hunger Away campaign. Students and Welcome Week reps are being encouraged to donate a non-perishable food item during Faculty Day activities on Tuesday, Sept. 2. "Students typically have at least one non-perishable food item floating around their residence rooms and homes," says Jessica Panetta, coordinator of Welcome Week activities for the Faculty of Humanities. "If each student brings one item to Faculty Day, we have the potential to make a huge impact on the Hamilton community."

August 29, 2008

Starting this weekend, more than 5,000 first-year students will begin the next phase of their lives at McMaster University. Welcome Week begins Saturday, Aug. 30 as students move into residence over the long weekend, making McMaster their home away from home. More than 1,000 Welcome Week reps will guide new students and help make the transition to university as smooth as possible. Students will be introduced to their faculties, residences and off-campus societies while making new friends and meeting their future classmates.

August 28, 2008

As the heads of their faculties, deans are some of the most instantly recognizable names around campus. Their names often turn up in the media, commenting on an academic issue, explaining a new research stream, or announcing a recently forged research partnership. Despite their visibility, many people are not quite sure how a dean's day is spent. We visited John Capone, dean of the Faculty of Science, to get some insight.

August 28, 2008

How do I achieve academic success at university? How do I meet people and make friends? How do I avoid the Freshman 15? These and other questions will be answered by IRIS, a play designed to give first-year students a glimpse into the academic and social side of university life.

August 28, 2008

As you read this, thousands of first-year students are packing their bags, anxiously wondering what their new digs are going to look like. This weekend, they'll find out when they move into McMaster residences. As that time nears, Housing and Conference Services is busy preparing for move-in weekend from Saturday, Aug. 30 to Monday, Sept. 1.

August 27, 2008

McMaster University's Centre for Continuing Education is teaming up with professional associations to host a business program information night at the Downtown Centre on Thursday, Sept. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. "It is a good opportunity for prospective and existing students to gain information regarding our business programs and to talk to professionals in various fields," says Cathy Emick, program manager for the human resources management, management studies and web design programs.

August 26, 2008

McMaster graduate Adam van Koeverden now has an Olympic medal of every metal. Despite finishing eigth in the men's K-1 1,000 on Friday, the kayaker won silver in the men's K-1 500 on Saturday, adding to his collection of gold and bronze medals from the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

August 25, 2008

As students return to McMaster next week, Westdale is about to become a busier place. Whether students are moving into McMaster residences or houses and apartments in the surrounding community, it is a good time of year to look back on the largely co-operative relationship students have had with Hamilton, and the many ways they still contribute to the community. This summer, a group of students organized by the Office of Community Service Learning & Civic Engagement spent some of their free time participating in the Hamilton United Way's Week of Impact.

August 22, 2008

McMaster's new registrar has been appointed. Richard Levin joins the University this fall from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) where he has been the vice-president of Strategic Enrolment Management and registrar for the past six years. "We couldn't ask for a better or more experienced candidate," said provost Ilene Busch-Vishniac.

August 22, 2008

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in town this week to announce $35 million for a new facility at Hamilton General Hospital that will house McMaster University researchers.