November 4, 2004

Flip open the best-selling novel Jurassic Park and you'll find his name listed in the acknowledgements. George Poinar, world-renowned amber expert and entomologist, has spent decades collecting and researching the precious stone that preserves the fossils of the ancient past. Poinar, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, pioneered research to extract ancient DNA from insects trapped millions of years ago in the tree resin that eventually forms into amber.

November 4, 2004

Hundreds of McMaster employees and students will arm themselves against the flu next week. Hosted by the Campus Health Centre, McMaster's annual drop-in influenza vaccination clinics begin Monday, Nov. 8 and continue Nov. 10, 12 and 16 in the McMaster University Student Centre in the third floor banquet hall (Rm. 319) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. An additional clinic will be held at the Downtown Centre in Rm. 501 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

November 4, 2004

Research administration staff have been preparing for "holiday giving" since early October. Led by Barbara Hourigan, financial & administrative co-ordinator, and Sarah Lampson, research contracts officer, Health Sciences, staff in the Office of Research Contracts & Intellectual Property, Research Services and the Office of the Vice President, Research and International Affairs have prepared more than 24 shoeboxes of goodies for distribution by Samaritan's Purse to children in more than 12 different countries abroad, that have been troubled by the ravages of war or weather.

November 3, 2004

More than 100 Grade 9 students are participating in the tenth annual 'Take Our Kids to Work' day. Of the students visiting today, most of them participated in a morning filled with activities around campus that wraps up with a luncheon in Convocation Hall. The afternoon provides time for the students to job-shadow with their parents or guardians.

November 3, 2004

McMaster geographer Mike Waddington, a member of the Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG), has won a 2004 Synergy Award for Innovation from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Conference Board of Canada.

November 3, 2004

McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine has a long tradition of providing a higher proportion of family doctors than other Canadian medical schools. Now a short film on the history of family medicine at McMaster and in Hamilton has been produced by the Department of Family Medicine. It's part of a project to capture and preserve the department's history, which will include permanent displays and an online volume.

November 3, 2004

The Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble (taiko drums) will thrill audiences with a powerful performance as part of the McMaster University Celebrity Concerts on Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. in Convocation Hall, on the second floor of University Hall at McMaster University.

November 2, 2004

Beethoven. Van Gogh. Barbara Streisand, Neil Young and U2's Bono. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy (Captain Kirk and Spock). What do these famous people have in common? It's been said that they all suffered or currently suffer from tinnitus  a phantom ringing or hissing in the ears.

November 2, 2004

McMaster students, faculty and staff have an opportunity to learn about alcohol and its effect on university students on Thursday, Nov. 4. The "That's The Spirit" Alcohol Awareness Fair is an opportunity for all McMaster students to learn about low-risk drinking, responsible planning, the dangers of impaired driving, and the connection between alcohol, academics and risky behaviours.

November 2, 2004

McMaster scientists will join with other stakeholders from across Ontario on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at McMaster University to discuss how to address the challenging issues in nanotechnology and convert those efforts into innovation. Invited participants include leading researchers from academia and industry along with experts in the innovation process from the private and government sectors.

November 2, 2004

This past Saturday, (October 30) marked the end of the McMaster Golden Key charitable book drive. Book drop-off stands were placed in both the student center and Mills library allowing students, staff and faculty to donate their used books. In less than two weeks this drive helped to collect more than 600 books to be donated to Hamilton's Inasmuch Women's Shelter for Women and Children.

November 2, 2004

The atoms of our world did not always exist. They were created over a very long time span. The relative numbers of different chemical atoms are not the same from place to place nor from time to time in the universe. Donald Clayton, Centennial professor of physics and astronomy, Clemson University, will explain the evidence supporting these conclusions in, "The Origin of the Atoms of our World" lecture on Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. in Togo Salmon Hall, Rm. 120.

November 1, 2004

The McMaster Committee Against Homophobia and Heterosexism has released a report as part of Pride Week on campus. The report profiles the experiences of gay, . . .

November 1, 2004

The fourth-ranked McMaster football team will host the seventh-ranked University of Western Ontario Mustangs in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semi-final Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton.

November 1, 2004

A study by McMaster obesity expert Arya Sharma that looks at a potential drug treatment will help doctors better understand how being overweight causes diabetes and how it may be prevented. Sharma is studying whether the drug telmisartan, commonly used for treating high blood pressure, in combination with a low-glycemic diet can reduce muscle fat in patients who are at increased risk for diabetes and heart disease.

November 1, 2004

The McMaster Chamber Orchestra is holding its first concert of the 2004-2005 season on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 3 p.m. in Convocation Hall located on the second floor of University Hall at McMaster University.

November 1, 2004

Running five kilometers or walking two -- either way will shorten the distance to McMaster's $175,000 United Way campaign goal. On Friday, Nov. 5, McMaster employees are invited to a run/walk event for United Way. The event, from 3 to 5 p.m., will start outside the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC), in front of Mills Library, and will wind through campus. Awards and prizes will be given out after the run/walk in the MUSC marketplace.

October 29, 2004

Engage students from day one -- do that, and you'll have them for life, feels Nick Bontis, the new director of undergraduate programs in the DeGroote School of Business. "It is important to provide as engaging an experience as possible for our first-year students," says Bontis, who has organized a first-year welcome reception on Tuesday, Nov. 2 in Celebration Hall, Kenneth Taylor Hall basement, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. "From our first point of communication with students when we recruit them in high school, to the correspondence we have with them over the summer, to Welcome Week in September, we have found that this whole experience that students have is extremely important. We've learned alumni participation starts from day one."

October 29, 2004

You would probably recognize Jeff Simpson if you saw him on-campus. A utilities maintainer with Physical Plant, Simpson is recognizable for both his size and his impressive red hair and beard. However, you probably wouldn't guess that Simpson is an avid runner. And not just a "Sunday afternoon jog" type of runner. Simpson is an ultra runner, meaning that his Sunday afternoon jogs can last more than 16 hours and cover 100 km.

October 29, 2004

In the early 1990s Michael Atkinson walked into a dank tattoo studio on a pier in downtown Halifax and, as he describes it, entered into the "first significant agreement I had ever made with my skin." It's unlikely the now assistant professor of sociology knew then that this "agreement" would help to ink his reputation as an award-winning researcher and earn him the 2004 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Aurora Prize.