Daily News

April 19, 2005

For their exceptional service, contributions to the efficiency and effectiveness of operations, and for enhancing McMaster's reputation, eight employees and two teams have been honoured with a President's Award for Outstanding Service. "Every year I am amazed at the exceptional ways in which our employees fulfill McMaster's goal of achieving excellence - and this year is no different," said President Peter George. "I extend my sincere thanks and congratulations to all of the nominees identified for the 2004 Awards."

April 19, 2005

Is the attainment of superior performance only limited by the quality of the training environment and the practice of skills, or do basic abilities like IQ and memory developed in childhood and adolescence limit an individual's success? K. Anders Ericsson, a Conradi Eminent Scholar and professor of psychology at Florida State University, will give the William J. Walsh lecture on that issue at McMaster University on Thursday, April 21.

April 19, 2005

Students are packing their belongings this week and moving out of McMaster's residences. More than 3,000 students will move out between April 19-27, with almost 1,554 of these residents departing either April 26 or 27. As a result, it will be busier than usual on the roadways near residences in the north and west quads, particularly during the peak periods between 2-7 p.m.

April 18, 2005

Peter George, president and vice-chancellor of McMaster University, will receive the Spirit of the Community Award in a gala roast on Wednesday, April 27 at Carmen's Banquet and Convention Centre beginning at 5:30 pm. The award will be presented by Hamilton Mayor Larry DiIanni, and by Paul Kells, the founder of Safe Communities Coalition.

April 18, 2005

McMaster University Senate met on Wednesday, April 13 in the Council Chambers of Gilmour Hall. A number of items were addressed at this meeting, such as renaming the Department of Psychology, the establishment of new scholarships and a proposed School of Computational Engineering and Science.

April 18, 2005

Equip. Educate. Empower. The themes for North American Occupational Safety & Health Week (NAOSH) will be taken to heart at McMaster May 2-6. Hosted by McMaster's Environmental and Occupational Health Support Services (EOHSS), in conjunction with internal and external partners, several events have been planned around these themes, including keynote speakers, training, and networking opportunities.

April 18, 2005

Lynda Redwood-Campbell, a physician in family medicine at McMaster, saw the destruction of the tsunami-ravaged areas of Indonesia first hand. For six weeks she participated in a medical/humanitarian mission in Banda Aceh, where she helped provide medical relief to one of the worst hit regions.

April 15, 2005

McMaster will host the eighth annual Friends of Football Gala Dinner and Reception on Wednesday April 20, 2005 at Michelangelo's Banquet Centre. The Reception begins at 5:30 p.m. and the dinner at 7 p.m.

April 15, 2005

The creation of an endowed chair in educational research and instructional development will stimulate and support innovation within McMaster University's renowned health professional education programs. The chair will ensure that new learning technologies are integrated into the curriculum and also tested for their effectiveness through research.

April 15, 2005

When she was in high school Stephne Buzdygan-Johnson would do detentions for smoking in the washroom, although she hadn't been smoking. She didn't want to talk about the real reason. She had been a sickly child all her life, diagnosed as a "nervous child." It was only when she was in university, down to 72 pounds, that an emergency appendectomy discovered the truth. She has Crohn's Disease, a serious inflammatory bowel disease.

April 15, 2005

Two cups each of water and dry ice. A few spoonfuls of dirt and a dash of organic material. Mix together and shape into a snowball. Voil

April 15, 2005

A folksy reminiscence about the life of an Ontario veterinarian will be used to contribute to the fight against breast cancer. Sow's Ear to Silk Purse: Anecdotes from the Life of a Veterinarian, chronicles Blake Graham's rise from Sarnia farmboy to Great Lakes stevedore to Toronto veterinarian, offering an often humorous glimpse of life in post-war Ontario. Proceeds from the book will benefit a cancer research fund set up in 1995 by Graham in memory of his wife, Barbara, who died of breast cancer. Graham donated $200,000 each to McMaster University and the Ontario Veterinary College for collaborative cancer research.

April 14, 2005

College-trained, diploma prepared registered practical nurses will have the opportunity to fast track and upgrade to a nursing degree at McMaster University. The new program will allow registered practical nurses (RPNs) to earn their Bachelor of Science (Nursing) degree and become registered nurses (RNs) in three years rather than the traditional four years. RPNs have a two-year diploma and work with stable, predictable patients, such as at nursing homes and on many units in hospitals.

April 14, 2005

Four McMaster University professors will be honored by their peers at spring convocations throughout North America. McMaster's Henry Giroux, Karyn Kaufman and Eileen Schuller will receive an honorary degree from Memorial University, the University of British Columbia and Queen's University, respectively. Henry Schwarcz will be given a professional achievement citation from the University of Chicago.

April 13, 2005

First-year engineering students are helping people with disabilities. Students in the course, Engineering Design and Graphics, learned how to communicate their design ideas using technical sketching skills with a pencil and paper and three-dimensional modelling using the latest solid modelling computer-aided design software. As a capstone design project to the course, students were asked to propose a design for an assistive device to help people with disabilities and put their design communication skills to use.

April 13, 2005

McMaster has hired Andrew Cole as the new head coach of the McMaster swim program. He comes to McMaster with 15 years of head coaching experience including the Olympic Games, World Championships, World University Games and Canadian Interuniversity Sport.

April 13, 2005

McMaster University professor Richard Harris has been awarded a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship. He is the only academic from a Canadian university this year to receive the distinction. As one of 186 artists, scholars and scientists to receive a 2005 award, Harris was selected from more than 3,000 applicants. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment.

April 13, 2005

Faculty and students of McMaster's Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition (IGHC), today are participating in a globalization conference which introduces high school students to global issues. The event is being held at Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville, a public school that has organized its curriculum around the theme of "Education for a Global Perspective."

April 12, 2005

Software engineering students at McMaster once again impressed IBM Canada at its fifth annual competition. Of the 15 senior thesis teams that presented their software engineering capstone design projects to IBM, four were awarded cash prizes. Two representatives from IBM were on hand to watch the final demonstrations last week and awarded first and second place prizes. Due to the quality of this year's projects, there was a two-team tie for both first and second place.

April 12, 2005

Engineering design students at McMaster University may have solved the problem of drying your hands after washing them in a public washroom. They have developed a hands-free, roll-towel dispensing machine that presents the customer with a folded towel. The double thickness of the towel eliminates the problem of wet hands weakening the towel strength and tearing, resulting in partially dry hands.