July 20, 2004

A classic comedic farce, an edgy comic drama, and a romantic Shakespearean comedy will take to the stage when the curtain rises on the fourteenth season of the McMaster Summer Drama Festival July 26-31, 2004. For the 2004 season, the Mac Drama Club and the McMaster Thespian Club in association with the McMaster School of the Arts will bring the week-long festival back to the outdoors of scenic McMaster Universityunder sunlight, sunset, and moonlight. Productions this year include William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Molihre's Two Precious Maidens Ridiculed, and Irish playwright Frank McGuinness' Someone Who'll Watch Over Me. Twelfth Night and Two Precious Maidens will both be playing in Faculty Hollow, while Someone will be at the Refectory patio. Admission is by a suggested donation of $5 per performance.

July 19, 2004

McMaster's Department of Biochemistry has undergone a name change, to better reflect the unit's mission and vision. Now called the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, it encompasses a wide range of research from structural biology to leading edge cell biology and from molecular mechanisms of diseases to the development of therapeutics. "Our vision for the department is bold and innovative and places us here at McMaster well ahead of the curve in comparison to other departments across the North America and the world," says Gerry Wright, chair of the department. "Our goal is to become the most innovative and respected biochemistry department in the country and the changes we have made over the past couple of years, including the change in name, will make us a magnet for the best and brightest graduate and undergraduate students, post docs, and faculty."

July 19, 2004

The Joint Job Evaluation Steering Committee is holding additional orientation sessions about the new job evaluation system for positions in the MUSA bargaining unit. The . . .

July 17, 2004

Somewhere, amid more than two kilometres of shelving that's teeming with boxes of historical records, large and small artefacts and rare books, there is man at a small desk that's piled high with new archival donations to be filed. He's the self-proclaimed "troll in the hole," working to organize, preserve, and amass McMaster University's archival history along with the Canadian Baptist Archives, deep within the belly of Divinity College. An instructor at both Divinity College and Toronto's Tyndale Seminary, part-time archivist, pastor at a church in Toronto, and author, Mark Steinacher says he likes to keep busy. He can be found in the archives three days a week, orchestrating a great reorganization of existing files and finding space for recent additions that donors often bequeath to the collection, which is also the third-largest Baptist Archives in the world. "People who come to the archives need to understand it'll take them some time to sort through boxes of information, and that nothing is internet-ready," says Steinacher. "But that's my favourite part about archives  the Easter eggs or interesting tidbits you discover even when you're not looking for them."

July 16, 2004

Whether they are investigating the formation of the universe or developing new medical devices, McMaster University's newest members of the Royal Society of Canada, John Brash and Bill Harris, are improving our understanding of both our world and ourselves. John Brash of McMaster's Department of Chemical Engineering is recognized internationally as a pioneer in the science and technology of biomaterials. Over the past four decades, his studies have contributed directly to the development of advanced medical devices, such as artificial arterial grafts, blood pumps, and heart valves. Through his personal research, service on policy and granting agency committees in Canada and abroad, interaction with collaborators, and innovative role as an educator, Brash has played a major role in defining the discipline of biomaterials. William Harris, a professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at McMaster, is the world's leading expert in the study of globular star clusters in galaxies. The oldest remaining visible entities in galaxies, stars in these clusters formed 13 billion years ago, and their properties yield unique clues to the early state and evolutionary history of large galaxies. Harris' investigations of the properties of individual globular clusters in our galaxy are among the most exacting and widely used studies in the field. This work is having a growing impact on scientists' understanding of stellar populations and galaxy formation.

July 16, 2004

If you're one of Canada's brightest young students, how do you spend a Saturday on your summer vacation? For a select group of students from across Hamilton, Niagara, Waterloo, and the greater Toronto area, the answer to that question is at university. On Saturday, July 17, 150 Grade 9 and 10 students will travel to McMaster to participate in the University's annual MiniShad Day. The day-long program provides participants, their teachers, and parents with an opportunity to learn more about the academic programs available at McMaster and to experience a day in the life of a Shad student firsthand. The award-winning Shad Valley Program began two weeks ago when 52 exceptional young high school students from across Canada arrived at McMaster for a month-long immersion into university life. Shad -- or MacShad as it's known at McMaster -- is an elite science, technology, mathematics, and entrepreneurship summer camp for senior high school students who have demonstrated excellence in academics, recreation, leadership, entrepreneurship, and community involvement.

July 15, 2004

McMaster employees will soon have career planning advice at work with the introduction of a new career services initiative to be offered by the Career Planning & Employment Centre (CPEC). A one-year pilot project will offer a variety of career services to McMaster employees, including sessions on career decision making, planning for professional development/training and employment applications. "Offering career services to employees is an emerging trend in the field of human resources development," says Lisa Boniface, director of CPEC. "By offering this service, it will further enhance our ability to be an employer of choice."

July 15, 2004

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Bontis.jpg” caption=”Nick Bontis”]Business professor Nick Bontis has won the Emerald Literati Awards' 2004 Outstanding Paper accolade for best article published in The Leadership . . .

July 14, 2004

McMaster researchers have received a two-year $130,000 grant (USD) from the American Tinnitus Association to try to better understand tinnitus, or "ringing in the ears." "This funding will support research on the development of new procedures to ameliorate tinnitus, a medical condition that causes millions of people to hear disturbing noise when no external source is present," says Larry Roberts, McMaster psychology professor. "The research will also help us to understand how tinnitus is generated by the brain." Roberts will oversee the two projects related to this study. The first study will establish a procedure for measuring "residual inhibition", which is a temporary suppression of tinnitus produced by masking sounds. The sounds will be customized for each subject in order to maximize residual inhibition and assess clinical benefits. Researchers will also assess whether sounds that induce residual inhibition span regions of hearing loss, as predicted by some brain models of tinnitus. Lawrence Ward of the University of British Columbia will collaborate with the McMaster group on this study.

July 14, 2004

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/hair_shaving.jpg” caption=”Jeannette Jackson”]Staff members in the Department of Biology had a 'hair-raising' challenge last week. One member of the department shaved her head . . .

July 13, 2004

Paul K. Bates, McMaster's new dean of business, was welcomed to the University and Hamilton community at a wine and cheese reception last week, hosted by the DeGroote School of Business. Mayor Larry Di Ianni welcomed Bates to Hamilton, while John Dolbec and Rebecca Wissenz brought best wishes on behalf of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce. Former business dean David Conrath and his wife Diane also stopped by to offer their congratulations. McMaster President Peter George and provost Ken Norrie again welcomed Bates to McMaster and affirmed their confidence in his ability to bring DeGroote to the forefront of Canadian business schools.

July 12, 2004

For many of the McMaster students you see working on and around campus, this summer will build the foundation of a work history that will impact the rest of their lives. Students such as Cara Sweeny have been fortunate enough to find great jobs through the University's Work-Study Program and McWork Program during the school year and through the summer. Sweeny found her ideal job as science career assistant in Science Career Services. The faculty-specific career centre serves 3,000 undergraduate science students. Sweeny's job was provided through the University's Work-Study Program where she worked up to 10 hours a week while attending classes, and then full-time through the summer through the McWork Program.

July 9, 2004

A little girl loves the older boy who lives across the street because he has "train tracks" on his teeth. She believes there's a train in there somewhere, and she is determined to ride it. When it finally appears, it escapes from James' mouth and takes her on an exciting journey  right through the centre of the earth. . .to China. This imaginative story is the brainchild of McMaster creative writing student Amy Dennis, whose children's book James Parsons and His Magnificent Mouth of Adventure was just released by Potlatch Publications. "This is a story about celebrating people who are 'different'," says Dennis, 27, who will graduate this fall with a certificate in creative writing from McMaster. She says the story comes from a personal experience which she uses to develop the theme of how children view differences in others. "I wanted to explore some of the things kids are typically embarrassed about and turn them into positives," says Dennis. "The narrator accepts James' dental braces and sees them in a different light."

July 8, 2004

By donating its $2,000 President's Award for Outstanding Service to a student scholarship, the Student On-Line Academic Registration (SOLAR) team epitomizes what the award is about, feels Gary Warner, director of McMaster's Arts & Science Program. SOLAR donated its award at a small reception this week for an in-course scholarship named in memory of Charon McCain, who died of cancer on March 22 after a five-year fight with this disease. McCain worked in Financial Services for five years, in Student Financial Aid for 13 years and finally as the administrator in Arts and Science for almost two years. The donation has brought the endowment close to its goal of $10,000, which will be used to fund a scholarship annually for a student in the Arts & Science Program. Details about the scholarship are still being finalized.

July 8, 2004

To a by-stander, it may seem like playing in the sand. However, to the 52 high school students who have come to Hamilton from all parts of Canada, it is an enlightening lesson about the challenges that are faced by a modern city. The event is Shad City, and it will be taking place Friday, July 9 and Saturday, July 10 at Kelso Conservation Area. The students are participants in an elite summer science, technology, mathematics, and entrepreneurship program called Shad Valley. During Shad City, 52 of Canada's brightest students will be challenged to produce a plan for building a city, while considering social, economic, and environmental issues. The participants will be divided into four groups, each responsible for a particular section of the city.

July 7, 2004

McMaster University has hired Ken Fitzpatrick, the former captain of the Canadian men's swim team (1984, Los Angeles Olympics) as head coach of the McMaster swim team. Fitzpatrick comes to McMaster with 12 years of coaching knowledge and 19 years of marketing experience. He was the assistant swim coach and marketing manager at the Cascade Swim Club (240 members) in Calgary from 2000-2004 where he coached multiple individual and team relay provincial record setters while securing over $50,000 in sponsorship and grants.

July 6, 2004

When it comes to online shopping, consumer experiences vary greatly according to the product they're seeking, according to a McMaster study. In a study involving 227 online shoppers, McMaster business professors Khaled Hassanein and Milena Head uncovered critical factors that impact consumer trust, which they say is necessary in establishing a successful relationship with online vendors. The survey included a mix of employees at a large Canadian utility company and MBA students, both male and female, who averaged more than 10 hours of online shopping a week, for both tangible products (such as books and clothing) and intangible products (such as concert and airline tickets). "Trust has been lacking in the online environment and is stifling the growth of online sales," says Hassanein. "People are used to face-to-face dealings, they like to hold products in their hands and feel them before making a purchase."

July 6, 2004

Lorne Finkelstein, a McMaster clinical professor in cardiology, has been awarded a distinguished service award from the Hamilton Academy of Medicine, for contributing to the . . .

July 5, 2004

After two years of collaboration, McMaster's Mark Loeb, Marek Smieja and Fiona Smaill are celebrating the fruit of their labour with the launch of their textbook, Evidence-based Infectious Diseases, published recently through BMJ Books. Though standard textbooks on this topic are abundant, this book is considered the first of its kind through its use of evidence-based medicine. "McMaster is considered the home of evidence-based medicine," said Smieja. "We thought it very fitting that our textbook would reflect this approach." All three editors are members of the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, having trained in medical microbiology, infectious diseases, and health research methodology.

July 5, 2004

The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ)  the new job evaluation tool for positions in the MUSA bargaining unit  is now available online. The Joint . . .