October 14, 2003

From art and music to theatre and film, McMaster's School of the Arts is offering a broad array of events during the 2003-2004 season. Beginning . . .

October 14, 2003

The last SARS patients have been discharged from our hospitals and the the West Nile virus seems less menacing as the cooler weather approaches. While these infectious diseases might seem less of a threat to the general public, there are serious ongoing challenges that confront our public health system. These challenges will be highlighted in the latest Science in the City public lecture by infectious diseases specialist Mark Loeb. Loeb's lecture, SARS and the West Nile Virus: Roadmaps for Emerging Infectious Diseases, will explore the importance of rapid and accurate diagosis, risk assessment, disease containment and vaccine development. As the Scientific Director of the Canadian SARS Research Network and one of the lead researchers in the first study in Canada to track the prevalence of West Nile virus, Loeb has been on the frontlines and will offer some insight into the important recommendations coming from the recent SARS commissions and the West Nile virus study . The lecture will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in the Hamilton Spectator Auditorium, 44 Frid Street in Hamilton. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. This is a free lecture and all are welcome.

October 14, 2003

More than 500 students from southern Ontario high schools are at McMaster today (Wednesday) for the annual McMaster Engineering and Science Olympics and Open House. Students are participating in a friendly competition of events based on engineering and science principles. This year, a new remote event concept has been introduced along with the traditional on-campus competition. This remote activity involves students working on a chemistry problem in a lab at their home school with results submitted online. Through the open house program, students will have a chance to meet with university students, faculty and professional engineers as well as seeing the on-going daily activities at the university. A variety of displays, special presentations and tours will be featured. "McMaster Faculties of Engineering and Science, known for innovation and education, excellence in research and quality of student life, offer the Olympics as an innovative opportunity for students to actively participate in applying engineering and science principles through friendly competition and activities," said Bob Loree, director of Engineering 1. Awards will go to the top teams in each event. More than $20,000 in McMaster entrance awards are available to be won.

October 14, 2003

The McMaster Marauders lost game three of the Ontario University Athletics Baseball Championship to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on Sunday. With a 7-0 defeat in the final game of the best-of-three series, the Blues captured its second OUA baseball championship title in three years. In game one, McMaster defeated Toronto 3-1, but lost to Toronto in game two, 3-1. This is the second consecutive year that McMaster has finished the season with an OUA silver.

October 10, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Stanton-Award—McGuirl-03_.jpg” caption=”Loralee McGuirl”]Loralee McGuirl, a fifth-year singer and visual artist, was honoured by Opera Ontario with The Christine Stanton Memorial Award at a . . .

October 10, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/baseball.jpg” caption=”baseball”]In a best-of-three series, the McMaster Marauders will face the Toronto Varsity Blues this weekend in the Ontario University Athletics Baseball Championship. . . .

October 10, 2003

Do elite cyclists receive sufficient carbohydrates, protein, fluid and electrolyte requirements for them to perform at their peak? A panel of internationally respected scientists are hoping to translate the scientific knowledge of training and nutrition for endurance athletes, acquired through controlled scientific experiments, into practical information at a symposium today hosted by McMaster's Department of Kinesiology. "The symposium is a unique opportunity to listen to a panel of internationally respected scientists give a series of practical overviews on training, nutrition, and ergogenic aids/supplementation for high-level endurance athletics," says PhD student Douglas Mahoney, a member of the organizing committee. This free symposium is being held in conjunction with the Road World Cycling Championships this week. It takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. in the Information Technology Building, Room 137.

October 10, 2003

During the Romantic Period, from 1820 to 1910, passion ruled the day and the music of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf and Liszt touched the soul. This week, the passion from this period will return as McMaster co-hosts the ninth international Great Romantics Festival Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Artists from around the world will gather in Hamilton to perform works from the Romantic Period during this upcoming festival, founded in 1994 by emeritus professor of music Alan Walker. Walker is also author of the standard (and international award-winning) biography of Franz Liszt, the famous 19th century composer. Walker is enthusiastic about this year's line-up of musicians and lecturers. "The festival will appeal to everyone, from the music aficionado to the general music lover," he says.

October 9, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/alfie_5.jpg” caption=”Alfie Zappacosta”]Alfie Zappacosta, whose jazz career spans 20 years, will perform live in Hamilton, Friday, Oct. 17. With two Junos, including Most . . .

October 9, 2003

'The Time of Your Life, A Natural High', a new program that provides information and alternate choices regarding individual decisions on recreational drug use will . . .

October 8, 2003

When elite cyclists are racing down Hamilton's mountain this week, you might think they know how fast they're going from information they get from their eyes. Not so. McMaster behavioural neuroscientist Hong-Jin Sun and a team of researchers have found that feedback from cyclists' legs to their brains is more important than vision in determining speed. Sun, a psychology professor, and his team use virtual reality technology combined with a modified stationary mountain bike to evaluate how the brain integrates different sources of information. The study, the first of its kind, will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal CyberPsychology & Behaviour.

October 8, 2003

A beach ball that's seven feet tall, a public sign that displays personal journal entries, and a biodegradable sculpture of icy water made from drywall are among the exhibits on display throughout the McMaster community in Re:cycle, a five-week outdoor art exhibit that coincides with the Hamilton 2003 Road World Cycling Championships. The Re:cycle project, a collaborative programming project co-ordinated by the McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton Artists Inc., Art Gallery of Hamilton, and the Workers Arts & Heritage Centre, officially kicks off today (Thursday, Oct. 9). It will feature five artists' interpretations of what the word 're:cycle' represents for them, using the word broadly to reflect recreation, activity, and environmental issues. "We wanted to use the cycling championships as a springboard for ideas and issues surrounding cycling," says Re:cycle project co-ordinator Ivan Jurakic. "Some artists were very literal in the cycling connection while others were more exploratory."

October 8, 2003

One of McMaster's senior administrators has been asked to assist in the search for a new chief executive officer and board of directors for Cambridge . . .

October 8, 2003

With capital projects, enrolment increases, and general University expansion, McMaster continues to grow. Along with the growth comes an increase in the number of vehicles accessing campus and an increasing need for parking. To help address this need, McMaster's Parking & Transit Services has leased a lot that will be used as an off-campus parking site. Owned by the Henkel Canada Corporation, the five-acre property is located south of Main St. W. between Rifle Range Road and Leland Avenue. The site will be used this fall and winter to accommodate the vehicles of construction personnel working on campus and some University staff. The parking lot will be open from approximately 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday, and will be locked after hours. A number of renovations are underway to make the site a safe and serviceable parking area. A gravel surface has been installed over the property and an access point from Ward Avenue is being constructed. The railway right of way will not be used as an access point. The University plans to install appropriate lighting, asphalt surfacing, and landscaping at the site next summer.

October 7, 2003

For the approximately 150 McMaster students who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities, balancing academic success with the everyday learning challenges can be an uphill pursuit. Now, a new computer lab equipped with software designed to help those students overcome academic obstacles could help level the playing field. The ATLAS lab (Assistive Technology, Learning and Academic Support Program), which opened for the first time on Oct. 6, is located in the Commons Building (B104) where it will house seven computers available daily for the use of students with learning disabilities. People with learning disabilities are very intelligent but they require certain accommodations to help them succeed as well as others do, says Caroline Cayuga, learning disabilities co-ordinator. Until now, many of the students have coped academically using resources such as books on tape or the help of volunteer readers and scribes.

October 7, 2003

Four McMaster researchers  being hailed as "Leaders of Tomorrow"  are spending the day on Parliament Hill talking up the benefits of research investments to the political, policy and funding communities. The Partnership Group for Science and Engineering (PAGSE) identified 21 "Leaders of Tomorrow" from across the country to participate in their one-day symposium designed to promote research and its potential impact on Canada's future. Of those 21, four of the "Leaders" are from McMaster. Ian Fearon (biology); John Valliant (chemistry); Kari Dalnoki-Veress (physics & astronomy) and David Earn(mathematics & statistics) were selected because they are considered "skilled, committed researchers who will generate research and innovation results well into the future." Each will have the opportunity to discuss his own research while participating in round-table discussions with federal government, granting council and private sector representatives.

October 6, 2003

Imagine you're sunning yourself on one of New Zealand's beautiful beaches. Suddenly, the sand shifts beneath your body and the ground begins to shake  it's an earthquake. Now imagine this. You might have as little as 60 seconds, minutes at most, to escape the coast before a tsunami hits. Tsunamis  a series of fast-moving waves generated by large disturbances below or near the sea floor such as underwater earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, meteors  have caused massive destruction in many parts of the world. James Goff, adjunct professor of Marine Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and honorary research associate at the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington , is a leading edge tsunami researcher based in New Zealand. Goff has researched the linkages between earthquakes and tsunamis and the catastrophes that have occured when these disasters are washed down with a dose of El Nino.

October 6, 2003

McMaster third-year running back Jesse Lumsden scored five touchdowns as the third-ranked McMaster Marauders defeated The University of Western Ontario Mustangs 64-35 in front of soldout Homecoming crowd of 6,949 Saturday. Lumsden's five touchdown performance equaled his father Neil's career day on Nov. 1, 1975 vs. Queens. Neil Lumsden played for the University of Ottawa from 1972-75. Lumsden rushed for 288 yards on 27 carries and five touchdowns on the day to place him in a six-way tie for second with the most touchdowns in a single game with former McMaster Marauder Kojo Aidoo (2001), former Western Mustang and brother of head coach Greg Marshall, Blake Marshall (1985), and Jesse's father Neil Lumsden (1975). Fifth-year running back and first team all-Canadian Kyle Pyear collected 97 yards on the ground.

October 6, 2003

McMaster Marauders will make their seventh appearance in eight years in the Ontario universities baseball championship series after taking a doubleheader from third-seeded Waterloo Warriors. . . .

October 3, 2003

Steady growth and a budding reputation for inclusiveness have brought the Gandhi Peace Festival into its eleventh year. The festival, born in 1993, has become . . .