Daily News

November 13, 2003

The Commonwealth Games Federation selected New Delhi, India today as the host of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The final vote tally by the members of the Commonwealth Games Federation members at its General Assembly was New Delhi 46 and Hamilton 22. "From the beginning this process has been about collaboration and teamwork," said McMaster University President Peter George. "Although today's outcome is not what we had hoped for, I know I speak for everyone involved in the bid from McMaster that we are proud to have been a full partner in this exciting process. I want to congratulate all of our partners -- the federal and provincial governments, the City of Hamilton and The Hamilton Spectator -- for their commitment, enthusiasm, and dedication to producing an excellent bid. McMaster continues to be committed to creating a community of discovery and learning that continually strives for excellence."

November 12, 2003

For $5 a month, you provide 10 hours of respite for caregivers of a family with a severe disability. For $7.83 a month, you provide two hours of counseling to families in crisis. Every year, the United Way makes a significant impact on people's lives. This year, it hopes the impact will have a $6-million tag on it, with $175,000 of that from McMaster University. McMaster United Way co-chairs Dorothy Pawluch and Mary Lynn Taylor stress the importance of the national fundraising initiative. "In our role as co-chairs, we have had the chance to see just how vital a role the United Way plays, extending its hand of caring to so many organizations and individuals in our community. McMaster not only leads the pack in the educational sector, but is one of the largest contributors in the community. We're proud of our association with the United Way, and prouder still of our co-workers at McMaster for being such strong and abiding supporters of the United Way."

November 12, 2003

In the second in a series of five public lectures concentrating on origins research, Stuart Kauffman, a biologist specializing in the theory of complex biological systems, will discuss Molecular Autonomous Agents: a possible physical definition of life. The free lecture, scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. in Rm. 137 of McMaster's Information Technology Building, will cover topics from Kauffman's third book, Investigations, which explores the requirements for the emergence of a general biology that will govern biospheres anywhere in the cosmos. During the talk he'll develop a definition of an "autonomous agent", or a living organism that appears to act to promote its own survival. Kauffman says even simple organisms such as bacteria are able to sense and move towards nutrients in their environment, but that action alone doesn't mean it's autonomous.

November 12, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/CMSF_lunch_opt.jpg” caption=”CMSF lunch”]Outstanding youth leadership and community service initiatives were recognized recently when Peter George, president and vice-chancellor, hosted lunch for the nine . . .

November 12, 2003

McMaster University will present BroadwayCabaret/BroadwayJazz featuring Melissa Stylianou (vocalist), Kevin Power (vocalist) and Richard Whiteman (piano) as part of its Celebrity Concerts series on Nov. . . .

November 11, 2003

It's like a dirty snowball, perhaps one metre to 10 kilometres wide. It's somewhere far from the earth and sun and no one, including astronomer Christine Wilson, knows just where Comet Wilson is. Wilson discovered the comet in 1986, when she was a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology. "Comet Wilson was the most unbound of any comets they'd seen  its orbit was a hyperbola rather than an ellipse and it was only observable for 18 months  it doesn't look like it's ever going to come back," she explains. Christine Wilson is McMaster's only radio astronomy faculty member, frequently carrying out her observational research using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, located in Hawaii. She is also the Canadian project scientist for the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA), the world's largest millimetre wavelength telescope, 5,000 metres above sea level on the Chajnantor plain of the Chilean Andes. The ALMA project is an international partnership, funded in North America by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Wilson will be presenting some of the results of her research on a collision between two spiral galaxies, interstellar medium and star formation in nearby galaxies and our own Milky Way at tonight's Science in the City lecture.

November 11, 2003

Archeological sites from the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and early Arabic eras provide important clues to the past, but those sites have largely disappeared under sand and water. Jean-Daniel Stanley, senior scientist and director of the Deltas-Global Change and Coastal Geoarcheology programs at Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution (National Museum of Natural History), will be delivering the 2003 Whidden Lectures to help explain the human-induced and natural geological processes that are causing cities full of history to sink into the past. For nearly four decades Stanley has studied Mediterranean deltas  sedimentary deposits that form at river mouths along marine and lucustrine coasts around the world  which have historically attracted humans because they provide the ideal place to grow agriculture and arrange transport and trade. The lectures (free admission) take place Wednesday, Nov. 12 and Thursday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. in Convocation Hall. Both lectures will focus mainly on Egypt's Nile delta, which is located in a relatively stable geologic area in the eastern Mediterranean while neighbouring archeologically-significant sites have already disappeared.

November 11, 2003

A long-awaited Ontario report on the prevalence of West Nile virus infection showed the ratio of people who fell severely ill with the disease was . . .

November 11, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Gut_Girls.jpg” caption=”Gut_Girls.jpg”]McMaster University's School of the Arts' will present Sarah Daniels' The Gut Girls as its fall theatre production for 2003. The production . . .

November 10, 2003

McMaster's focus on innovation and excellence is reinforced in Maclean's magazine. McMaster once again ranked as the second most innovative university among research-intensive universities in the magazine's ranking issue. The University placed fifth in the country in the highest quality of education category. The annual magazine ranking exercise takes a measure of the undergraduate experience, comparing universities in three peer groupings. McMaster is ranked in the medical doctoral category that includes universities with a broad range of PhD programs and research, as well as medical schools. President Peter George said innovative approaches to teaching, learning and research continue to be cornerstones of the McMaster experience. "We are committed to providing an innovative, stimulating learning experience for our students that centres on academic excellence and integrating teaching and scholarship at the undergraduate level," said President Peter George. "McMaster's culture of innovation is a mainstay of our success and we will continue to cultivate it to attract the highest quality students and faculty to participate in a unique learning and research environment."

November 10, 2003

McMaster captured its fourth consecutive Yates Cup with a 41-17 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in front of 12,464 spectators at Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium. This was the largest crowd in McMaster Marauder history. With the win, McMaster becomes only the third team to win four consecutive Ontario championships. The University of Western Ontario, featuring McMaster head coach Greg Marshall at running back, was the last team to accomplish this feat. Queen's had four consecutive Yates Cup victories from 1922-1925 and the University of Toronto from 1908-1911. McMaster will now host the University of Laval in the Mitchell Bowl (Formally Atlantic Bowl) Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. at Hamilton's Ivor Wynne Stadium. The game will broadcast live on TSN. Tickets will be available beginning Monday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats ticket office on Balsam Street, Copps Coliseum and the McMaster (MSU) Compass Information Centre with no service charge. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster by phone 905527-7666, Ticketmaster online and all Ticketmaster outlets. Normal service charges apply.

November 7, 2003

A smile can go a long way. So can a shaved head. During half-time at this Saturday's Yates Cup championship game between the McMaster Marauders . . .

November 7, 2003

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, leads to complications causing the death of hundreds of Ontarians each year. But armed with a vaccination, chances of catching this highly contagious disease can drop 70-80 per cent. Beginning next week at McMaster, free flu shots will be available in the McMaster University Student Centre, Rm. 319. The clinics will take place Nov. 10, 11, 18 and 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bring your Health Insurance Card and McMaster Identification Card and wear a short-sleeved shirt. An additional clinic will take place at the Downtown Centre on Friday, Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Rm. 210. "Immunization is the best prevention against influenza infections," says Debra Earl, employee health educator. "A healthy diet, regular exercise and adequate sleep are all factors in how effectively your immune system will fight any infection. When it comes to the flu virus, you may need more protection, especially if you already have a medical condition."

November 7, 2003

When Robert Donaldson attended McMaster in the early 1960s, the thought of taking breaks between classes in a spacious student centre with its own fireside lounge could only be considered a dream. At the time, he and his classmates had to make do with the Wentworth House as a make-shift student centre. Now, thanks in part to a $1-million gift from the Donaldson family, McMaster students for the first time in the University's 115-year history have a permanent home that provides a meeting space for all student clubs and associations as well as student services all in one central building. Donaldson, his wife Marnie, family and friends were on hand this past Wednesday to celebrate the naming of the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) marketplace as the Donaldson Family Marketplace. Donaldson says the gift is made on behalf of his entire family. Seven members of the extended Donaldson family, including his father, call McMaster their alma mater and (more will likely follow). As well as graduating from McMaster in 1961, Donaldson has also been a loyal President's Club member for many years.

November 6, 2003

A professor with expertise in experimental semiconductor physics and investment portfolio analysis and a passion for teaching holds the inaugural research chair in financial markets at McMaster University. Clarence C.Y. Kwan, a professor in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, has been appointed to a five-year term as the CIBC Chair in Financial Markets. CIBC World Markets contributed $1 million to establish the research chair during the University's successful Changing Tomorrow Today campaign. Kwan's appointment as the inaugural chairholder was celebrated Wednesday at a reception at the Allen H. Gould Trading Floor at the University.

November 6, 2003

As minutes tick down to the long awaited decision of who will host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, anticipation is high. Members of the community are invited to a hometown celebration' on Thursday, Nov. 13, when Commonwealth Games delegates will reveal live from Jamaica who will host the Games  Hamilton or New Delhi. The announcement will take place following a final 30-minute presentation by the Hamilton bid team. Nearly 10,000 spectators are expected to attend the announcement at Copps Coliseum in downtown Hamilton. Doors open at 3:30 p.m., and the estimated time of announcement is 5:30 p.m. "There is a lot of anticipation leading up to this announcement," says vice-president university advancement Roger Trull, who admits he has had a few sleepless nights leading up to this momentous event. As the team leader, Trull will be in Jamaica next week to hear the announcement.

November 6, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/alpine_tower_opt.jpg” caption=”Alpine Tower”]For an opportunity to improve confidence, trust, support, and co-operation among your staff or team members, look up, way up. You'll . . .

November 6, 2003

The following are highlights from the Oct. 30 Board of Governors meeting Refining Directions implementation An extensive implementation plan for the University's Refining Directions document . . .

November 5, 2003

Max Chernesky was recently granted the Canadian College of Microbiologists Distinguished Service Award for 2003. The award is presented annually to a member of the . . .

November 5, 2003

The year 1977 was monumental for Nasrin Rahimieh. It was two years before a major revolution in her country of origin, Iran, when she packed her bags for Canada. She had spent the two previous years in the United States and Switzerland completing her secondary education. Now, she was leaving behind family to start a post-secondary life that 26 years later would lead her to the role of dean of humanities at McMaster University. When she started her education at Dalhousie University in 1977, her career path ahead was entirely different. Her intention, as it had been for years, was to be a chemist. But she was finding her courses in biology, chemistry and calculus didn't evoke the same passion in her as her humanities courses did. It was her history, language, and literature courses that allowed her to make sense of what was happening in her world. "The revolution and the war that followed separated me from my parents and home, and I felt a need to understand my experiences; to understand what was happening in my life and in the world. The humanities courses helped me grapple with my sense of loss and isolation."