Daily News

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 . . .

October 3, 2003

Alumni from across the country will be returning to McMaster for Homecoming weekend tomorrow to reunite with former classmates, roommates and teammates, and to watch the McMaster Marauders kick off against the Western Mustangs. "For the Alumni Association, Homecoming is a great opportunity to bring our alumni and students together to celebrate our shared pride in McMaster," says Chris (Cal) McAlpine, president, McMaster Alumni Association. On Saturday, alumni will attend various class reunion activities in the McMaster University Student Centre, while members of the football team from '33, '43, '53, '63, '73, '83, and '93 attend a luncheon at the Phoenix in Wentworth House before heading to the big game. They'll resume the festivities at the Phoenix again for a post-game reception later in the evening. Children's programming will keep kids over four entertained while parents explore Homecoming events or take a walk around campus. "We're really looking forward to Homecoming - it's an important part of McMaster's tradition, and it's a tradition we want to build on in the years ahead," says Rod Morrison, director of Alumni Advancement.

October 3, 2003

Ontario's next premier, Dalton McGuinty, will be the first McMaster alumnus to ever hold the position of premier of the province. McGuinty, who led the . . .

October 2, 2003

McMaster University's School of the Arts' is presenting Sarah Daniels' The Gut Girls as its fall theatre production for 2003. The production will bring together . . .

October 2, 2003

The long-anticipated Road World Cycling Championships is just around the corner. Beginning Monday, Oct. 6, up to 1,000 athletes from 50 countries will cycle through . . .

October 2, 2003

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/MacServelogo.gif” caption=”Mac Serve logo”]This Saturday, social sciences and kinesiology students will open their hearts and lend a hand. Hosted by the Faculty of . . .

October 1, 2003

How to make a successful transition from high school to university is lesson one for the more than 1,000 first-year science students registered at McMaster this fall. After a successful pilot run last year, students are participating in an updated version of University Survival, an online course that introduces them to the various student services and resources on campus. The course assists students in developing a basic understanding of academic integrity, using the libraries, time management, stress management, career services, and the importance of getting to know professors. There is evidence that the lack of university survival skills has a negative impact on academic performance. "In the past we often did not realize students were struggling academically until after midterms " says Cathy Mackenzie, student advisor and University Survival's administrator. "By educating students about the resources available to them, those students who do develop difficulties will have the necessary tools to get the help they need."

October 1, 2003

Researchers at McMaster University have turned a corner in the race to develop a vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). A breakthrough has come with the work by professor Jim Mahony who cloned the gene that marks an important nuclear protein of the SARS virus. A research team at McMaster then inserted the nuclear protein gene into an engineered common cold virus, or adenovirus vector, and will shortly test this in animals for the protective effects. The team, headed by Jack Gauldie, chair of the department of pathology and molecular medicine and director of the Centre for Gene Therapeutics, includes professors Frank Graham, Mary Hitt and Mahony of the department of pathology and molecular medicine, along with professor Ludvik Prevec and technologist Uma Sankar of the department of biology. Mahony's discovery was made using DNA sequence data from the SARS Vaccine Initiative (SAVI) of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, one of several laboratories the McMaster team is working with to develop a SARS vaccine based on the adenovirus vector that would act as a carrier within the body.

October 1, 2003

McMaster University students, police and the Westdale community have joined forces to operate a west end community policing centre. When area residents drop in to . . .

October 1, 2003

With a 2-1 defeat of the York Lions in game one of a doubleheader Tuesday night, the McMaster Marauder baseball team secured a second place . . .

September 30, 2003

When it comes to the importance of exercising one's right to vote, students and those living in subsidized housing have a similar goal, feels political science student Sam Minniti. For students, it's tuition. For tenants of residential care homes, it's social assistance. "We're really not that different," says Minniti, one of about 15 students involved in a second-year political science project that aims to get those disinclined to vote to the polls on Thursday, Oct. 2. "Even though we're different in our needs, we're both part of a population that requires our voices to be heard to ensure we're on the radar screen of the person elected." As part of "Political Science 2DD3  Participation and Elitist Politics in Canada", taught by political science professor Michael Stein, students are visiting care homes in Hamilton with three goals in mind  getting tenants registered to vote, transported to the polls and educated about democracy. "Many of them know relatively little about the political process, but they are very interested when they find out that it is the government that determines what their social assistance intake should be," says Stein.