Daily News

October 23, 2001

You wake up with your throat feeling like you've swallowed a fistful of razor blades. You suspect some variation of strep throat. Your doctor's away or booked or perhaps you don't have a family doctor and the local walk-in clinic doesn't open until after work. What can you do? For the first time, University employees can call the Employee Health & Wellness service at ext. 23300, located within Student Health Service at McKay Hall, to book an appointment to see a doctor. The new service is a one-year pilot project presented by Student Health Service with funding from the McMaster University Futures Fund. It is designed to give employees access to a physician on campus. "The aim is to make it easier for employees to receive medical care and advice while at work," said employee physician Finola Foley. "We're easily accessible." Photo: Appointments can be booked to see employee physician Finola Foley. Photo: Shelly Easton

October 23, 2001

Students have the opportunity to visit the Downstairs John today to learn something new about alcohol awareness. The alcohol awareness day provides an opportunity for McMaster students of all ages to learn about the importance of responsible alcohol use in an entertaining, student-friendly environment. Spirit's Day runs today from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. This is the third year Spirits Canada has partnered with Bacchus Canada, McMaster University and local alcohol education groups to stage an innovative educational program aimed at teaching students in real world situations about the responsible use of alcohol. Hosted by the University's Student Health Service and the McMaster Student Union Bar Operations, the day involves a combination of campus and community partners. These include housing & conference services, residence life, the student health education centre, the Pulse and three distillers. About 15 booths with displays and material are available for students who want more information. (End of story)

October 22, 2001

Student Health Service is operating free flu vaccine clinics for students and employees beginning today. The clinics run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the International Student Lounge of Wentworth House until Thursday, Oct. 25. For more information contact ehealth@mcmaster.ca.

October 20, 2001

McMaster's 2001 Homecoming festivities are in high gear this weekend with a free community barbecue, the annual homecoming football game and the induction of eight honorees into the 2001 Athletic Hall of Fame. The community barbecue, held prior to the football game, is to celebrate the Changing Tomorrow Today campaign, McMaster's most successful fundraising campaign. It is being held in the striped tent in Edward's Quad from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The Maruaders take on the York Yeoman at Les Prince field at 2 p.m. The team will try to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs and cap off an undefeated regular season. The last time the football team finished with an undefeated record was 1984. For a complete listing of all Homecoming sporting events, go to the athletics & recreation Web site. On Friday night, the eight newest inductees into the Athletic Hall of Fame were honoured at a dinner at the Royal Connaught Hotel in Hamilton. The inductees are Janet (Lee) Davis '58; Russ Jerome '39; Judy Kent, builder; Scott Mauthe '84; Susan (Porter) Northey '87; Barry Phillips, builder; and Jeff Treftlin '84.

October 18, 2001

Canadians suffering from diabetes have new hope with the announcement today that Hertzel Gerstein, a professor of medicine, will be the first chairholder of the Population Health Institute Chair in Diabetes Research, sponsored by Aventis Pharma Inc. "The research will focus on two areas - preventing diabetes and developing new management strategies for health care providers and people already affected by diabetes," said Gerstein. Aventis Pharma Inc. committed $1 million in funding to establish the new chair. Last year Aventis was a funder, with other partners, of the DREAM (Diabetes Reduction Approaches with ramipril and rosiglitazone Medications) study, an international clinical trial testing ways to prevent type 2 diabetes. Jean-Francois Leprince, Aventis Pharma Inc. president, said the latest sponsorship "reaffirms our commitment to the diabetes field and complements the extensive research and development efforts underway within our own global organization to find innovative therapies to combat and treat an illness which will soon take on epidemic proportions." John Kelton, dean and vice-president of the Faculty of Health Sciences said the company's generous gift "will allow Dr. Gerstein to continue to look for ways to prevent the consequences of diabetes, and indeed diabetes itself - a disease that affects one in 14 Canadian adults over the age of 20."

October 18, 2001

Spiritual tribal philosophies, the ramifications of Sept. 11 and environmental health in the 21st century will be topics of discussion at two public lectures on campus tonight. The indigenous studies program and the Centre for Peace Studies present Leon Secatero, chair of the Indigenous Elders of the Americas, who will explore spiritual tribal philosophies and prophecies in his talk My Ancestors Speak. Secatero will be followed by Ovide Mercredi, former national chief and current political adviser of the Assembly of First Nations, who will speak about the past in his talk, Listen to My Ancestors, and will explore how the themes of the past can guide us after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The free public lecture takes place tonight (Oct. 18) in Health Sciences Centre, room 1A1 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The presentations by Secatero and Mercredi are part of the 2001 Indigenous Studies Lecture Series. For more information, contact Cassandra Lo in Indigenous Studies at ext. 27226. As well, the McMaster Institute for Environment and Health (MIEH) presents its fourth annual public lecture entitled Environmental Health in the 21st Century: Challenges to Decision Making with guest speaker Trevor Hancock. Hancock has been described as one of the top 10 health futurists in the world. He is a public health physician and health promotion consultant working primarily for local, provincial and national governments, as well as the World Health Organization. Hancock's lecture will explore three key environmental challenges: ecotoxicity (the wide-spread contamination of ecosystems); the physical, mental and social health of our built environments (from indoor air quality to urban sprawl) and global environmental change. The free public lecture will run from 7:30 to 9 p.m. tonight (Oct. 18) in Health Sciences Centre, room 1A6. (End of story)

October 16, 2001

The following message was distributed to the McMaster community today from Ron Angus, director of Risk Management Services: Dear members of the McMaster community: Mail services on campus have been temporarily interrupted today after a member of the mail services staff was concerned about a package received by the University. Security Services were immediately called. The normal procedure for a suspicious package is for security to inform Hamilton police who are now on campus investigating. There is no evidence that the package is dangerous but the current heightened sense of security across the country means that every precaution needs to be taken. The mailroom in the Michael G. DeGroote building has been closed. However, access to other areas near the mailroom is not restricted. Mailroom staff are assisting police with the investigation. Although the majority of mail at McMaster passes through either the Faculty of Health Sciences or the MGD mailroom, other mail is sometimes directly delivered to offices and is dealt with by other employees. Here are a few tips to help identify suspicious mail: No return address Return address and postmark are not from the same area Grease stains or discolouration Strange odors Hand written or poorly typed addresses A common sense approach is best but if you have any concerns about mail you receive please call security at ext. 24281. (End of story)

October 16, 2001

The following update is from Ron Angus, director of Risk Management Services: Mail services in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business reopened for business this afternoon. The office was shut down earlier today after staff reported a suspicious package. McMaster security and Hamilton police were called. The package has now been removed from campus and will be disposed of by police. It is important that people know that they should call security if they are concerned about any mail they receive at work. The University has a system in place to handle this type of situation and I believe today's experience shows that system works well. McMaster is committed to taking every precaution to ensure safety. In this case: The package was suspicious only because of the way it was addressed. There were no signs of powder or any contamination. The package was not opened and the mailroom area was temporarily closed. The University's crisis management team was called to assess the situation. It worked with authorities to ensure that accurate and factual information was provided to the campus community. Mailroom staff worked with police in their investigation. No one was hurt and staff returned to work this afternoon. My message to you earlier today included tips on identifying suspicious mail. If you have any concerns about mail you receive please call Security Services at ext. 24281. (End of story)

October 16, 2001

About 275 high school students and their teachers have accepted an invitation to view McMaster's School of the Arts in action -- making music, creating multimedia, acting and sculpting to name a few activities. The students, from 110 schools in southern Ontario, are on campus today to take part in the second annual open house presented by the School of the Arts. "The response has been overwhelming, it's been amazing," said Terri Galan, who has been co-ordinating logistics for the event on behalf of Susan Fast, the school's acting assistant director and open house organizer. Students will attend an introductory session at Robinson Memorial Theatre at 9:30 a.m. and will then go to the subject area they are interested in to attend lectures, performances or workshops. The four areas are art and art history, music, drama and multimedia. Depending on the stream they choose, students can attend a jazz improvisation class, a sculpting class or a multimedia tutorial in the new multimedia wing. Students will also be given an introduction to the new communication studies program.

October 15, 2001

Every archeologist should have one, to which Eduard Reinhardt's response is a heartfelt groan: "Oh no, not more work." The coastal geologist and assistant professor of geology is a rare professional bird. So rare and so much in demand that he is constantly on the move through different archeological digs in Greece, Oman, Yemen, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. In the normal run of things, coastal geologists study sediment, rocks and fossils and interpret the state of coastlines, particularly their suitability for man-made construction. As they do so, the coastlines' history comes into view. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods: all leave their signatures and dates in the geological record. During the last 12 years, international archeologists have been roping Reinhardt into their work. Archeology is always asking questions about people and places long since gone. Coastal geology brings up answers that are otherwise beyond the reach of established archeological techniques. For example, history has an unhappy habit of losing ancient harbours. They frequently disappear into the sea as shorelines crumble and environments change under the impact of a whole array of natural phenomena ranging from sudden disasters to slow shoreline erosion. "The sediment gives a more precise date than the harbour architecture," says Reinhardt. "The layers of sediment are time-sandwiches and the artifacts contained in the layers tell us when it was laid down on the seafloor. The character of the sediments themselves tell us how it happened."

October 12, 2001

Thirty-two projects funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and covering the spectrum of health research — biomedical, clinical, health services and population . . .

October 12, 2001

World experts in health and peace research will meet today through to Sunday to lay the foundation for an emerging discipline: peace through health. The McMaster-Lancet Challenge Conference, jointly sponsored by McMaster's Population Health Institute, the Centre for Peace Studies and the esteemed medical journal, The Lancet, is the first in a series to consciously cultivate this area of study and education. "We all know the ravages of war and are horrified at the destruction," says Salim Yusuf, professor of medicine and director of the Population Health Institute. "The 20th century has been the bloodiest in history. What has become evident is there may be ways of preventing war, or mitigating its effect." The Peace Through Health conference will examine ways in which peace and health are interdependent and brings together some of the most innovative work in this area and from many parts of the world, including the Middle East, Bosnia, Northern Uganda and Sri Lanka. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, says, "Long before the recent events in New York and Washington, several people were aware of the need to bring together the collective experience of experts around the world in a systematic framework that can be of practical benefit. A new field of study is needed that combines the expertise of health professionals with those of social workers and peace workers."

October 11, 2001

More than 500 potential engineers from 26 secondary schools across Ontario will show their mettle today at the Faculty of Engineering's popular annual Engineering Olympics and open house. Competition will be stiff as teams of students compete in events such as "Oodles of Noodles"  students will have to make a structure using pool noodles; the ever-popular Egg Drop and the Physics Paper Triathlon. Prizes will be awarded to the top teams in each event and more than $20,000 in McMaster entrance awards are available to be won. All events will be held at the John Hodgins Engineering building. So as not to be left out there is also a special competition for teachers accompanying the students  the event, involving slide rules will run from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. In addition, students will have a chance to meet faculty and students in the engineering labs, view numerous displays and demonstrations and tour the McMaster campus. On display will be the McMaster engineering solar car and the McMaster Engineering Society will have a booth with information about the school and career opportunities for engineering graduates. Opening ceremonies will be followed by the morning session of the Olympics from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and the afternoon session from 12:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Closing ceremonies and awards presentation will be held from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information about the Engineering Olympics visit the Web site by at http://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/olympics. Photo: Students obtain information about various engineering programs at last year's Engineering Olympics. (End of story)

October 10, 2001

The Board of Governors office is holding an electronic undergraduate student election from 9 a.m. today (Oct. 10) to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 12. Election of one undergraduate student is required for the Board of Governors for a two-year term from Nov. 1, 2001 to Oct. 31, 2003. Ten undergraduate students have been nominated as candidates and the risumis for each candidate may be viewed at the Board of Governors election Web site. Students are encouraged to vote online at any personal computer with internet access. Student IDs and a Personal Identification Number (the same as the MUGSI system) will be required to cast a ballot. Eligible voters who do not have access to the Web site may vote in one of the computer laboratories or at the Board of Governors office (room 115, University Hall). Any questions regarding the election or voting process may be directed to the Board of Governors office at ext. 24370. (End of story)

October 5, 2001

A new three-year collective agreement has been struck between McMaster and the bargaining unit representing operations and maintenance employees at the University. The 160-member unit . . .

October 5, 2001

There'll be fresh paint on the walls, new labels on the paintings and a new exhibit to see when the McMaster Museum of Art reopens its doors on Sunday, Nov. 18. Museum staff have used the past several months while the facility has been closed to spruce up the art gallery and catch up on projects they couldn't do on a daily basis. It's the first major opportunity they've had to renovate since the new museum in the Alvin A. Lee Building opened its doors in 1994. They're focusing on the positive after having unexpectedly closed their doors in mid-May due to a mysterious smell that left some staff feeling ill. "This closing has given us an opportunity to refresh the facility and make it practically brand new again. The galleries will have a new polish and sparkle to them and we're excited about that," says Christine Butterfield, new assistant curator.

October 4, 2001

A painting, a poem and the universe: that's what American astronomer Steven Beckwith brought to an overflow audience in the Health Sciences Centre last evening during the first of this year's two Whidden Lectures, given under the whimsical title Rocket Science and Little Green Men: The Universe from Orbit. Last night's talk by Beckwith, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute and professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., was called Where Did We Come From? Where Are We Going? In his second lecture tonight, called Looking for Life in the Galaxy, he will discuss new space technologies that will allow us to search for signs of life on planets orbiting other stars. The lecture will take place in HSC-1A1 at 8 p.m. Last night, Beckwith discussed how scientists from Galileo to American astronomer Edwin Hubble to modern researchers have observed the night sky and developed ideas to explain an enduring mystery: the origins and continued unfolding of our universe. Against an opening slide backdrop of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, he said, "Asking where we came from and where we're going is a deep-rooted notion in people." It was Hubble who first got an inkling not just of the size of the universe but of its continual expansion, an observation that underpins the Big Bang theory of the universe's origins. "This was a really remarkable discovery," Beckwith said, pointing out that Hubble's work in the 1920s still guides much of modern astronomy. Perhaps no more visible proof of that lies in the Hubble space telescope. Launched in 1990, the telescope orbits above the earth's atmosphere to provide a clear-eyed view of the universe in greater detail than ever. Beckwith said the school-bus-sized instrument allows us to "look at a time when stars and galaxies were first being created. That's what Hubble has done."

October 4, 2001

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Goborah.Ahmed.h&sh.final.jpg”]Have you ever wondered what causes earthquakes? Or why certain areas are at a greater risk than others? Earthquakes are one of the . . .

October 4, 2001

McMaster and other member libraries of the Ontario Council of University Libraries have purchased a shared collection of about 2,000 scholarly electronic books, known as eBooks, from netLibrary. eBooks are full-text electronic versions of published books that current McMaster students and employees can search, browse, borrow and return over the internet. eBooks are accessible from a library, lab, office or home at any time of the day or night and are available for online browsing or checkout. To check out an eBook, authorized McMaster users must first create an account in netLibrary and obtain a proxy ID. eBooks are automatically checked back into the library collection when the checkout period (24 hours) expires. For information or assistance, ask reference staff at any campus library, or visit netLibrary and netLibrary FAQ. The university libraries' electronic book collection ranges in scope from core academic areas of science, social sciences and the humanities to collections of specialized study in areas such as business, computer science and engineering. Individual electronic book titles are listed and available to authorized McMaster users through MORRIS, the online library catalogue, or through the netLibrary site. More than 4,000 public domain electronic books are also available at the netLibrary site, including political texts and literary and historical classics. As an added feature, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is embedded into netLibrary eBooks and has been enhanced technologically to include graphics and audio pronunciation. (End of story)

October 3, 2001

There is no better time than the present to start or continue building a better you! The Pulse is pleased to offer a great way . . .