Daily News

Posted on June 14; McMaster graduate students win three of six national awards

Three McMaster history students have been recognized for the quality of their research, winning three of the available six scholarships awarded annually by a national organization. Doctoral students Jessa Chupik, Wendy Churchill, and Erika Dyck, have each been awarded a Hannah General Scholarship from the Associated Medical Services, winning $17,700 for their research in fields within the history of medicine. "This is a bit of a coup for the University," says David Wright, associate professor in the Department of History and Hannah Chair holder. "It shows our students are being recognized by their peers at the professional level for the fascinating work that's coming out of McMaster's History of Medicine program."

Posted on June 11: Researchers develop promising new automotive process

An innovative new process that can machine automotive engine blocks faster, cheaper and greener has been developed by a national team of researchers, led by a McMaster University professor. The new process achieves a 150 per cent improvement in the amount of time required to cut an engine block. On June 17, 2004, Eu-Gene Ng, a research manager in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McMaster will present some of the team's findings at the AUTO21 Scientific Conference in Montreal, Quebec. "In addition to the time the new procedure saves, it also reduces the amount of coolants normally used by 99 per cent," said Ng. Instead of using large volumes of lubricants during the cutting process, the new process uses a high-pressure mixture of compressed air and synthetic oil. Only five millilitres of oil are used per hour an amount much lower than the amount of traditional coolant currently in use and more environmentally friendly.