Daily News

Posted on March 10: McMaster, SSHRC begin transformation/consultation process

University researchers, graduate students and other members of the campus community with interests in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) are invited to attend any of the following scheduled open sessions to discuss the transformation of the granting council to a knowledge council: March 23: 1-3 p.m., Rm. 122, Togo Salmon Hall March 25: 1:30-3:30 p.m., Rm. 318, McMaster University Student Centre March 29: 9-11 a.m. Rm. 318, McMaster University Student Centre The open sessions are intended to provide University stakeholders with an opportunity to voice their views and opinions on Volume 1 of the Framework Document drafted by SSHRC. The sessions will be chaired by Geoffrey Rockwell, McMaster's SSHRC representative. Volume 1 is available online at: http://www.sshrc.ca/web/whatsnew/initiatives/transformation/consultation_framework_e.pdf Submissions from the McMaster community may also be e-mailed to: sshrc@mcmaster.ca

Posted on March 9: UN advisor Maurice Strong embraces engineering the future

He is one of the world's most influential environmental champions, a distinguished diplomat and an ardent advocate for peace and humanitarianism. The Honourable Maurice F. Strong is a special advisor to the secretary-general and under secretary-general of the United Nations, a role that includes acting as a special envoy to North Korea to monitor humanitarian and development issues. He is also president of the council of the University for Peace, affiliated with the United Nations. Strong will present the 20th annual J.W. Hodgins Memorial Lecture at McMaster University on Thursday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. on the topic of "Engineering the Future." The lecture will be held in John Hodgins Engineering building, Room 264. The Hodgins lectureship is sponsored by the Faculty of Engineering to commemorate McMaster's first engineering dean, J.W. Hodgins, who died in 1983. Earlier in the day, Strong will meet with students from the Engineering and Society program, Peace Studies and the Engineering and Social Responsibility course to present a condensed version of his evening lecture and engage in discussion.

Posted on March 9: Facing the facts about recognizing faces

Notice anything different about these two pictures? It's the same person, with one small difference. One image has been altered, but most people won't see how until they're viewed upright. This is one example of the so-called the inversion effect it's harder for the brain to process upside-down objects than upright objects, and the inversion effect is especially strong for the perception of faces. For most people, it's easy to recognize a range of faces, even under various lighting conditions and from different views. But when those faces are turned upside-down, we experience problems, says Allison Sekuler, professor of psychology and Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at McMaster University.

Posted on March 8: Research gets major boost

McMaster researchers are celebrating a new era of discovery with the award of $16.3 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for six major research initiatives. The funding will enable McMaster researchers to acquire state-of-the art instruments to lead further research in the areas of nanotechnology, functional genomics, radiation biology, natural and synthetic polymers, digital cinema and high-performance computing. "Our researchers continue to have great success in a highly competitive process," said Mamdouh Shoukri, vice president research & international affairs. "The research we're doing at McMaster is leading edge and will contribute, for example, to a better understanding of how diverse materials are constructed and operate at super small levels, how genes function in cancer and infectious diseases and the effects of low-dose radiation. Funding for the computational science project known as SHARCNET is support for a fundamental science that will help researchers in several areas. "In all of these endeavours our researchers are either leading or establishing the first facilities of their kind in Canada. They are focused on world-class research leading to new discoveries, technologies, cures and treatments in the areas of molecular biology, manufacturing and materials and information technology. This CFI support is integral to our ability to forge new paths in these areas." To date, McMaster has received $89 million from CFI to support research activity, which will generate or translate into more than $200 million in funding for research projects at the University.