Daily News

Posted on Oct. 17: McMaster community celebrates $15M award for leading-edge research tool

It's affectionately referred to as Vulcan, named after the god of fire and metalworking. Physics professor Bruce Gaulin said the name seemed to fit McMaster University's neutron beamline because many of the engineered materials the instrument will study come from the world of metal works. Gaulin and the McMaster community celebrated today a $15 million award from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to build and locate the neutron beamline instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The instrument will be one of 24 state-of-the-art research instruments housed at the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source, scheduled to open in Oak Ridge, Tenn. in 2006. The McMaster neutron beamline will be the only Canadian instrument at the scientific facility, which is headed up by McMaster physics alumnus Thom Mason.

Posted on Oct. 16: Front entrance planning set to begin

McMaster's front entrance off Main Street will be getting a facelift next year when the City of Hamilton begins construction on the principal roadway that leads to campus. That clears the way for McMaster to begin planning a vision for the campus side of the entrance, working with stakeholders to ensure all issues are addressed. Over the next couple of weeks Karen Belaire, vice-president administration, will be organizing a steering committee of McMaster stakeholders including representatives from several faculties and departments, parking, planning, physical plant, as well as an external engineering traffic consultant. "The environmental assessment process has taken many months. As this process comes to an end the University will now begin to plan for the redesign. There are a number of factors to consider as we begin designing the front entrance," says Belaire. "The city has recently released a drawing of their plans for Main Street based on the environmental assessment, and now we'll work on our vision for our entrance way and access route. Addressing the needs and concerns of cyclists, pedestrians, public transit and emergency vehicles in this high traffic area will be challenging for the committee."

Posted on Oct. 15: Nobel laureate Bertram Brockhouse: A modest hero’s figure

McMaster professor emeritus Bertram Neville Brockhouse, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1994, died Monday. He was 85. Brockhouse shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with American physicist Clifford G. Shull for their separate but concurrent development of neutron-scattering techniques. Bertram was a pioneer who made an incredible impact on the world of science, said McMaster President Peter George. He also had a passion for science that was an inspiration for many. One researcher he made an impact on was Bruce Gaulin, Brockhouse Chair in the Physics of Materials. I am literally where I am today because of the work he did, said Gaulin, who also wrote an article with Brockhouse for the Encyclopedia of Physics. Gaulin was impressed by Brockhouse's modesty for his work. To me, the most amazing thing about him was how modest he was and how he always was such a fine gentleman.