Daily News

Posted on June 6: Competition draws over 200 swimmers

More than 200 swimmers from 13 clubs across Ontario will converge on McMaster University tomorrow for the annual Trillium Synchronized Swimming Competition. "This is the last big event of the season," said Karen Worlidge, meet organizer for the Burlington Synchronized Swimming Club (BSSC), fresh off a string of meets that included the provincial, divisional and national championships in Victoria, B.C. The BSSC, in conjunction with Synchro Ontario, will host teams from Kingston and Kawartha-Trent along with area teams from Toronto, Durham, Markham, Mississauga, Etobicoke, Newmarket, and Waterloo Region in the day-long event. As the only synchronized swimming club in the area, the BSSC draws members from Burlington, Hamilton, Stoney Creek and Waterdown. The club offers competitive and recreational streams to keep children involved. The BSSC wraps up the year with the club's annual Water Show on June 14 and 15 at Centennial Pool at Lord Elgin High School in Burlington. (The Hamilton Spectator, June 6, 2003)

Posted on June 6: 2003 Alumni Gallery inductees

On June 7 during Alumni Weekend, the McMaster Alumni Association will honour the outstanding achievements of 11 accomplished McMaster alumni who have made significant contributions to their vocations and avocations. Helen Ghent '56 (Health Sciences) As well as being a small business owner, a nurse and mother, Ghent has been extremely active in a number of volunteer organizations in her community. She served as president of the Ontario division of the Canadian Cancer Society and chair of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco. Luke Chan '74 (Social Sciences) A respected scholar, teacher, researcher, and author, Chan is known throughout the McMaster community as McMaster's champion in international spheres. He has published extensively on cultural diversity in international business. Charly Chiarelli '73 (Social Sciences) Chiarelli is most widely known as the effervescent character behind two one-man shows about growing up in a Sicilian neighborhood in Hamilton: "Cu'Fu" and "Mangiacake." By day, he is a senior analyst for the Ontario Ministry of Health. Harold Coward '73 (Social Sciences) Coward is passionately committed to research on religion that relates to a broad range of social and cultural questions and communities. He continues to be involved in the community with speaking engagements for various church, school and community groups. Robert Dickson '61 (Science, Health Sciences) Dickson returned to McMaster to instruct the first undergraduate medical class. The second year, he returned as a student. He is currently a family physician in Hamilton, a leader in the Hamilton medical community, a community volunteer, and a published poet. Lorraine Allan '68 (Science) Since receiving her PhD, Allan has made her mark at McMaster as a teacher, administrator and scholar of international reputation. She has conducted groundbreaking research on the role of learning in perception and cognition. John MacGregor '65 (Engineering) MacGregor is currently a chemical engineering professor at McMaster but has made significant developments in process-automation and multivariate statistics. His MVS software enables large manufacturing companies to monitor processes,eliminate redundancies and save millions of dollars. Timothy Oke '64 (Science) Oke is recognized as the foremost authority on urban climates, especially for his work on the energy and water balance of cities, urban roughness, evaporation and heat storage. He is currently a professor of geography at the University of British Columbia. Elisabeth Nicol '87 (Science) A physics professor at the University of Guelph, Nicol has won numerous high-profile research awards including five NSERC grants, the Polanyi Prize for Physics, and the Premier's Research Excellence award. Robert Pulford '63 (Social Sciences) Pulford played professional hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs for 14 years and was part of four Stanley Cups. He is currently the senior vice-president of the Chicago Blackhawks. John Van Duzer '50 (Humanities) Van Duzer is a judge, lawyer and long-time volunteer with the McMaster Alumni Association. After several years as a family court lawyer and judge, he spearheaded a move to and became a founding judge on the Unified Family Court of Hamilton-Wentworth.

Posted on June 6: Achievements of new graduates recognized

The McMaster Alumni Association established the Arch Award this year to recognize the achievements of the University's most recent graduates. This year's recipients are: Nat Hardy '93 M.A. Faculty of Humanities (English) Since graduation, Nat Hardy has held teaching positions in the USA, published numerous articles, reviews, creative pieces, and received several awards. At McMaster, he volunteers with Career Counselling services as a writing assistant. He has continued his volunteer work with Red Cross disaster relief and Habitat for Humanity. Duncan McKinlay '96 B.A. Faculty of Social Sciences (Psychology) Since being diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrom when he was 19, Duncan McKinlay has focussed his energies on outreach, community service and awareness of Tourette's Syndrome including an award-winning documentary about him and his struggle with TS. While at McMaster he was president of the Psychology Society. He often returns to McMaster to lecture on TS to psych students. Michael P. Smith '93 M.B.A. School of Business Michael Smith started Consumer Impact Marketing as part of project for MBA. CIM is now a leading marketing firm and considered one of the 50 best-managed companies with 1500 employees and clients around the world. Vincent Tropepe '94 B.Sc. Faculty of Science (Psychology) Vincent Topepe is a stem cell researcher who actually discovered the presence of stem cells in the adult human eye. This discovery may be used to repair retinal damage. He has received numerous grants and awards for his research and teaching. Jeffrey Wight '90 B.P.E. Faculty of Social Science (Physical Education) Since graduation, Jeffrey Wight has turned a personal interest in scuba diving into environmental education programmes, appearing on various science TV shows, specials and documentaries. While a student, Jeffrey was involved in varsity athletics, student government, and was a member of the President's Advisory Committee on Security Services.

Posted on June 5: McMaster well represented on Under 21 Rugby World Cup roster

Six members of the 2002 OUA Championship McMaster Rugby team have each earned one of 26 spots on the Canadian Under 21 Rugby World Cup roster. Marauders Rob Ashwood, Mike Blakey, Aaron Carpenter, Dan Pletch, Mike Pletch, and Steve Shortly where each selected to compete for Team Canada. McMaster players comprise 23 per cent (six of 26) of the team, and 75 per cent of the Ontario born players (six of eight) on the roster. The 2003 IRB U21 World Cup will take place in the Oxfordshire region of England from June 13 to 29. This will be Canada's first appearance at the prestigious and highly competitive 12-nation tournament. The inaugural IRB U21 World Cup took place in South Africa in 2002 where the host nation defeated Australia in the final. The tournament begins with pool matches, starting on June 13 (Canada vs. Argentina) and continuing to June 17 (Canada vs. South Africa) and June 21 (Canada vs. Scotland). Semi-Finals will be played on June 25 with the finals and ranking positional matches taking place on June 29. For more about the IRB U21 World Cup visit http://www.irbu21.com/ Player bio information Rob Ashwood: 5'10", 185 lb. Scrum half from Utopia, Ontario. Ashwood was a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002. Mike Blakey: 5'10", 212 lb. Hook from Port Perry, Ontario. Blakey is a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002. Aaron Carpenter: 6'0", 230 lb. Back row player from Brantford, Ontario. Carpenter was the OUA Rookie of the Year and First Team OUA All Star in 2002. Dan Pletch: 5'11", 235 lb. Prop from Lucan, Ontario. Dan was an OUA All-Star in his rookie season at McMaster in 2002. Mike Pletch: 5'11", 235 lb. Prop from Lucan, Ontario. Mike is the twin brother of Dan Pletch and was a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002. Steve Shortly: 6'0", 230 lb. Centre from Port Perry, Ontario. Shortly was an OUA All-Star in his rookie season at McMaster in 2002.

Posted on June 5: Engineering and science graduands celebrate Covocation today

The Faculties of Engineering and Science hold convocation ceremonies today (Thursday, June 5) in the Great Hall at Hamilton Place. This year, McMaster is proud to present two Governor General's Academic Medals. It is very rare to have more than one recipient of this prestigious award in a given year. David Zywina, of the Faculty of Science, will receive his medal during the Science convocation this afternoon. Fellow recipient, Roxanne Lai, who received an Honours Linguistics degree at the Faculty of Humanities ceremony, was awarded her medal on Tuesday. Honorary degrees will be presented to Francis Navin, Andrew Benedek, James Stewart, and Richard Bader. Navin and Stewart will give the Convocation addresses at their respective ceremonies.