Daily News

Posted on June 12: Board of Governors approves Refining Directions

After months of discussion, consultation and review, both Senate and the Board of Governors have approved the final draft of Refining Directions, the next stage of the University's strategic plan. "Tremendous effort has gone into the process," says McMaster President Peter George. "From the more than 80 members of the six working groups to those who participated in the nine town hall meetings, the input we received throughout the process has been invaluable and has helped to craft the final document." The approved Refining Directions document is considerably shorter than the draft that was circulated for review earlier this spring. The earlier version was a discussion paper that included considerably more background material. It also incorporated the recommendations from the working groups that will be utilized throughout the Refining Directions implementation process. The implementation of the Refining Directions goals and critical success factors will now begin. One of the first initiatives will be the creation of a working group to make a recommendation on the long-run enrolment of the University. Feedback during consultation indicated that considerably more discussion and information was needed before making this critical decision. The work group will be asked to have its recommendation to Senate and Board this December. "Other initiatives to achieve the Refining Directions goals will be rolled out over the next few months and there will be considerable opportunity for people from across campus to be involved in this process," says provost Ken Norrie. Norrie would like to thank those who participated in Refining Directions and is happy to answer questions about the University's strategic direction.

Posted on June 11: BioSummit2003 fosters innovation in bioscience

Biotechnology in the Golden Horseshoe will be explored at McMaster today (Wednesday, June 11) during BioSummit2003. Organized by the Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network, this biotechnology innovation conference brings together individuals in biotech business, research, venture capital, commercialization and economic development. This is the first conference of its kind in the Golden Horseshoe area that fosters bioscience driven economic development. Participants will examine global and North American perspectives of biosciences; venture capital and financing issues facing biotechnology; information technology/information management (IT/IM); challenges for a biosciences cluster; sciences in the Golden Horseshoe area; management of innovation as related to biotechnology; and IT/IM solutions for biosciences and health care. The one-day event takes place in the McMaster University Student Centre. For more, visit http://www.mcmaster.ca/Biosummit2003.

Posted on June 11: Scientists explore how our ears, eyes and noses work together

Ever wonder why food has no taste when you have a cold? Or if blind people really hear better than sighted people? Or why you need your glasses to hear the TV? These questions and much more will be addressed at the fourth International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF) to be held at McMaster University June 14-17. For an overview of the conference, presenters, and papers, visit www.science.mcmaster.ca/~IMRF/2003. Organized by David Shore, assistant professor of psychology, the conference will bring together a growing group of international scientists who focus on the integration of information from different sensory systems. Many people never consider the number of senses they actually use at one time. Even scientists who study sensory perception typically only focus on one type of sensation (i.e., vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste). For a select few though, multisensory research is quickly become an active area for research. Explains Shore, "Everyday living is unrecognized as being multisensory. However, we live in a multisensory world. It is all of our senses working together that give us our rich perception of the world."