Daily News

Posted on April 15: Students to help Canadian newcomers feel at home

Students will learn first-hand about the issues faced by newcomers to Canada, through a student-initiated project that links them with organizations serving immigrants and refugees in Hamilton. "Through the program, it is hoped that students will gain a greater understanding of the issues facing the immigrant and refugee population as they try to settle in Canada," says Leila Salehi, founder and co-ordinator of the program that will launch in September. "It is hoped that students will gain improved cross-cultural skills and be provided with an opportunity to engage in meaningful volunteer work while gaining practical skills in working with an underserved population." Through the program, students will help organize preparatory classes for women preparing to take a G1 driver's exam, help to facilitate employment workshops for immigrant and refugee women and develop and run a series of practical workshops on resources in Hamilton in English as a second language classes. The program, initiated by the Immigrant and Refugee Issues Working Group of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), recently received an $8,254 boost from the Hamilton Community Foundation. Funding will support a student co-ordinator, and the development, testing and evaluations of the ESL workshop curricula.

Posted on April 14: Students benefit from government investment in Centre for Learning & Discovery

Students are the beneficiaries of a $180 million investment in building projects at Ontario universities and colleges through the provincial government's SuperBuild program, McMaster President Peter George says. McMaster received $11.3 million today from the newest round of the SuperBuild program. Nine universities, including McMaster, and four colleges received funding to build, purchase or renovate facilities. "We're absolutely delighted," said McMaster President Peter George. "This significant contribution from the provincial government is an investment in students and will help us meet the needs of the double cohort class and the projected increased enrolment demand that we expect will continue throughout the decade. "The government's commitment to our project enhances the University's ability to continue to provide excellence in teaching, learning and research. McMaster University is dedicated to fostering a culture of innovation and we're grateful that the Ontario government, with this commitment, supports our vision of opening doors to a brighter future for students. In turn, support for this unique facility will help increase Ontario's competitiveness in the global, knowledge-based economy and in particular, meet the need for skilled leaders in the health care sector." McMaster's award will be dedicated to new classroom space in the University's innovative Centre for Learning & Discovery, currently under construction. The $71-million facility will create 1,459 student spaces and 83,000 sq. ft. of research space.

Posted on April 14: Funding boosts high-tech research

McMaster's Mark Lawford was given a $205,000 boost for his research in software development, design and management from Communications and Information Technology Ontario (CITO). The assistant professor of computing and software engineering, received $100,000 from CITO, plus $100,000 from Ontario Power Generation and $5,000 in-kind support for his two-year project entitled "Reverse Engineering of High Level Requirements from Assembly Code." The majority of the money will be spent on support for graduate students working on the project. The group also has applied for an additional $38,000 per year in matching funds from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. CITO has provided more than $9 million in funding to support high-tech research projects at eight Ontario universities. In the latest round of funding, CITO is providing $5.373 million and industry sponsors are contributing $3.730 million in matching cash or in-kind support. McMaster's project also involves computing and software engineering professors Jacques Carette, Wolfram Kahl, Ridha Khedri and Alan Wassyng, who are members of the recently formed Software Quality Research Lab.

Posted on April 14: Student surge prompts building boom

A local developer is hoping to cash in on the double cohort McMaster University will face this fall by providing decent affordable student housing located halfway between the University and the downtown core. The six new 2 1/2-storey homes on Dundurn Street, between Main and King streets, will feature a two-bedroom, 1,200-square-foot apartment on the main floor with four lodging rooms and a common area upstairs to house a total of 36 students. Construction began last month and is expected to be finished the beginning of August, in time for the thousands of students who will descend upon Hamilton this fall. Click here to read the story in today's Hamilton Spectator.

Posted on April 14: Neuroscientist loves to study great minds

The brain of one of the 20th century's most gifted mathematicians is in the hands of McMaster University neuroscientist Sandra Witelson. She now has the chance to study the great mind of Donald Coxeter, internationally renowned for his work in geometry and the discovery of four-dimensional figures called polytopes. Coxeter, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and Companion of the Order of Canada, died at 96 in his Toronto home on March 31. For Witelson, it's a second opportunity to study one of the greatest minds of our times. Earlier, in 1995, an unexpected invitation allowed her to examine the preserved brain of Albert Einstein, 40 years after his death in Princeton. This research was possible because of the extensive brain bank she had developed at McMaster. Read the complete story in The Hamilton Spectator. Also read, Mathematic mind explored, in The Toronto Star