Daily News

Posted on June 10: Skilled health services researchers will be trained at new centre

McMaster and five other universities (Lakehead, Laurentian, Ottawa, Toronto and York), will receive $2.1 million over the next six years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) to develop and evaluate an Ontario training centre for health services and health policy researchers. The funding is part of a $88-million investment in this area which was announced today by CIHR. Health services research develops knowledge that assists in policy development and decision-making concerning the organization, funding, delivery of health services, and the allocation of resources dedicated to improving the health of Canadians. Using a consortium approach, the training centre will draw on faculty and research expertise at the six universities to build a critical mass of skilled health services researchers. Students will be trained to conduct research that meets the needs of health services policy makers, planners and managers, including those in rural, remote and northern communities. Students enrolled in the centre (faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and health care managers) will have access to highly experienced researchers and health services decision makers through collaborative research, distance education, summer institutes, and field placements. Lead McMaster faculty include Alba DiCenso, professor of nursing and clinical epidemiology & biostatistics, Christel Woodward, professor of clinical epidemiology & biostatistics and a member of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, and Brian Hutchison, professor of family medicine and director of the Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis.

Posted June 7: Class of 2002 engineering and science students graduate today

McMaster's 2002 engineering and science graduands will receive their degrees today at two ceremonies in the Great Hall, Hamilton Place. Engineering will award bachelor degrees in technology, engineering, engineering & society, engineering & management; master's degrees in science (materials science), applied science, engineering; and doctorates in philosophy. At the afternoon ceremony, science graduands will receive doctor of philosophy, master of arts (geography), master of science and bachelor of science degrees. Receiving honorary degrees at these ceremonies are Art Heidebrecht, George Stephanopoulos, Stephen Jarislowsky and Leslie King. Science student Leila Salehi will receive the President's Award of Excellence in Student Leadership at the afternoon convocation. Valedictorians Monique Bergeron (engineering) and Gregory Restivo (science) will address their fellow graduands and guests. To view honorary degree recipient bios,

Posted June 6: Social sciences graduands convoke today

The Faculty of Social Sciences confers degrees at two Convocation ceremonies today at the Great Hall in Hamilton Place. At the morning ceremony, graduands will receive degrees in anthropology, economics, geography, labour studies, political science, psychology, and religious studies. Gerontology, health studies, kinesiology, social work and sociology degrees will be conferred in the afternoon. Honorary degree recipients for these ceremonies are: Hugh Brody and Enrico Mancinelli (morning) and Ethilda (Tilly) Johnson and Roger Neilson (afternoon). Brody and Neilson will address the graduands. Other awards to be presented at these ceremonies include the President's Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership, which will be given to political science professor William Coleman. The valedictorians for these ceremonies are Franka Prce (a.m.) and Nicholas Armstrong (p.m.). To view honorary degree recipient biographies,

Posted June 6: Celebrating SHARCNET’s endless possibilities

Representatives of the government, private sector, and the University came together Thursday (May 30) to celebrate SHARCNET(Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network), a network that brings together high-performance academic computers across southern Ontario. Working in parallel, the primary computer clusters at the University of Western Ontario, the University of Guelph, and McMaster University, along with smaller development clusters at the University of Windsor, Wilfrid Laurier University, Sheridan College, and Fanshawe College, "give researchers the tools to perform high-speed calculations they only dream about" stated Greg Chappell, vice-president of Hewlett-Packard Canada. The SHARCNET infrastructure enables forefront computational research in critical areas of science, engineering, medecine, and business. A $42 million project, SHARCNET is "the greatest example of the kind of powerful partnership that can flourish among the industrial, academic and government sectors," explained Mamdouh Shoukri, vice-president research & international affairs. David Bogart, executive director of the Ontario Innovation Trust, declared, "SHARCNET brings together the best scientific and research minds in Ontario." In contrast to the past where individual groups applied for funding independently, SHARCNET is a multi-university, interdisciplinary institute partnership, which allows for the establishment of a world-leading site for High Power Computing (HPC). Shoukri noted, "With the seven institutions involved in this partnership, it's incredible what we can accomplish by pooling our resources - not only our financial resources but our intellectual resources." In November 2001, McMaster's super computers ranked 315th on the Top 500 List , a list of the 500 most powerful computer systems in the world. The other primary SHARCNET computers ranked 183 (University of Western Ontario) and 280 (University of Guelph). Respectively, the SHARCNET computers are the third, sixth, and ninth most powerful computer systems in Canada. Peter Sutherland, dean of the Faculty of Science, explained that SHARCNET's "systems represent 27 per cent of all of the supercomputing power available in this country, and half of the supercomputing capability operated by universities in Canada. The possibilities that SHARCNET brings to research are endless." Astrophysicist Hugh Couchman uses McMaster's SHARCNET computers to simulate galaxies in a cosmic three-dimensional environment in order to understand how they formed billions of years ago. Sutherland stated, "Since coming to McMaster three years ago, Hugh has been instrumental in developing and enhancing McMaster's ever-growing reputation as a leader in supercomputing." Couchman used to have to book time on British and German computers for his experiments, but with the creation of the SHARCNET, he can conduct his work here in Canada, instead of going abroad. "Moreover, we can actually attract foreign researchers, as SHARCNET acts as a magnet for research excellence," noted Shoukri. Erik Sorensen, the first chair appointed through the SHARCNET Research Chair Program, came to McMaster from the University of Toulouse in France. He describes himself as the "end result and the end user of SHARCNET." Instead of the lengthy process of proposals, allocations, and scheduling he experienced working with many different computers on many different continents, Sorenson is able to easily access McMaster's Idra and Typhon computers. The Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network has made its mark on the University since the province-wide launch in November 2001. "SHARCNET has already had a significant impact on the scope and scale of science here at McMaster and we envision that the facility will be a tremendous resource to the province and to the country," said Shoukri.

Posted June 5: Business, Humanities and Arts & Science Program

The School of Business, Faculty of Humanities and Arts & Science Program hold Convocation ceremonies today in the Great Hall at Hamilton Place. The Faculties will confer degrees for doctor of philosophy, master of business administration, master of arts, bachelor of arts, bachelor of music and Bachelor of Arts & Science. Business students convoke in the morning (9:30 a.m.); the humanities and Arts & Science Program students in the afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The Governor General's medal will also be presented to Burlington resident Beth Zdriluk, who graduates today with her BA in drama and psychology. Arts & Science student Arif Manji will be recognized with the President's Award for Excellence in Student Leadership. The valedictorians for these ceremonies are Saundra Young (business) and Laurence Scott (humanities and Arts & Science). Honorary degrees will be presented to Calvin Stiller, Henry Mintzberg, Richard Margison and Neil McArthur. Mintzberg will deliver the Convocation address and Margison will perfom at their respective ceremonies. Click on "read more" for bios of the honorary degree recipients.