Daily News

posted on April 24:University Planning Committee election for teaching staff representatives begins today

An online election for teaching staff representatives to the University Planning Committee is scheduled beginning 9:00 a.m. today (April 24) to Friday, April 26 at 4:30 p.m. Two members will be elected to serve a term of three years, from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2005. One member will be elected to serve the remainder of a term from July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2004. Seven members of the teaching staff have been nominated: Trevor Chamberlain, business Susan Elliott, science Ahmed Ghobarah,engineering Donald Goellnicht, humanities Mark Hatton, health sciences Brian McCarry, science Eric Sawyer, science Risumis for each candidate may be viewed at the Board of Governors election website http://www.mcmaster.ca/bog/elections Please vote online at http://www.mcmaster.ca/bog/elections from any personal computer with internet access. Eligible voters who do not have access to the website may vote online in the Board of Governors office (Room 115, University Hall), or in one of the following locations, which requires a pass, code or key for entry: Gilmour Hall room B106 (staff lounge) Kenneth Taylor Hall room B109 (staff lounge) Burke Science Building room 2238 (staff lounge) A.N. Bourns Science Building room 273 (staff lounge) Any questions regarding the election or voting process may be directed to the Board of Governors office, 905 525-9140, ext. 24370. (End of story)

posted on April 23: Travel Scholarships Open New Vistas

Asim Alam (Hons. Arts & Science) and Bernice Cheung (Commerce) are the recipients of the John P. Evans Travel Scholarship. Alam will travel to Dehradun, India as a team member of the Overseas Research Project, a project of the University's Student International Health Initiative (SIHI). During May and June, the team will gather information on health practices and perspectives in rural villages in the Tehri Garwal region. Cheung, who currently speaks English and Cantonese, plans to study Mandarin in Beijing during the summer in pursuit of her goal to become multi-lingual. The John P. Evans Travel Scholarship ($1,000) is awarded to a student who has completed at least 30 units beyond Level 1 of an Honours program and has demonstrated a scholarly interest in Asian languages, history or cultures. Sarah Huang (Hons. Modern Language & Linguistics) and Roxanne Lai (Hons. Linguistics) are the recipients of the A. G. Alexander Travel Scholarship ($5,500 each), which offers students an opportunity to study outside Canada during the twelve months prior to their final Fall/Winter session. Huang, who has been studying Spanish and Russian, will travel to Leeds University to obtain the credits in Russian that she needs in order to complete her degree. Lai will be honing her fluency in French while living in France for the year. While there, she also hopes to volunteer with Midecins Sans Frontihres (Doctors Without Borders). Leah Sheehan (Hons. French, Prog.A), who is the winner of the Beale Lincoln Hall Travel Scholarship ($2.200), plans to immerse herself in the French language and culture while studying in Lyon. This scholarship is awarded to a student who demonstrates high academic standing and a lively interest in the humanities.

posted on April 22: Move into MUSC Begins!

Finally, the move has begun. After two years of construction and numerous delays, the McMaster University Student Centre is open to receive its occupants. Lori Diamond, administrative director of the centre, has moved her office into her new space on the second floor. "The food court furnishings arrived April 15, and the rest of the tenants move in during the weeks of April 22nd and 29th," she reports. "Everyone is scheduled to be in by May 3rd." The $35-million facility, funded jointly by the McMaster Students Union (MSU/$20 million by 2009), the University ($11 million), and the McMaster Association of Part-time Students (MAPS/$500,000), will house the administration offices of the MSU and MSU-sponsored services such as the Student Health Services, the Centre for Student Development, Off-campus Housing and the Career Planning Centre. MAPS will also have office/lounge space in the building. Diamond says that three third-party tenants will be moving in over the summer: a travel agent, a pharmacy and a photo shop. The Togo Salmon Cafeteria will be renovated during the summer months into a new campus restaurant and bar area, to replace the Downstairs John. The Centre will be fully operational and ready for the start of the fall term in September, she adds. Diamond expects there will be a "grand opening" celebration at that time. In addition to the offices, services and food court, the Centre has an atrium lounge with skylights, a convenience store, a copy shop and 19 meeting rooms. LET THE SUN SHINE IN: Lori Diamond, administrative director of the MUSC, in her new office on the second floor of the centre.(Top photo) Pictured bottom right, a sunny view of the third floor hall of the new centre leading to some of the meeting rooms.

posted on April 25: New student publication launched

A motivated group of first-year McMaster students united with a vision to create a unique learning experience in the field of medicine and health. The result was the birth of the Meducator, McMaster's Medical Research and Health Ethics Student Publication. To foster learning in the field, the student organization assembled writers to research medical and health ethics topics, connected them with McMaster researchers for personal interviews whenever possible, subjected the articles for review by post-graduates, and published the finished content in a free publication available around the McMaster campus and on the www.meducator.org web site. As an opportunity to further the educational value of the initiative, readers (students, faculty and staff) are invited to participate in on-topic discussions on the website, where cross-referencing and collaboration can take place. The first issue of the Meducator, launched on April 5, discusses current issues in regards to medical research and health ethics. The Meducator is an MSU organisation and welcomes new writers and researchers with open arms. The publication is a great venue to voice an informative outlook in the arena of medicine and science. The purpose is to inform the McMaster populace on current trends and hot topics that confront medical doctors, researchers, and scientists. The Meducator intends to be a new source of fascinating medical information that will interest the entire McMaster community. Free copies of the Meducator are available (on a limited basis) at the following locations: Hamilton Hall (near the Information Centre and the main entrance) Burke Science Building (Near main entrance) Bachelor of Health Science Honours Programme Office (At office counter and on coffee table) Health Science Lounge (Passcard only) Health Science Centre (Near Ewart Angus Centre on table) In Front of the Health Science Library (On table) (End of story)

posted on April 18: Software engineering students strut their stuff

Six senior software engineering students are $1000 richer after winning this year's IBM Challenge to design the best "Bio-Bank" software product. For their senior thesis project, 65 students were asked to develop a product that could conceivably be offered on the market after their project was complete. A team from IBM's Toronto lab assessed the projects for their effectiveness, performance reliability, maintenance and usability. The student team of Curtis Miles (team leader), Rajan Bhakta, Joseph Fakhri, Trevor Liang, Chris Murray and Alan Young developed the winning system, a product they called BIFF (Biography Information Fact Finder). The "Bio-Bank" challenge was designed by David Parnas, professor and director of the software engineering program, in response to a practical problem he encountered during a meeting last year. Even though he has been described as "one of the grandmasters of software engineering", Parnas doesn't always remember the 'Who's Who' of industry. During a meeting with representatives of a major mobile communications company, Parnas didn't recognize the name of the individual who was the subject of conversation. "I wished I could simply type this person's name into my laptop and get some kind of information about him."