Daily News

posted on Nov. 16: Super computers keep astrophysicist plugged into cosmos

Astrophysicist Hugh Couchman likes to look deep into the cosmos. Powerful computers help him explore galaxies millions of light years away. Now he will have even more power behind his research when SHARCNET links his 112 Alpha computer processors at McMaster with 285 computer processors from other universities across southern Ontario. "SHARCNET, an acronym for Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computer Network, is a distributed network with a hierarchy of clustering," says Couchman. Working in parallel, university computers at McMaster, Western, Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier and computers at Fanshawe and Sheridan colleges, will give researchers the opportunity to perform high-speed calculations. Representatives from McMaster and the participating universities and colleges, government, industry and SHARCNET are celebrating the official launch of the new super computer network today in London. Click on SHARCNET fact sheet for more information about the project. Couchman is trying to understand how galaxies formed billions of years ago. He uses computers to simulate galaxies in a cosmic three-dimensional environment. "I use numerical computations to provide a bridge between the cosmic theorist and the observer who uses a telescope," says Couchman. "I simulate a physical system on the computer and then perform experiments on the system. Numerical simulation allows us to experiment with the universe." Super astrophysicist: Numerical computations and super computer processors connect McMaster astrophysicist Hugh Couchman to galaxies millions of miles away. Photo by Ron Scheffler

posted on Nov. 15: Three McMaster scientists win national innovation award

Three McMaster researchers studying fish physiology, silver chemistry and water geochemistry have won a national innovation award recognizing outstanding university-industry research and development partnerships. Biology professor Chris Wood, Canada Research Chair in Environment and Health, and professors emeriti Russell Bell and James Kramer are winners of the Synergy Award. Bell, who contributed research on silver chemistry, is a professor emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and Kramer, who studies the area of water geochemistry, is a professor emeritus in the School of Geography & Geology. The trio won for their multidisciplinary partnership with researchers from Universiti du Quibec and Wilfrid Laurier University and Kodak Canada Inc. They contributed to collaborative projects measuring silver released into the environment during the photofinishing process and researching the effects of silver on aquatic organisms. This research will help set criteria for new water quality guidelines for metals in the environment. Click on Kodak and Canadian universities develop better water quality guidelines to read more about the partnership and projects. The Synergy Award, sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Conference Board of Canada, includes $25,000 research grants for the university partners. The prize-winning partnerships were selected from 37 entries in this year's competition. The Synergy conference and awards dinner takes place Nov. 20 in Montreal. (End of story)