Daily News

posted on Sept. 27: New e-commerce wing construction affects parking

Parking on the east side of campus will be altered beginning Monday to accommodate construction of the School of Business's new e-commerce wing. This construction is expected to take about eight months. In a message distributed Thursday afternoon to the McMaster community, Karen Belaire, vice-president administration, noted that Parking & Transit Services, the transportation committee and the Campus Plan committee are working to develop a comprehensive parking and traffic strategy for the McMaster community. She noted that everyone needs to be aware of the changes taking place because of new construction on campus. "In the short term we face some considerable challenges that will require the patience, understanding and flexibility of the campus community," she said. "Everyone, regardless of where you park, will need to allow extra time to get on and off campus." Click on Parking at McMaster to read the full message. About 50 parking spaces in Zone 2 will be lost when the fencing for the new e-commerce wing goes up beginning Monday. As well, the access road that runs in front of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business building will be blocked. This will split Zone 2 parking in this area into two sections with the northern section only accessible from Stearn Drive, also known as the perimeter road. Traffic going to Zone 2 parking near the tennis courts or to Zone 1 parking will have to take the perimeter road.

posted on Sept. 27: Communication technology focus of state-of-the-art research centre

Collaboration. Convergence. These are the watchwords of the state-of-the-art Communication Technology Research Centre (CTRC) in the Faculty of Engineering. Some of the money the University recently received from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) includes $2.2 million for a centre. The CTRC will focus on three areas: communication systems, photonic devices and networks and optimization, modelling and computer-aided design. "The centre will complement the research and education in the broad area of communication technology," says Max Wong, the centre's director and chair holder of the Mitel-NSERC Professorship of Signal Processing, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. "The information age has made communication technology an essential propulsion force in the advancement of our society technologically, economically and socially. It has also imposed upon us a great demand for highly-qualified people in the field," he said. "We are trying to fulfil this demand by promoting the convergence of interdisciplinary and collaborative research, as well as by expanding our education and training program in this important area." Additional funding for the $5.5 million centre will come as matching funds from the Ontario Innovation Trust and from McMaster and private donations. The monies are being used for equipment procurement and upgrade, network upgrade for laboratories and offices and for the renovation of 12,560 sq. ft. of laboratory space. Photo: (back row, l to r) Jim Reilly, Alex Gershman, John Bandler, Tim Davidson, (front row, l to r) Peter Smith, Max Wong, Tom Luo

posted on Sept. 26: New courtyard makes a perfect stage

The new courtyard adjacent to the McMaster University Student Centre and Mills Memorial Library has become a haven for socializing, eating, studying -- even a live statue. The cement courtyard is proving to be popular with students and employees alike since the fencing came down and it became accessible in early September. And there is still work to be done, says Kim Davison, MUSC administrative director. Four mature trees will be planted in the middle of the courtyard in the areas that are now covered in plywood. The trees are large oaks that will provide shade to the area, which can become quite hot when the sun is shining. "According to Aldershot Nurseries, our landscaping subcontractor, mature oaks are difficult to transplant but the safest time is in the spring," Davison says. "So the trees will be planted in the spring." Concerns that the concrete is a tad too bright should be resolved as the area ages, says Davison. "The concrete will become darker through normal aging and pedestrian traffic -- like sidewalks do." As well, the slanted window that looks out from the future McMaster Students Union offices in MUSC and reflects light onto the courtyard will be equipped with pewter sun shades this fall to diminish the light, she added. Photo: A live statue holds court on the new courtyard adjacent to the McMaster University Student Centre. Photo by Shelly Easton