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posted on July 24: Earthquake engineering expert appointed to infrastructure renewal chair

Ahmed Ghobarah has been appointed to the Joe Ng/JNE Consulting Chair in Design, Construction & Management of Infrastructure Renewal in McMaster's Faculty of Engineering. Ghobarah has served in the Faculty for 19 years. Ghobarah has contributed significantly to innovative research into structural strengthening, rehabilitation and upgrading strategies and techniques. He is a recognized world leader in earthquake engineering and design. "The appointment of Ahmed Ghobarah builds on our current reputation as one of Canada's most research-intensive engineering Faculties," said Mo Elbestawi, dean of engineering. "I am confident that under the leadership of Dr.Ghobarah, our Faculty will continue to be at the forefront of research in infrastructure renewal." After completing his M.Eng. and PhD degrees in civil engineering at McMaster, he worked for 12 years in the international consulting engineering industry before joining the engineering Faculty in 1982. He has to his credit more than 300 journal publications, conference presentations and industrial research reports. As the Joe Ng/JNE Consulting Chair, Ghobarah will focus on leading-edge research in design, construction and management of infrastructure renewal. He will also provide liaison between the consulting engineering sector, government and academia. (End of story)

posted on July 23: A plan for the future

You can't judge a book by its cover. -- a traditional proverb Many visitors don't heed that advice when appraising McMaster's campus and their first impressions aren't always favourable. Urban Strategies Consulting is working with internal and external stakeholders to develop an updated campus plan due to be unveiled later this fall that addresses those views. The goal is to develop a plan that takes into account feedback from neighbours, students, University employees and community representatives about what people like and dislike about the way the campus looks and works. What the consultants have heard so far is that while the interior parts of campus are generally embraced by users, the University's exterior is considered by many to be uninviting. "We heard about 'the moat' that surrounds campus," said Cindi Rottenberg-Walker, an Urban Strategies consultant who is helping create a draft campus plan. Visitors have the impression, especially from the "entrances and faces" of campus that buildings are inward facing, there is no sense of arrival and pedestrian walkways are poorly organized and not well connected to the surroundings, she said. There is also room for improvement on the edge of campus where open space is fragmented and there is conflict between pedestrians and cars. The core campus "works well," she added. A draft plan will be drawn up this summer and presented to the public at a September open house. CAMPUS PLANNING: Earlier this year about 60 people spent a day discussing their visions for how the campus should look. Photo: Shelly Easton

posted on July 20: MacShad minds come together to assist people with disabilities

The 52 McMaster Shad Valley students that travelled from all over Canada and Scotland to spend July learning more about the fields of science, engineering and business are starting to see the fruits of their labour. Three weeks ago the senior high school students were split into four teams and presented with the challenge of brainstorming, designing, constructing, marketing, presenting and writing a full business plan for a product or service that would assist people with disabilities. "It's been a real challenge," admitted Edwin Li from Vancouver, B.C. "It's not something that you think about every day and most of us have never used the types of products that we're designing - it's really opened our eyes." The four products designed by the student teams cater to a variety of physical disabilities. The "Pop-A-Lid" serves as a lid and can-opening device to assist people with weaknesses in their hands or fingers, shifting stress away from the hand and allowing people to use their whole arm as a lever. A specialized cane with features that allow for greater independence in cane users includes a second handle to assist the user in standing from a seated position and a belt clip holster to free up hands while the cane is not in use. The "Easy Handle," a portable and adjustable device for converting door knobs into door handles, will ease discomfort experienced by individuals suffering from arthritis. Finally, a reaching aid for people in wheelchairs will assist individuals in obtaining items that would otherwise be inaccessible. Presentations of these devices and the accompanying business plans will take place Monday, July 23 from 2 to 4 p.m in the John Hodgins Engineering building, room 264. Several individuals from the community will provide expertise in engineering, business and disability awareness while serving as judges of the competition. Everyone hoping to learn more about Shad Valley is invited to attend. The winning team from McMaster University will go on to compete at the Royal Bank Shad Entrepreneurship Competition held in Toronto in October.

posted on July 19: Student Health Service opens door to employees

Employees will be able to visit a doctor on campus beginning this September. Student Health Service (SHS) is launching a one-year pilot project that involves dedicating one doctor specifically to dealing with employees' workplace-related injuries, acute care health concerns and health promotion. This is the first time this type of service has been available at McMaster. "In the past employees often asked if they could come to see us if they had a sore throat or headache or needed an allergy shot," said Julie Fairservice, SHS clinic director. "Many people have also asked about a health newsletter similar to Health Talk @McMaster published for students." Dr. Finola Foley will be available to see employees beginning Sept. 17, Fairservice said. The hours of operation will be announced closer to the start date. Services provided during the pilot project include a flu vaccine clinic slated for October, laceration repairs, immunization updates, management of communicable diseases that affect the workplace, allergy shots and referrals to the sports medicine physician and the sport injury clinic. As well, she said a needs assessment will be conducted this summer to determine what employees want in health education. Fairservice said the health care provided by Foley is not intended to replace the use of family doctors for yearly physical exams or manage chronic care situations. SHS submitted a proposal to the McMaster University Futures Fund (MUFF) to fund the service and received $136,000 to run the program for one year. (Under the terms of a pension surplus sharing proposal approved by the Board of Governors in October 2000, MUFF expired April 30, 2001.) Fairservice said other funding avenues will be explored to continue the service if the pilot project is popular. Employees will receive a letter next week explaining the program. (End of story)

posted on July 18: Sun goes down on solar car dream

No. 13 has proved to be completely unlucky for Fireball, McMaster's solar car. The solar car team withdrew from the 4000-kilometre American Solar Challenge race yesterday because a number of obstacles had made it too difficult to proceed. They were in Rolla, Missouri when they withdrew. The team chose No. 13 for their entry hoping it would prove to be a lucky charm but the number lived up to its reputation of signifying bad luck. The team suffered a series of setbacks with Fireball, including a flat tire and the solar panel flipping and needing repairs, since making the qualifier race at Western Michigan University last week and starting the race in Chicago on Sunday. The team wasn't able to make various checkpoints and that meant they were accruing penalties that were insurmountable in terms of being a viable competitor. Communications have been difficult and at one point the car's driver lost contact with the support vehicle. The Daily News has been unable to communicate with the team on the road. The race, which follows historic Route 66 and includes teams from the Universities of Waterloo, Toronto and Alberta, ends July 25 in California. (Photo courtesy of Western Michigan University) (End of story)

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posted on July 24: Earthquake engineering expert appointed to infrastructure renewal chair

posted on July 23: A plan for the future

posted on July 20: MacShad minds come together to assist people with disabilities

posted on July 19: Student Health Service opens door to employees

posted on July 18: Sun goes down on solar car dream

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