Daily News

posted on Oct. 17: University mail services update

The following update is from Ron Angus, director of Risk Management Services: Mail services in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business reopened for business this afternoon. The office was shut down earlier today after staff reported a suspicious package. McMaster security and Hamilton police were called. The package has now been removed from campus and will be disposed of by police. It is important that people know that they should call security if they are concerned about any mail they receive at work. The University has a system in place to handle this type of situation and I believe today's experience shows that system works well. McMaster is committed to taking every precaution to ensure safety. In this case: The package was suspicious only because of the way it was addressed. There were no signs of powder or any contamination. The package was not opened and the mailroom area was temporarily closed. The University's crisis management team was called to assess the situation. It worked with authorities to ensure that accurate and factual information was provided to the campus community. Mailroom staff worked with police in their investigation. No one was hurt and staff returned to work this afternoon. My message to you earlier today included tips on identifying suspicious mail. If you have any concerns about mail you receive please call Security Services at ext. 24281. (End of story)

posted on Oct. 17: Music, art, multimedia on stage for School of the Arts open house

About 275 high school students and their teachers have accepted an invitation to view McMaster's School of the Arts in action -- making music, creating multimedia, acting and sculpting to name a few activities. The students, from 110 schools in southern Ontario, are on campus today to take part in the second annual open house presented by the School of the Arts. "The response has been overwhelming, it's been amazing," said Terri Galan, who has been co-ordinating logistics for the event on behalf of Susan Fast, the school's acting assistant director and open house organizer. Students will attend an introductory session at Robinson Memorial Theatre at 9:30 a.m. and will then go to the subject area they are interested in to attend lectures, performances or workshops. The four areas are art and art history, music, drama and multimedia. Depending on the stream they choose, students can attend a jazz improvisation class, a sculpting class or a multimedia tutorial in the new multimedia wing. Students will also be given an introduction to the new communication studies program.

posted on Oct. 15: Coastal geologist digs archeology puzzles

Every archeologist should have one, to which Eduard Reinhardt's response is a heartfelt groan: "Oh no, not more work." The coastal geologist and assistant professor of geology is a rare professional bird. So rare and so much in demand that he is constantly on the move through different archeological digs in Greece, Oman, Yemen, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. In the normal run of things, coastal geologists study sediment, rocks and fossils and interpret the state of coastlines, particularly their suitability for man-made construction. As they do so, the coastlines' history comes into view. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods: all leave their signatures and dates in the geological record. During the last 12 years, international archeologists have been roping Reinhardt into their work. Archeology is always asking questions about people and places long since gone. Coastal geology brings up answers that are otherwise beyond the reach of established archeological techniques. For example, history has an unhappy habit of losing ancient harbours. They frequently disappear into the sea as shorelines crumble and environments change under the impact of a whole array of natural phenomena ranging from sudden disasters to slow shoreline erosion. "The sediment gives a more precise date than the harbour architecture," says Reinhardt. "The layers of sediment are time-sandwiches and the artifacts contained in the layers tell us when it was laid down on the seafloor. The character of the sediments themselves tell us how it happened."

posted on Oct. 12: International experts explore peace through health

World experts in health and peace research will meet today through to Sunday to lay the foundation for an emerging discipline: peace through health. The McMaster-Lancet Challenge Conference, jointly sponsored by McMaster's Population Health Institute, the Centre for Peace Studies and the esteemed medical journal, The Lancet, is the first in a series to consciously cultivate this area of study and education. "We all know the ravages of war and are horrified at the destruction," says Salim Yusuf, professor of medicine and director of the Population Health Institute. "The 20th century has been the bloodiest in history. What has become evident is there may be ways of preventing war, or mitigating its effect." The Peace Through Health conference will examine ways in which peace and health are interdependent and brings together some of the most innovative work in this area and from many parts of the world, including the Middle East, Bosnia, Northern Uganda and Sri Lanka. Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, says, "Long before the recent events in New York and Washington, several people were aware of the need to bring together the collective experience of experts around the world in a systematic framework that can be of practical benefit. A new field of study is needed that combines the expertise of health professionals with those of social workers and peace workers."