fall 2008 mcmaster times

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McMaster Times

Ron Joyce Stadium opens with a splashMcMaster’s priceless chairsMac facts

Let us know when you’re ready to make a difference You can change the world by planning a gift to McMaster. Talk to us about the ways you can help the University explore student potential, make ground-breaking discoveries and maintain its leadership in teaching and learning. Here are eight of the many ways to personalize your gift and make a difference through a bequest:

Invest in the University’s greatest needs Establish a scholarship Fund a bursary Contribute to a specific Faculty Give to a specific academic program Donate to leading-edge research Commemorate a life Endow a lasting legacy in memory of someone you love

McMaster’s Office of Gift Planning is ready to help you make a difference.

The Office of Gift PlanningMcMaster University1280 Main Street West, CNH 111Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L9Phone: 905-525-9140ext. 23447Fax: 905-523-5357Email: [email protected]

McMaster Times - Fall ‘08 3

Researchers receive more than $1.1 million ............. 10

Sekular named dean of Graduate Studies ................. 10

Teaching units added in Southern Ontario ................ 11

Alumni family donates etched glass wall ................. 11

Physician assistant program launched ...................... 11

Library to digitize rare book collection ...................... 11

MBA students support international group ............... 12

National hotline for physical activity. ........................ 12

CPR glove receives $500,000 ........................................ 12

Back on campus ............................................................. 12

Awards/Honours ............................................................. 13

Research News............................................................... 13

University News

Mid-campaign celebration ............................................. 6

Concern about seniors’ quality of life prompts $3-million donation .............................. 6

Gift supports business, health research ...................... 7

Campaign News

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR................................................. 4

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ................................................. 5

ALUMNI ACTIVITIES ...................................................... 28

ALUMNI DIRECTIONS .................................................... 29

ALUMNI ALBUM ............................................................. 34

IN MEMORIAM................................................................ 38

McMASTER WRITES ...................................................... 40

THE LAST WORD ............................................................. 42

Departments

“It’s important to keep the university well-funded.

When you support research at McMaster, by extension

you support the local community.” Ahmed

Ghobarah ’67, Jo Ng-JNE Consulting

Chair in Design, Construction, and Management of

Infrastructure Renewal and Civil Engineering

professor. See page 20

Women’s programming designed for local alumni ............. 15

Mac Facts......................................... 16 A sampling of the achievements and aspirations unique to McMaster.

Ron Joyce Stadium opens with a splash ....................... 18

What makes this chair so valuable? .................. 20An exploration of the work being done by McMaster researchers who hold endowed chairs.

Meet McMaster .............................. 27Anthony Tam ’76 details his path from engineer-ing at McMaster, to accountancy in China.

Features

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The Marauders are among the many student and community groups that will use the new Ron Joyce Stadium. See page 18

Jason Jones

Adam van Koeverden ’07 won a silver medal in the 500m single kayak competition at the Beijing Olympics. He carried the Canadian flag in the opening ceremony. See page 30.

Let us know when you’re ready to make a difference

4 McMaster Times - Fall ‘08

ContributorsSusan Bubak, Peter George ’96, Jason Jones, Rick Zazulack, Karen McQuigge ’90, Beth Webel ’84, Dana Yates

Advertising SalesSandra EtheringtonOffice of Public Relations 905-525-9140 ext. 24073

Officers, Alumni AssociationBeth Webel ’84, president; Joseph A. Stephen ’84, past-president; David Adames’92, first vice-president; Rebecca Bentham’02, second vice-president; Don Bridgman’78, finance officer; Sheila Smith ’90, executive councillor; Maria Topalovic ’08, executive councillor; Anne Plessl ’79, executive councillor. Representatives to the University Senate:Lily Fong ’83, Jay Graydon ’71, Earl Cochrane ’64, Maureen Harmer ’66. Representatives to the University Board of Governors: Quentin Broad ’87, Lauren Cuddy ’80, David Lazzarato ‘’79, Ellen M. Malcolmson ’83, Howard Shearer ’77 McMaster Times is published three times a year (Winter, Spring and Fall) by the Office of Public Relations in co-operation with the McMaster Alumni Association. It is sent free of charge to University alumni and friends. Non-alumni subscriptions are available at $15 (Canada and U.S.A.) and $20 (foreign). Please make cheques payable to McMaster University.

Ideas and opinions published in the McMaster Times do not necessarily reflect those of the editor, the McMaster Alumni Association or the University. Letters and editorial contributions are welcomed. National and local advertisers are invited.

Editorial communications: The Editor, McMaster Times, Public Relations Office, Chester New Hall, Room 111, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L9. Tel: 905-525-9140, ext. 23662Fax: 905-521-1504 E-mail: [email protected] www.mcmaster.ca/ua/opr/times/Canada Post Publications Mail 1473638Postmaster: Send all returns to McMaster Universityc/o Advancement Services, T-27Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8

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The wood in this product comes from well-managed forests, independently certified in accordance with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council.

PublisherJudith ChopraEditorJean Burrows

Art DirectorJD Howell ’04

Letters to the editor Let me congratulate you on the Spring issue, featuring the headline/cover story “We All Live Downstream.” To me – who first learned about these things as features editor of the McMaster Silhouette in the late ’40s – it was a triumph of concept, layout, research and good writing. Well done! Dave Bennett ’50

How refreshing to read an interview with a business CEO (Howard Shearer) who refers twice to the need (“crucial”) to have a moral compass(“Meet McMaster,” Spring 2008, p. 16). First it is important to do the right thing, and then to do things right. All leaders need to remember that leadership is based on trust, which comes from doing the right thing.Alexander L. Darling, Vice-President Administration 1988-99

In your otherwise splendid Winter 2008 McMaster Times, there is an error which I’m sure you would like to correct. The cover showed the strings of paper cranes that are hung near the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Park in memory of Sadako Sasaki who died at age 12 of leukemia from exposure to radiation from the atomic bomb blast on Aug. 6, 1945. When Sadako died, she had folded 644 paper cranes in hopes of folding 1,000 which, according to legend, would grant her a cure. Her classmates folded cranes for her also, which may have accounted for your statement that over 1000 cranes had been folded. Pauline Lurie, Librarian, Gill St. Bernard’s School, Gladstone, N.J.

In the Winter ’08 issue of the McMaster Times, we confused Bernard Fisher Trotter ’45 with his uncle, Bernard Freeman Trotter ’15 in the article “Peace and War” (page 9). Bernard Trotter ’45 donated his uncle’s wartime letters to the McMaster Archives, along with other family papers. The poems of Bernard Trotter ’15 were published posthumously in 1917 as A Canadian Twilight and Other Poems of War and Peace. W.E.S. McLay, then dean of Arts at McMaster, wrote the introduction. We thank David McLay ’50, W.E.S.’ grandson, for bringing this to our attention.

On the CoverCivil Engineering student and Marauder football team player, Mike Bradwell, tests plays at the new Ron Joyce Stadium (see page 18-19 for coverage of the opening events). Bradwell was the 13th overall pick in the 2008 Canadian Football League (CFL) entry draft. He was injured in training camp and has returned to university for this season. McMaster has the most players – 12 – of any Canadian university in the CFL.


“Talking Proud.” At first glance, I felt a little uncomfortable with the working title of this issue of the McMaster Times. After all, didn’t we learn as children that pride is one of the seven deadly sins and ‘goeth before a fall,’ that humility is a virtue and it’s better to be praised by others than to blow your own horn? In my role as president of this wonder-ful institution, I’ve had to overcome both my natural inclination and my childhood learning to stand up and say on a regular basis what makes me proud to be a part of McMaster. I do so because I believe that the whole world deserves to know what an amazing place this is. Looking back over the last 44 years, I recall talking to Bert Brockhouse at home the morning his Nobel Prize was an-nounced. Sitting in his pyjamas, drinking his tea, he wondered out loud what all the fuss was about. Thrilling too was the news when our graduates were honoured with Nobel prizes, Myron Scholes ‘62 in Econom-ics and Dr. James Orbinski ‘89 who accepted the Peace Prize in Oslo on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Watching McMaster class of 2007 valedictorian Adam van Koeverden carry the flag at the recent Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Beijing was pretty incredible as well. And on a personal note, it was very special to be able to hood my own

children as they graduated from McMaster. These highlights are all wonderful and are meant to be celebrated. When I look around our campus, I am struck by its beauty and I am proud of our splendid new facilities. They are visible signs of the generosity of the many donors and supporters who have enabled us to build the new academic, student services and athletic and recreation facilities which have made such a huge difference to stu-dent life at Mac. Being a part of Mac’s re-ceiving the largest philanthropic gift ever in Canadian history from a dear friend, Mike DeGroote Sr., was a special thrill. But when you come right down to it, most of our lives are lived in the smaller moments and the in-between times where dedication and everyday perseverance are what really count, and a feeling of belong-ing is what gets us through the day. And these qualities are as much the pride of the McMaster I know and love as are any of our better-known accomplishments. The dedicated student volunteers who guide prospective students and parents around our beautiful campus or raise mon-ey for cancer, cystic fibrosis or the United Way or serve as peer helpers to students with academic difficulties or physical dis-abilities. The unsung hero who sits at the front desk of a busy department or works in food services year in, year out, making

an incalculable difference to the lives of students who come and go. The Nursing students who go out night after night to care for Hamilton’s homeless. The alumni who make us proud in every field of endeavor and return with generosity infi-nitely more than they received. The amaz-ing faculty and researchers who are as close as anyone else in the world to discov-ering treatments and cures for the worst of diseases, and who contribute pathbreaking scholarship at the frontiers of disciplines across the spectrum of human knowledge, and yet are totally self-effacing about it. There is so much to be proud of at our wonderful university! Mac’s a winner, one of the great uni-versities of the world, among only four Canadian universities listed in the top 100 universities in the world. I hope this issue of McMaster Times inspires you to think of ways, large and small, that McMaster continues to make you proud. Now let’s go out there and talk about it!

President’s Message

Peter George, President,McMaster University

Rick Zazulack

Peter George greets a potential future Marauder at the opening of the Ron Joyce Stadium..

Blowing the McMaster horn


The McMaster community is gathering to keep the beat going. More than 600 faculty, staff and students are expected to mark the mid-point of The Campaign for McMaster University on Friday, Oct. 24 at a special celebration that requires “experiential” learning. (Ed. Note: It’s a surprise so, no specifics, but there are drums involved!) President Peter George and Ron Joyce, campaign chair, are hosting the exciting event that will feature music and entertain-ment as well as the unveiling of the total funds raised to date in the Campaign. The celebration takes place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Sport Hall at the David Braley Athletic Centre. “I’m looking forward to celebrating our success so far with everyone on campus,” said Joyce. “My colleagues on the Campaign Cabinet have been working hard to share the excitement with people across the country and beyond. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved to date but we’re not done yet.” The McMaster community phase of the Campaign rolls out in full swing, beginning Monday, Oct. 27. Faculty and staff across campus will receive an invitation to partici-pate and are being asked to consider making a donation in support of The Campaign for McMaster University. The $400 million campaign is the most ambitious in the University’s history. It began more than two years ago after an extensive academic priority setting process

that involved consultation with senior lead-ers, faculty and staff across campus. The priorities include boosting student financial support with more scholarships and bursaries, transforming teaching and learning spaces such as Thode Library and the proposed liberal arts building and enhancing research with the creation of more endowed research chairs and support for strategic initiatives.

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An alumni couple’s strong interest in quality of life for seniors has prompted a dona-tion of $3 million to McMaster to create the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, and an endowed chair, the Gilbrea Chair in Aging and Mental Health. In addition to mental health, the Centre will pursue other key issues for seniors such as economic secu-rity, independence, mobility and end-of-life care. Alex Wilson ’54 and Vera (Munz) Wilson ’56 worked with the University for more than a year to develop the Gilbrea Centre and the Gilbrea Chair. Both are named for the Wilson family’s ancestral home in England’s Lake District. “Increasingly, we are recognizing that the support a society provides for its elder citizens is a measure of our fundamental humanity and of our collective wisdom,” said President Peter George, when the gift was announced in April. “The Gilbrea Cen-tre for Studies in Aging will produce signifi-cant results that will be vital to the future well-being of Canada’s aging population.” Alex Wilson graduated from McMaster’s Faculty of Science as a geologist, but quickly switched careers, turning to money management to remain in southern Ontario and close to Vera Munz, who graduated with a BA in social work. The couple was married for 50 years before Mrs. Wilson died last summer. She devoted herself to the geriatrics field for many years, both professionally and as a volunteer in the ar-eas of mental health and seniors’ issues. “Canadians today are living more than 60 per cent longer than the generations of a century ago,” says Susan Elliott ’87, profes-sor, School of Geography and Earth Sci-ences. “In some minority populations, life expectancies have more than doubled in that time. While this is a remarkable testa-ment to the progress and health of Cana-dian society, it is also a direct challenge to our ability to manage aging, both person-ally and collectively.” The Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging will be a hub of interdisciplinary research, teaching and outreach that will involve the Faculties of Social Sciences, Health Sciences and Science, linking with community and caregiver groups as well as with those in-volved with national and international research, education, practice and policy.

Mid-campaign celebrationfocuses on university community

Seniors’ quality of life prompts donation

JD Howell

The Campaign for McMaster University gained a higher public profile over the summer, as banners went up on lampposts around the central campus in May and a large banner was hung on the side of the Hamilton Spectator building in September (it will also be on display for the month of November). “We wanted to build awareness and share the excitement of the Campaign as it neared its half-way point,” said Roger Trull, vice-president, University Advancement. The banners feature the campaign name and theme: Inspiring Innovation.

Susan Bubak

President Peter George and Campaign Chair Ron Joyce will host a celebration on Oct. 24.


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In Memoriam

In a senseless act of violence, McMaster University lost one of its proudest ambassadors last May. Kulbushan (Joe) Gupta ’70 was killed in a tragic shooting in Oakland, Calif., leav-ing behind his wife Rupa, his sons Rohan and Rohit, his daughter Anisha, and countless friends. Gupta came to McMaster by way of his native India, and his undergradu-ate studies at the University of London. Drawn by McMaster’s reputation and by the opportunity to teach as he pursued a graduate degree, he quickly adopted Mc-Master as an emotional and intellectual home. Completing his master’s degree in political science in 1970, Gupta settled in California where he invested his life savings in the Woodrow Hotel in Oakland. It became the cornerstone of his future success as a property devel-oper whose holdings spanned 11 states. Gupta’s tremendous pride in McMaster led him to host many alumni dinners in the Bay area, occasions which brought together dozens of McMaster graduates each year. Recognized by his fellow graduates as the leader of our alumni community in northern California, Gupta went on to serve on the Board of Direc-tors of Friends of McMaster, the Univer-sity’s U.S. foundation, and, more recently, as a member of the Cabinet for The Cam-paign for McMaster University. Gupta was deeply committed to McMaster’s future, and particularly to its students. He established the Gupta Family Emergency Fund for international students facing crisis situations, and the Gupta Family International Scholarships. “McMaster is a world-class institution and I want to contribute to the develop-ment of intellectual capital,” Gupta said earlier this year. “As a McMaster gradu-ate, I want to do my part to cultivate ideas and talent that will benefit the whole world.” Gupta will be missed by all of those who had the honour of knowing him.

Rod Morrison ’79 is director of Interna-tional Advancement, Office of University Advancement.

Cabinet member’s involvement will

be missedBy Rod Morrison

Campaign Cabinet member Colin Wood ’78 and his wife, Diane Wood, have committed $250,000 in support of three new projects. The first will support groundbreaking research in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. With guidance from the director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, the Diane and Colin Wood Bursary in Respiratory Health will help to support the work of a graduate student working in the field of respiratory health with a preference for research focused on emphysema, which claimed Colin’s father’s life. Two other projects will benefit current and future generations of students in the DeGroote School of Business. The Diane and Colin Wood Academic Grant in Business will offer assistance to commerce students in financial need. At the same time the Diane and Colin Wood Case Competition Fund will enable a DeGroote student team to participate each year in a prestigious international case competition – an extremely innovative way in which to offer unique opportunities to business students while also building recognition for the DeGroote School of Business. “We hope that our gift will open some new doors for students in both the life sciences and in business. Our personal and family connection to the university is a strong one, and we’re delighted to be contributing to the success of The Campaign for McMaster,” the Woods said.

Gift supports business,health research

Jason Jones


Have you considered taking another degree? If you have, you are not alone–and while it may give you a professional edge or the personal challenge you need, both the University and our governments are emphasizing the importance of graduate studies to Canada’s overall competitive future. This focus on the future of graduate degrees and research resulted in McMaster naming Allison Sekuler, professor of neuro-science & behavior, associate vice-president and dean of graduate studies. Sekuler is a Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and focuses on vision science and aging in her research. She was McMaster’s first associate vice-president, Research, and has served as acting vice-president for Research and International Affairs, acting associate dean, Research and External Relations, Faculty of Science, and associate chair (Graduate Studies), Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour. As associate vice-president, Research, she crafted new programs for post-doctoral fellows, spearheaded the development of new undergraduate research initiatives,

and facilitated interdisciplinary research programs, including innovative interactions bridging researchers across the arts, humanities, sciences, and engineering. She is also deeply committed to knowledge translation, and helped found several high profile public outreach programs at McMaster, such as Science in the City and the MACafé Scientifique. The dean of Graduate Studies position was recently reviewed and its scope expanded. The new role of associate vice-president and dean provides lead-ership for all graduate programs and is responsible for maintaining and improv-ing the standards of graduate scholarship at McMaster and enhancing McMaster’s national and international reputation as a leader in graduate studies and research training. The dean also participates in the recruit-ment of tenure-track faculty, leads strategic planning for graduate expansion and the development of new graduate programs and interdisciplinary programs, and promotes a holistic view of the graduate experience at McMaster.

Eight McMaster researchers from the Faculties of Science, Health Sciences and Engineering have received Early Researcher Awards, valued at more than $1.1 million, from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. The ERA award recipients will be able to expand their research teams – whether by growing their labs, taking more students into the field, or attracting additional talented research minds to tackle complex theorems or policy issues. They are also required to engage in annual youth research and innovation outreach activities. The researchers and their fields of study are:

Mohit Bhandari ’99■■ , associate professor in the Department of Surgery and Canada Research Chair in Musculoskeletal Trauma and Surgical Outcomes, seeks to improve the treatment of hip fractures by conducting an important clinical trial. Brian Coombes ’97 and ’02■■ , assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, and his team are studying gastrointestinal organisms that cause serious illness and death in humans. Megumi Harada■■ , assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, describes her research focus as “symplectic geometry, which is a branch of mathematics originally developed to provide a mathematical framework for classical mechanics… with applications to various aspects of physics, such as string theory and conformal field theory.” Anne Klassen■■ , associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, will explore first-generation South Asian and Chinese parents’ experience with caring for a child with cancer, a group of particular interest because they represent the largest visible minority group in Canada. Andrew Knights■■ , assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Physics, will use his ERA funds to help build a better silicon chip to satisfy the ever-increasing demand for information bandwidth. Bartosz Protas■■ , assistant professor in Department of Mathematics &

Statistics, will study the complex thermal fluid phenomena that occur during manufacturing to understand their fundamental aspects for manufacturing applications. Greg Slater■■ assistant professor, School of Geography & Earth Sciences and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Isotope Biogeochmistry, uses compound specific radiocarbon analysis to investigate and monitor organic contaminants in environmental systems. The funding will support

research aimed at differentiating between natural and human sources of contaminants – an important key to providing realistic assessment of clean-up targets and remediation impacts. Xu-Dong Zhu■■ , assistant professor in the Department of Biology, focuses on elucidating molecular interactions that govern the maintenance of our chromosome ends, which will enhance our understanding of the cause of cancer, ultimately leading to better prevention and treatment.

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Researchers receive more than $1.1 million

JD Howell

Sekuler named AVP and dean of Graduate Studies


Rare books, such as Galileo’s 1632 Dialogo di Galileo Galilei (Galileo’s Dialogue) or a first-edition, autographed copy of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, will be made available to the public, beginning this fall, through a unique partnership between McMaster University Library and U.S.-based companies Kirtas Technologies, Inc. and Lulu.com. With the support of Kirtas’ Canadian reseller Ristech, McMaster will be using the Kirtas APT BookScan 2400RA to digitize rare, out-of-print books. Once the books are digitized and processed, McMaster faculty, students and staff will have free access to digital copies of the entire collection of scanned materials. The world will be able to access McMaster’s unique collections online, and even purchase them as print-on-demand books from Lulu.com. As the publisher of these unique books, the Library also hopes to generate revenue through the print-on-demand service.

Alumni family donates etched glass wallA large art piece consisting of etched glass panels designated as Canadian cultural property has been installed at McMaster University, a donation of the Bensen family in honour of four generations of its graduates. Twelve glass panels with images and landscapes of 10 provinces and two territories of Canada are inside a 53-foot long glass wall of the Jan and Mien

Heersink Reading Pavilion of the Health Sciences Library. Created by Canadian crystal artist Mark Raynes Roberts, the work is called A View to Our Heritage and communicates the tapestry of the country. The panels were dedicated by donors and Hamilton art collectors Bill Bensen ’71 and Wynn Bensen in tribute to the members of the Bensen family who have made McMaster their academic home since 1905. Roy Carlyle Bensen received degrees from McMaster in 1907 and 1908, as well as the Chancellor’s Gold Medal as the best student. He returned to McMaster as a professor when the University moved to Hamilton in 1930, and was chair of the Department of Philosophy until 1941. Roy’s son Harold Bensen ’38 did his undergraduate studies at McMaster before his medical degree in London, Ont. Harold’s son Bill was in the second graduating class of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, and Bill’s son Rob earned three degrees from McMaster, including a B.Sc. in ’03 and an M.Sc. and MBA in ’07.

McMaster has added clinical teaching units for family physicians in St. Catharines and Brampton, Ont. The McMaster Niagara Family Health Centre, a partnership between McMaster and the City of St. Catharines will help address the needs of Niagara residents who do not have a family physician. According to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, St. Catharines has a shortage of 20 family physicians. Four physicians will oversee eight family medicine residents as well as clinical clerks who are medical students. Renovations of the city-owned space began this summer and the first residents should be in place on July 1, 2009. It is expected the centre will have a patient roster of more than 6,000. Seven residents, including two who are internationally-trained doctors, began their two-year program based at the William Osler Health Centre’s Brampton Civic Hospital. The program will grow to a total of 18 residents by 2010. Residents will provide medical care under the supervision of physician faculty members. Through the new partnership, McMaster’s DeGroote School of Medicine provides funding, curriculum and administration for the teaching program while William Osler Health Centre provides training facilities, family physicians and specialists as faculty members, plus hands-on experience in a family medicine clinical setting. Residents will gain hospital experience primarily at Brampton Civic Hospital with some specialized training at Etobicoke General. Specialty rotations include time in pediatrics, geriatrics, emergency medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, palliative care and rural community family medicine.

A program to train physician assistants to work alongside Ontario physicians is being launched at McMaster. It will be Ontario’s first physician assistant program and Canada’s first civilian program at an undergraduate level for these health care professionals who will practice medicine under physician supervision in a wide range of health care settings. Physician assistants (PAs) have been part of the U.S. health care system since the 1960s. In Canada, PAs work in the Canadian Armed Forces and in Manitoba, where they are designated clinical assistants. The first 20 students began the full two-year program in September. The program will be taught using McMaster’s small group, problem-based-learning approach, which focuses on critical thinking, problem-solving, developing initiative and promoting lifelong learning.

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Library to digitize rare book collection

Teaching units added in Southern Ontario

Susan Bubak

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Nick Ruest, digitial strategies librarian, demonstrates how books are scanned.


The Ontario government is helping to bring to market the award-winning CPRGlove developed by three alumni from the electrical and biomedical engineering program at McMaster. Corey Centen ’07, Nilesh Patel ’08 and Sarah Smith’s ’07 CPRGlove interactively guides users to perform life-saving Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The technology will improve the survival rates of the nearly 350,000 annual out-of-hospital cardiac arrests that occur within Canada and the United States. Ontario’s $500,000 investment in their company, Atreo Medical Inc., is one of two new grants awarded through the province’s Market Readiness Program, which helps innovative Ontario companies grow to the point where they can attract investment from other sources.

Depending upon the scope of the supervising physician’s practice, PAs may conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care and assist in surgery. Within the physician-PA relationship, physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision-making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. A PA’s practice may also include education, research and administrative services. Graduates will qualify to take the national physician assistant certification examination. They will have the skills and competencies necessary to practice as PAs in Canada.

National hotline for physical activity Get in Motion, a free Canada-wide physical activity tele-counseling service, has been launched to advise people living with a spi-nal cord injury on how to get more physical activity into their lives by providing infor-mation and continuing telephone support. It is the first telephone service of its kind. More than 50,000 people in Canada are living with a spinal cord injury. Typical calls would provide information about the safety and benefits of physical activity, overcoming barriers to physical activity, finding accessible physical activities in the community, or goal setting. Counsellors cannot give medical advice or specific exercise prescriptions, says Kath-leen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster and director of Get in Motion, but they can help callers find someone who is qualified to do so. Get in Motion’s toll-free help line is 1-866-678-1966. It is operated from McMaster’s Department of Kinesiology, and supported by the SCI Translational Research Network in partnership with the Rick Hansen Foun-dation.

CPRGlove receives $500,000

MBA students at the DeGroote School of Business have made a $10,000 donation to MBAs Without Borders. The money was raised through the 2008 MBA Games, which the School hosted at the beginning of January. This annual

MBA students support program

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national student competition drew more than 400 MBA students from 14 schools across the country. DeGroote’s Games focused on Canadian contributions to international development, encouraging MBAs to apply innovative business solutions to international development issues. MBAs Without Borders, a not-for-profit organization that sends MBAs overseas to work in developing countries, was a partner in the Games. The organization was founded in 2004 by DeGroote graduates Tal Dehtiar ’05 and Michael Brown ‘04.

Back on Campus Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty ’78 (right) was on campus in mid-August to attend a provincial cabinet meeting. McGuinty was joined by fellow McMaster graduate Ted McMeekin ’74 (left), MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale and Minister of Government and Consumer Services.

JD Howell


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John Capone ’83■■ , dean of the Faculty of Science, was one of eight recipients to be awarded the Spirit of Ontario Award by the Hamilton District of the National Congress of Italian Canadians (NCIC). Capone is a recipient of the science award. Juliet Daniel, associate professor in the Department of Biology, received an African-Canadian Achievement Award of Excellence for her contributions to cancer research, which include the dis-covery of a new gene. In addition to the award, Daniel is also the recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award, the American Association for Cancer Research Minority Scholar Travel Award and the Barbados American Cancer Association Scientific Achievement Award.

Terry Flynn, assistant professor of communications management at the DeGroote School of Business, has been inducted into the College of Fel-lows of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). Flynn, a member of the DeGroote faculty since 2004, has practiced and taught public relations management, crisis communications and environmental risk communication since 1986. Dr. Anthony Levinson ’97 received the AFMC-GlaxoSmithKline Young Educa-tors Award from the Association of the Faculties of Medicine of Canada. Levinson is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behav-ioural Neurosciences and teaches in both the undergraduate and postgradu-ate medical programs.

Dr. Cheryl Levitt, a professor in the Department of Family Medicine, has been awarded the Enid Johnson Ma-cleod Award, which recognizes the promotion of women’s health research health education. Dale Roy ‘76, the director of McMaster’s Centre for Leadership in Learning, has won a prestigious National Lifetime Achievement Award in educational de-velopment. Professor emeritus Ming-ko (Hok) Woo in the School of Geography & Earth Sciences, is the 2008 recipient of the prestigious J. Tuzo Wilson Medal, which is presented annually to scientists who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of geophysics in Canada.

Awards Honours

Research NewsDr. Malcolm Sears■■ , professor of medicine for the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and research director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, is leading a $12-million study to investigate the genetic and environmental factors that influence the development of asthma and allergies in children. The study will follow 5,000 Canadian children from gestation through early childhood and investigate the roles of indoor and outdoor environmental exposure, infections, nutrition and genetics in the development of asthma and allergies. Expectant mothers will be recruited for the study in four re-gional centres across the country. Charlotte Yates, Dean of Social Sciences, and Don Wells, of the Labour Studies Program and Department of Political Science, are part of an international team that will conduct a major study on work and employment in a global context. The team, led by the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work, has received one of the four $2.5-million grants awarded this year by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada through its Major Collaborative Research Init-tives program. McMaster’s RFID (radio frequency ■■

identification) applications lab, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, IPICO Inc. and Strategic Consultants have launched a $2.5-million initia-tive to create an economically viable RFID solution to capture and analyze data related to traffic use and capacity, without a corresponding increase in investment in road infrastructure. In turn, this technology could be used to help manage traffic, reducing road delays and transit time, reducing both emissions and dependency on fossil fuels. Rafael Kleiman, Canada Research Chair in MicroElectroMechanical Systems and professor of engineer-ing physics, and Rafik Loutfy, director of the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation and professor of chemical engineering, are the lead participants from McMaster. Obese children, who are at increased risk for prediabetes and type 2 dia-betes, may not be getting the most appropriate test to screen for these conditions, says a McMaster study. The standard screening test for high blood sugar in children with risk factors – a blood test called the fasting plasma (or blood) glucose test – identified nearly three times fewer children with prediabetes than did a longer blood test, said Katherine Morrison ’82, as-

sociate professor of pediatrics and the study’s lead author. Morrison says the more accurate test was the glucose stress test, also called the oral glucose tolerance test. This test takes longer because the patient has blood drawn after fasting and again two hours after drinking a sugary solution. McMaster researchers Greg Slater and Dave Williams spent part of the sum-mer underwater in a lake in northern British Columbia retrieving carbonate rock structures, known as microbi-alites, thought to hold clues to the

JD Howell

continued on page 30

Professor Dave Williams hopes to apply learning from underwater rock structures to lunar exploration.


“Your Life...Only Better: A Personal and Professional Development Series for Today’s Woman” kicked off in Hamilton Sept. 25, with sessions planned for October and November. The Women’s Series, successfully launched last September, is offered by the Office of Alumni Advancement. “We tried to choose topics that appeal to people mid-career and people changing their careers,” says Christine Kennedy ’96, the alumni officer who organized the speaker series. Alumni have a chance to network over appetizers at 6:45 before the session gets underway at 7 p.m. The evening wraps up at 8:30. “I have been able to take home some very relevant information that I can use in my practice from all of the sessions so far,” says Kerri Olds-Rhinds ’96, a self-proclaimed “die-hard fan” who attended all but one session of the last series. The registered massage therapist also ran the first session of this fall’s series on the topic “Massage Your Stress Away.” “One of my favourite events was a very interactive session on business etiquette. Although I have had many years of business relations and conference attendance, I learned some important tips on entering a room with confidence, handshaking and manners while dining! It was a great eye-opener and I have since used my newfound etiquette in a variety of social settings with great success.” “The Art of Effective Networking,” with Donna Messer will be held Oct. 30. Messer is president of ConnectUs Communications Canada, one of North America’s largest and most effective business matching companies, and has been networking for the past 20 years. On Nov. 27, Chris Burgess ’02 will present “Smart Women Finish Rich.” He is an investment counsellor based in Westdale Village. “I was initially intrigued by the series because it offered very interesting topics without a huge time commitment and at a very reasonable price. You can’t beat professional advice for a mere 10 dollars!” says Olds-Rhinds. “We wanted to hit all age ranges and were really pleased that we

covered from the 1960s on up in the sessions we held last year,” Kennedy says. “Many of the participants from the ’70s and ’80s were looking to start a second or third career and we also had young mothers in their 30s and younger alumna who wanted to make connections to other people.” “I was especially thrilled that the McMaster Alumni hosted this series for women, because I was returning to Hamilton after my maternity leave to start a new practice with new clientele, and had hoped to do some valuable networking with participants in the sessions,” says Olds-Rhinds. “I was able to reconnect with a few kinesiology colleagues, catch up with a few women who had attended some of the same sessions as me, and connect with the Alumni office. “This fall, I was happy to be able to offer a presentation in an area that I felt would benefit other alumni.” Registration is limited to 30 to make it easier for people to network and to ask questions of the speaker. The fee is $10 per session and alumni are welcome to invite friends, whose admission is free. “I brought along my mother and sister to two events and they were both very impressed with the information that was presented. Both wanted to be kept informed of the next events coming in the fall!” Olds-Rhinds says. Events are held at the Acclamation Bar and Grill in downtown Hamilton. “It’s a beautiful room with a fireplace and leather chairs; it creates the intimate setting that we want,” Kennedy says. “Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville have a high concentration of alumni. We want to sure that we’re catering to all the groups that are represented in this area,” says Kennedy of the targeted programming. She invites alumni with ideas for other topics or events that could be held outside the Hamilton area to contact her at: [email protected]

To register, please visit www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni/events/registration.htm

Women’s programming designed for local alumni

JD Howell

Kerri Olds-Rhinds has contributed to the Women’s Programming as a participant and as a presenter.


■■

McMaster experts will drive policies to ■■improve the health and quality of life of Canadians with a new a Centre for Geochemical Biology and Ecosystem Health (the only one of its kind in Canada). The centre will enable trans-formative multidisciplinary research in ecosystem health.

Former astronaut Dave Williams is ■■director for the new McMaster Centre for Medical Robotics at St. Joseph’s, leading a team dedicated to develop-ing innovative technologies that will change the future of surgery in local and remote patient care. He’s work-ing with Dr. Mehran Anvari to create new ways to perform remote surgery where the patient could be across the province, the country or even on the space station.

McMaster is connected to three Nobel ■■prize-winners: Professor Bertram Brockhouse (Physics, 1994), Myron Scholes ’62 (Economics, 1997) and Dr. James Orbinski ’89 (Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Doctors Without Borders, 1999).

The McMaster Nuclear Reactor has ■■a 40-year track record of success. It helps to save lives as an internationally renowned supplier of radioisotopes for cancer treatment and diagnosis.

McMaster recently received funding for ■■a $14.9-million Centre for Probe Devel-opment and Commercialization. The Centre will develop molecular imaging probes that will detect cancer and oth-er diseases earlier and more precisely through non-invasive techniques.

Canada’s first undergraduate integrated ■■science program, McMaster’s iSci, is designed to help solve society’s most pressing problems, ranging from pan-demics to climate change, by educat-ing socially aware scientists. The first class starts the program next fall.

The McMaster community is well aware of McMaster’s strong reputation as a research-intensive university famous for the “McMaster Model” – a student-centred, problem-based, interdisciplinary approach to learning –

now adopted by universities around the world. But there are plenty of other successes of which McMaster is proud, and in this issue we bring you a sampling of the achievements

and aspirations unique to McMaster. So when you tell people your alma mater is known for problem-based learning, don’t forget to add a few of these firsts, bests, and only-at-McMaster facts.


McMaster’s unique Linguistics and ■■Cognitive Science Program seeks to understand the human mind and ex-perience and how they are expressed through the process of language. It mixes concepts from both science and humanities to answer these questions through unique content and teaching methodology.

McMaster is the only Canadian univer-■■sity with a Centre for Gerontological Studies, a Department of Health, Aging and Society, a Summer Institute on Gerontology, and a SSHRC-funded research project on the Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population – all of which help to im-prove the quality of life for Canada’s aging population.

The McMaster Museum of Art boasts ■■the only Canadian university collection of the complete Jazz portfolio by artist Henri Matisse and houses the best Ca-nadian university collection of French Impressionist art.

The McMaster Institute for Automotive ■■Research and Technology (MacAUTO) is home to more than 75 engineering, science and business researchers who undertake planet-friendly initiatives such as the testing of hybrid power systems.

Finding answers to the mysteries of ■■gastrointestinal diseases is the focus of the Farncombe Family Gnotobiotic Facility in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Canada’s only gnotobiotic (germ free), research facility for gastro-intestinal disease and other research, including immunology and microbiology.

The Faculty of Health Sciences ■■educates physicians, nurses, physio-therapists, occupational therapists and midwives to work together as part of effective health care teams to provide the finest patient care.

Answers to the big questions of the ■■Universe are the focus of McMaster’s Origins Institute. The Institute pursues fundamental transdisciplinary research into the origins of structure and life in the cosmos and communicates this in-formation through undergraduate and public educational programs.

The world’s first human embryonic ■■stem cell library in McMaster’s Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Research Institute will serve as a database for information amassed as researchers investigate how each of the 26,000 human genes act and interact.

McMaster students and researchers can ■■take pride in the McMaster University Library, the first in Canada to win the prestigious Excellence in Academic Libraries Award, recognizing its achievements and successful transfor-mation of spaces, resources, services and staff. It is one of the top 100 research libraries in North America.

The internationally recognized ■■Bertrand Russell Archives are com-prised of Lord Russell’s remarkable correspondence (100,000 letters to and from him), manuscripts, tapes, films, photographs, medals and writing desk.

The Health Services Management ■■MBA specialization combines exper-tise found in the Faculty of Health Sciences and the School of Business, with hands-on training gained through work experience in health care organizations.



Ron Joyce Stadium: the Long and Short of It When a new facility opens, it’s always interesting to look at the statistics related to the construction:

Number of seats: 6,000■■Number of parking spaces: 335■■Amount of concrete poured: 1,000-plus truckloads■■Amount of steel used: 40-plus tractor-trailer loads■■Traffic reflow: 2,500 staff-hours of flagging■■Sound buffering considerations: stands are completely orientated to face west, away from local residences■■Green considerations: energy-efficient lighting, switching, high-efficiency mechanical and electrical systems, turf ■■in-fill was made from recycled rubber, concrete contained recycled slagNotable elements: The field was constructed over a parking garage, relieving parking shortage on campus.■■

And, of course, we know it’s at least as long as a football field. All photos by Denis McGreal, except far right, by Rick Zazulack.

Stadium opens with a splash


The rain didn’t stop the game. Nor the fireworks. Not even the streakers. Instead, more than 4,000 people sat through the tail end of Hurricane Ike on Sept.13 to celebrate the opening of the Ron Joyce Stadium. The only dampener to peoples’ spirits could have been the last-minute 22-19 victory by the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees over the Marauders. As well as the closely fought football game, spectators enjoyed performances by the McMaster Choir and the Burlington Teen Tour Band, plus special video tributes on the stadium’s new scoreboard. Benefactor Ron Joyce, co-founder of Tim Hortons, was on hand for the cer-emonies; he donated $10 million toward the stadium. President Peter George described the opening as a “victory that touches on so much more than competi-tion and fitness,” in that the stadium will serve students and community mem-bers in Hamilton and the surrounding region and will engage the University in the communities that surround it. The 6,000-seat stadium will host training sessions, professional and recre-ational athletic events. Local community sports teams, including elementary and high school teams, will also compete at the stadium, which is located next to the David Braley Athletic Centre. The centre, which opened in September 2006, was built with the help of a $5-million donation from David Braley and features 15,000 square feet of recreational gymnasium space, an indoor track, squash courts and a sports medicine and rehabilitation clinic.

Stadium opens with a splash


It’s a handsome, yet simple, piece of furniture – sturdy, made of wood, painted black with a minimum of decoration. The chair, of course, is only a symbol of the endowed research chair it represents. And as with the physical chair that is awarded to each donor, the value of every endowed chair goes far beyond the individual who holds it. McMaster’s endowed chairs, supported by individual and corporate partners, provide the resources to attract and retain internationally renowned researchers in many disciplines. These researchers, in turn, bring highly specialized teams to support and

advance their work. They are able to obtain funding for special-ized labs and equipment. Students not only learn from the best scholars in the field; leading students are attracted to attend the university that gives them that option. The value is synergistic. Established with the support of individuals and corporate part-ners, the chairs exist in perpetuity, which provides for the continu-ing pursuit of critically important areas of study. The following profiles offer just a small sample of the 73 endowed chairs that exist at McMaster – with an emphasis on chairs endowed or held by McMaster alumni.

What makes this chair so valuable?

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The true value of an endowed chair at McMaster goes far beyond the chair itself.


What m

akes this chair so valuable?

Cell phones, BlackBerrys and computers are ubiquitous in today’s world. Beyond their ability to keep us connected, however, what else can these technologies do? Welcome to the domain of Yufei Yuan, a specialist in information systems (IS), a professor in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business who has just completed his term as Wayne C. Fox Chair in Busi-ness Innovation. The position is named for Wayne Fox MBA ’73, a strong supporter of McMaster and former member of the uni-versity’s Board of Governors. “It’s a great honour and challenge to serve as a chair, and Wayne’s support has helped make my achievements possible,” says Dr. Yuan. During his tenure, he has explored three critical issues in the field of modern communications: mobile com-merce, identity theft and emergency response systems. The advancement of mobile communi-cation networks is forcing e-commerce – using the internet to do business – to give way to mobile commerce. As a result,

people can not only access whatever they want whenever they want it, but also wher-ever they want it. Dr. Yuan has analyzed the differences between mobile commerce and e-commerce, and is considered an au-thority on the business model for mobile trade. According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, millions of North Americans fall victim to identity thieves each year, and the losses from this crime run into the bil-lions. To help prevent identity fraud and enhance IS security, Dr. Yuan has teamed up with other researchers from the Univer-sity of Ottawa, as well as McMaster, Carle-ton and Queen’s universities. Together, they are studying how to combat identity theft from business, social, technical and legal perspectives. Finally, the occurrence of natural and man-made disasters in recent years has focused considerable attention on the need for effective emergency response systems. It’s believed the creation of such systems would help reduce the loss of human life

and lessen property damages during a crisis. On that note, Dr. Yuan has put for-ward a suggestion for a mobile intelligent emergency response system and has also conducted a study on emergency notifica-tion decision analysis. In light of Dr. Yuan’s innovative work in the business sector, his connection to Wayne Fox appears to be a natural one. Currently the chair of the Toronto Stock Exchange, Fox has many years of experi-ence in the banking and brokerage indus-try. Moreover, his tremendous success has led him to adopt a pay-it-forward mentality. “I’ve reaped a huge dividend from my education,” explains Fox, “and I’m more than happy to reinvest some of that into the community. The purpose of the contri-bution was to support research in the con-text of enhancing productivity, and enable people to do new and creative things.”

Dana Yates has extensive experience writing for the university sector.

Yufei Yuan, Wayne C. Fox Chair in Business Innovation, and his research team.

Talking communications

By Dana Yates

Photography by JD Howell


It’s a paradox with deadly consequences: cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the lead-ing cause of death among women, yet there’s little recognition in the medical and broader communities that females are even at risk of developing the disease. That situation will soon change given the work of researcher Sonia Anand. An associ-ate professor in the Department of Medicine, Dr. Anand holds the Eli Lilly Canada – May Cohen Chair in Women’s Health. She also serves on the leadership council of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada’s Heart Truth campaign, which aims to raise awareness among women of ways to reduce their risk of CVD, and give them the tools they need to protect them-selves. In the early days of CVD research, it was believed men alone experienced heart at-tacks and strokes. Today, however, Dr. Anand is studying several emerging and

perplexing issues that indicate women are also at risk, but differ from men in their onset and symptoms of CVD, and their responses to interventions and treatments. Last year, Dr. Anand’s research group published a paper that addressed some of those differences. “Men are at risk of developing CVD at a younger age because they tend to have a worse cholesterol pro-file and smoke cigarettes more often than women,” she says. “But as women age and go through menopause, their cholesterol worsens, fat shifts from their hips to their waist and other factors, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, also come into play.” The startling result: by age 60, women actually catch up to – and even surpass – the incidence of CVD in men. In addi-tion, women and men present different symptoms of heart disease. Whereas men experience chest pain, women often report

non-specific symptoms, such as back pain and nausea. Later, when it comes to detect-ing CVD, physicians send women for diag-nostic tests less often than men. Finally, Dr. Anand has discovered that socio- economic and ethnic differences also lead to a social disadvantage for women. More recently, she is leading an inter-national study that will look at the causes and risk factors of diabetes. The trial will involve 25,000 participants, 60 per cent of whom are women, which will enable Dr. Anand to make accurate comparisons based on sex. Dr. Anand’s research chair has allowed her to focus on these critical issues and help train the next generation of doctors to be mindful of women’s health matters. “Essentially, I wouldn’t be able to devote any attention to women’s issues as related to heart disease and diabetes if I didn’t have this chair,” she says.

Solving the paradox

Sonia Anand, Eli Lilly Canada - May Cohen Chair in Women’s Health, and her research team.

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Something in the air

If something is in the air, count on Brian McCarry to find out what it is. Called an air quality guru by the Hamilton Spectator, the chair of the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science not only holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health, but he’s also chair of the Hamil-ton Air Monitoring Network and Clean Air Hamilton, a volunteer group dedicated to improving the city’s air quality. Clearly, McCarry knows a thing or two about smog. Through his endowed research chair, he’s been able to identify which chemicals lurk within bad air. Now, he’s interested in knowing how those substances are transported and their impact on the planet once they reach their final destination. To garner that information, McCarry has undertaken a number of studies, including one that required him to take up window

washing. McCarry and his research team discovered that windows aren’t as see-though as they seem – they are actually coated with a menacing mixture of air pollution-causing compounds. “All the contaminants you can name are in the film on a window,” says Dr. McCarry. Add a little water to the mix, and suddenly those compounds are free to travel further afield. “We simulated a rain event by washing the windows and then we ana-lyzed the collected water. We learned that up to three-quarters of the total contamin-ants on a window are washed away by rain and eventually end up as deposits in the bottoms of our lakes, rivers and streams. And those contaminants stay there for a very long time.” It’s not just windows, however, that are wreaking havoc on the environment. All hard surfaces in urban settings, includ-ing metal, asphalt and concrete, are also

capable of collecting poisonous particulate matter. In the end, it’s the planet and humans that pay the ultimate cost of being steeped in tiny toxins. Contaminants on the whole have been blamed for producing genetic changes in certain wildlife species. What’s more, according to a recent report by the Canadian Medical Association, 21,000 Canadians will die this year alone from exposure to air pollution. In spite of that sobering news, there’s still reason to remain hopeful, McCarry says. “Once we find out which chemicals are responsible for causing the changes that already exist, then we can either get rid of them or mitigate our exposure. This is pretty far out there stuff, but I’ve just got this intuition that it’s going to work.”

Brian McCarry, Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health, and his research team.

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There is a simple way to sum up the re-search of Mary Law ’85: family knows best. As the John and Margaret Lillie Chair in Childhood Disability Research, Dr. Law studies how children with physical dis-abilities can attain the best results from rehabilitative treatments. Her conclusion? Talk to the parents first. “Families provide important information about a child’s participation in everyday activities, such as moving around, play-

ing and getting dressed,” says Dr. Law, a professor and associate dean of McMaster’s School of Rehabilitation Science. “In a set-ting that offers family-centred services, par-ents identify the goals of physical therapy, rather than an occupational therapist.” For example, a young child with cerebral palsy may struggle to feed his or herself. After speaking with the parents, a therapist will work with the family to devise a solu-tion. It may mean using an easier-to-grasp spoon or engaging in ongoing work to improve the child’s movements. Either way,

both the family’s priorities and the needs of the child are met. While the philosophy behind family-centred services isn’t new, its recent growth in practice is largely due to the work of a world-leading organization co-founded by Dr. Law in 1989. The CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research, which is funded by McMaster and the Ontario Min-istry of Health and Long-Term Care, brings together researchers from such diverse

fields as pediatrics, physiotherapy, speech and language pathology, and epidemiology. Their collective aim is to conduct innova-tive research that enhances the lives of children, youth and their families. That being said, Dr. Law and her Can-Child colleagues are also studying how to most effectively implement and measure the impact of family-centred services. To find the answers, she is collaborating with the Hamilton Family Network, a support group for parents of children with dis-abilities.

“Our work is unique because we have a full research partnership with families,” Dr. Law says. “They help write our grant proposals. They sit in on our meetings. They hear our statistics and make sure that we’re speaking plain English. Their involve-ment really ensures that our research is relevant.” Ultimately, Dr. Law hopes her findings will assist government decision-makers and staff in rehabilitation centres as they work

to enhance the participation of children with disabilities in daily life. It’s a goal that Dr. Law believes is achiev-able, thanks to the help of the John and Margaret Lillie Chair in Childhood Disabil-ity Research. “The funding supports people who are involved in my research – the post-doctoral fellows and students who will make up the next generation of researchers in this area. The endowment also serves as an endorsement of CanChild and McMaster, and, at the end of the day, helps link McMaster to the broader community.”

“Our work is unique because we have a full research partnership with families,” Dr. Law says. “They help write our grant proposals. They sit in on our meetings.

They hear our statistics and make sure that we’re speaking plain English. Their involvement really ensures that our research is relevant.”

Mary Law, John and Margaret Lillie Chair in Childhood Disability Research, and her research team.

Family knows best

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Unfortunately, the fountain of youth has yet to be discovered. So while we’re waiting for those fabled waters to appear, is there anything we can do to grow old gracefully? In essence, when it comes to aging, are there any best practices? That’s the focus of Parminder Raina, who earlier this year was appointed the Raymond and Margaret Labarge Chair

in Research and Knowledge Application for Optimal Aging. Dr. Raina is also a professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics; director of McMaster’s Evidence-Based Practice Centre; and co-director of the University’s R. Samuel McLaughlin Centre for Research and Education in Aging and Health. With those credentials, it’s not surprising that Dr. Raina is interested in the graying of the global community. “By 2025, we’re going to have five or six generations of people living at the same time,” he says. “It will be the first time that’s happened

in the history of human kind. As a result, the aging population is going to have an impact on society in one way or another.” Dr. Raina is working to advance understanding of that effect on a number of fronts. Most notably, he is the principal investigator on a 20-year national study of the biological, sociological and psychological aspects of aging. As the

project’s lead institution, McMaster has partnered with McGill and Dalhousie Universities to run the study. The project, which will be conducted in collaboration with Statistics Canada, will launch in November with an initial cohort of 20,000 participants. Ultimately, 50,000 people between the ages of 45 and 85 will take part in the study. The research, says chair benefactor Suzanne Labarge ’67, will help answer key questions. “We’re all getting older and there’s not a lot of work on such things as ‘What allows you to age well?’ and ‘What

things will make old age tolerable?’ I felt the University had something to contribute to society in this area, and it just needed the money to do it.” Labarge, who is now retired after holding senior executive positions in the federal government and Royal Bank, sits on the McMaster Board of Governors. In 2007, she donated $2 million to the University

to establish the Raymond and Margaret Labarge Chair, which is named in honour of her parents. Both Labarge and Dr. Raina emphasize the importance of conducting interdisciplinary research on aging. In fact, the chair is cross-appointed within the Faculties of Health Sciences and Social Sciences – and the value of that placement isn’t lost on Dr. Raina. “Previously, I was doing research on an ad hoc basis. This chair enables me to work on optimal aging with researchers from other areas in a concentrated way. It heightens our focus.”

Parminder Raina, Raymond and Margaret Labarge Chair in Research and Knowledge Application for Optimal Aging, and his research team.

The impact of aging

“By 2025, we’re going to have five or six generations of people living at the same time,”...“It will be the first time that’s happened in the history of human kind. As a result,

the aging population is going to have an impact on society in one way or another.”

What m



Ending the diabetes epidemicTake a quick scan of recent headlines and the words “diabetes” and “epidemic” seem inseparable. The numbers don’t lie: in 1995, roughly five per cent of Ontarians over the age of 20 had diabetes. Today, that figure has doubled and similar rates are being seen across the nation and around the world. In fact, the Canada Diabetes Association estimates the disease now costs the Canadian economy $13 billion a year. The human toll of diabetes, however, is equally dire. The disease triples the risk of having a heart attack by three-fold and is the single-most common cause of adult-onset blindness, below-the-knee amputa-tions and kidney failure requiring dialysis. In acknowledgement of this mounting global problem, the United Nations (UN) has declared diabetes “a debilitating and costly disease which poses severe risks for families, countries and the world.” It’s the first UN declaration about a chronic illness, and the international body has urged coun-tries to establish national programs for the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes. Hertzel Gerstein ’89, an expert in dia-betes care and research, thinks a systemic problem is at work. “People are inactive and overweight. Our society is designed to overtly discourage physical activity and encourage excess consumption of calories,” he says. So how do you halt the effects of a dis-ease that’s known as a silent killer? Dr. Gerstein is searching for answers, and he’s well-qualified for the task. Currently a pro-fessor in the departments of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Dr. Gerstein is also director of the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism and of the Diabetes Care & Research Program with Hamilton Health Sciences. What’s more, he also holds the Population Health Chair in Health Science Education Research and In-structional Development. The chair has freed up Dr. Gerstein’s time to focus on high-profile and international research studies that have brought recogni-tion to McMaster and Hamilton. He is one of the principal investigators on a North American trial to determine whether strat-egies to reduce blood sugar, fat and blood-pressure inhibit cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes. “Eventually, it would be wonderful to prevent any of the consequences of dia-betes,” Dr. Gerstein says. “Getting a diag-nosis of diabetes today is a much less scary thing as a result of some of the work that

I’ve had the privilege to be a part of. But it would be great if diabetes could be revers-ible or avoided completely.”

Life-saving designsAhmed Ghobarah ’67 and ’70 has a major goal for his research: to save lives. A structures and earthquake engineering expert, Ghobarah holds the Jo Ng-JNE Consulting Chair in Design, Construction, and Management of Infrastructure Renewal. It’s a role the Civil Engineering professor takes very seriously, given the potential impact of his work. “The practice of designing buildings to withstand earthquakes is about 30 years old, and you can see that better design has made a difference,” he says. “When an earthquake happens in California now, you don’t see the casualty numbers that you used to. But in countries that haven’t benefited from better engineering, you’ll see 30,000 or 40,000 people die in an earthquake of the same magnitude.” Ghobarah regularly travels to earthquake-ravaged regions around the world, including Egypt, Turkey and Iran. In 2006 he was part of a Canadian team of engineers and scientists that visited Southeast Asia to assess buildings and bridges damaged by the massive earthquake and tsunami. Within those areas, Ghobarah studied which structures survived the tremour and which ones collapsed. And while the aftermath of an earthquake provides rich research fodder, Ghobarah admits the work isn’t easy. “You have to be a professional and do your job, but it’s very difficult when you see children’s toys in the destruction.” Back in the laboratory at McMaster, Ghobarah puts his acquired knowledge to the test. Using an earthquake simulation shake table, he pushes new building materials, such as carbon or glass fibres, to their limit. The resulting information will ultimately be used to update building codes, retrofit and strengthen older buildings, and construct entirely new structures that can resist future disasters. While many areas across the globe stand to benefit from Ghobarah’s research, financial support for his work was provided by a source closer to home. Joe Ng is president of the Hamilton-based engineering firm JNE Consulting Ltd. He is also a strong supporter of McMaster. “It’s important to keep the university well funded,” he says. “When you support research at McMaster, by extension you support the local community.”

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Your degree is in engineering, but you work as a tax partner with Deloitte. What was your career path?When I took mechanical engineering at McMaster, I was in the Engineering and Management program, which gave me some background in accounting. I went on to do my MBA at the University of Toronto and that was when I moved into accounting. I got a job at Deloitte & Touche in Toronto as an audit trainee. I then moved into taxation and built my career in that field. At what point did you come back to Hong Kong? I was made a tax partner in the Canadian firm in 1989, and moved back to Hong Kong in 1997. There was a lot of movement of people between Hong Kong and Canada at that time, and I became fascinated with the situation and the excitement as the territory was turned back over to China. That happened on my first day of work in the Hong Kong office! What are your main responsibilities at Deloitte? A couple of years ago, I took on the job of managing the tax practice for southern China – Hong Kong, Shenzhen as well as Guangzhou, the so-called Pearl River Delta region (one of the more prosperous regions in China.) It’s a very exciting practice – there are about 200 tax specialists in the Hong Kong office, 85 in the Shenzhen office and another 85 in the Guangzhou office. And tax is about 25 per cent of the practice in this area. The Deloitte China firm altogether has 8,000 people, and it’s at #7 in size within the Deloitte worldwide organization, still behind Canada (currently # 3) but already ahead of Australia. What did you get from your time at McMaster that was most valuable for your career? People have the impression that accountants must come from the

accounting education background (but) Canadian statistics show that half of the accountants come from backgrounds other than business. In fact, many come from engineering. An engineering background teaches you to think logically, to have the sorts of thought processes that are needed for accounting, and the problem-solving skills. And of course, I was also building on the management training I received during my undergraduate program. What would you say are some of your strongest memories from your time at McMaster? Well, I was an engineer so of course there are a lot of fun memories – you know what engineering students are like. But mostly, I remember being treated with kindness while I was in Canada. One of the things I treasure most about having had a chance to study in Canada is that you grew up much faster because you were on your own. On my first Christmas in Canada, everyone went home – except me. At that time, even McDonald’s closed on Christmas Day! When I went out to have some lunch I couldn’t find anyplace that was open. It was the first time in my life I had felt that lonely. My landlord didn’t live in the same house – he just rented it out to a group of students – but he called me to invite me over for Christmas dinner. He must have guessed that I would be alone. I was so happy and so relieved, and I really enjoyed that kind of friendship that Canadians offered to me. You’re still in touch with many of your contemporaries, but how did you come to be involved in the alumni program? It was through one of my contemporaries, K. S. Tso ’71: he and I went to secondary school together and then bumped into each other at Mac. He later became president of McMaster’s Hong Kong Alumni Branch, and got me involved in alumni activities. At first I wasn’t too sure about it because

many of the alumni who came to events were much younger than me, but later I met more alumni from the 1970s and 1980s and it was a good mix. Many of us began to think about what else we could do in Hong Kong.

And is that how you came to be involved in a leadership role in the McMaster University – Hong Kong Foundation? The Foundation is a good way to promote the university in Hong Kong, so that more people here recognize McMaster as one of the best universities in Canada; so that more people from Hong Kong send their children to McMaster; and that McMaster’s contributions to research and education are more widely recognized. Of course one of our goals is to raise money for less affluent Hong Kong students to attend McMaster.

You’re also involved as a member of the Campaign Cabinet. I gained so much from my time at McMaster – it took me from being someone who didn’t know much about anything to someone who, I think, can give something back to the University. The Campaign is a good opportunity for me to do that.

Are there areas of special interest to you? Coming back to a visit during the summer of 2007 was a real eye-opener in terms of all the new projects and new buildings, and I want to help convey the sense of progress and excitement to others. I didn’t really realize, actually, that there was so much going on, so being part of the Campaign Cabinet has been very motivating. I’m also very interested in possible new partnerships of McMaster with other institutions in China, and in recruiting really good young Canadian graduates to work in Hong Kong and China and be part of the global community.

Anthony Tam ’76 is deputy managing partner (Tax), Southern China for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and chair of the McMaster University – Hong Kong Foundation.

Meet McMaster

Meet M

cMaster

Finding his own path


Professional Development Day for McMaster AlumniBased on the success of our first professional development day for alumni, plans are underway for our second annual day to be held in May 2009 on campus. For more information, please contact Christine Kennedy at [email protected] or 905-525-9140 ext. 23900.

Recognizing alumni achievements The McMaster Alumni Association (MAA) invites nominations and supporting material for Honorary Membership, the Arch Award and the Branch Award, as well as the Distinguished Service Award. The deadline for all awards is Jan. 1, 2009. The Distinguished Service Award is the highest form of recognition awarded by the MAA. It recognizes outstanding contributions and dedication to the MAA and its mission. Honorary membership in the MAA may be granted to any person who is not otherwise a member for unusual contributions to the Association or the University. The Branch Award was created in 1995 to recognize outstanding contributions and dedication to the MAA through involvement in one of its academic, geographic or affinity branches. The Arch Award was created in 2002 to recognize alumni who have graduated 10 years or less for a graduate degree, or 12 years or less for an undergraduate degree, who have accomplished something interesting, unusual or innovative in their public or personal life, been successful in their endeavours and made a notable and worthy contribution to society. In all cases, nominations are welcome at any time, though deadlines stated must be met for consideration for 2009 awards. Nomination forms are available from the Office of Alumni Advancement or the Alumni Advancement website located at www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni For further information, please email: [email protected]

Assist in researchAlumni residing in the Hamilton area who are 65 years and older can help researchers in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour by participating in a series of experiments to obtain a better understanding of decision-making under uncertainty. Most of experiments are completed in one session, lasting approximately one hour. Participants are paid $10 per hour and the on-campus parking fee is waived. Contact: Sam Hannah at 905-525-9140, ext. 27022, [email protected] or Miriam Benaroche at [email protected]

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Continue your educationAre you considering continuing your education in a career-specific field? The Centre for Continuing Education offers programs in Human Resources Management, Management Studies, Marketing, Addictions Education and more. For more information, go to www.mcmastercce.com or call 905-525-9140 ext 24321.

The Alumni Gallery Dinner is May 6, 2009 at the McMaster University Student Centre. Visit www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni for more details in Spring 2009!


I love anniversaries. They’re times to reflect on where you’ve been and what you have done and chances to reprioritize some goals that just haven’t been reached…yet. Every spring and fall I have lots of opportunities to do these things at the anniversary celebrations on Alumni and Homecoming Weekends. On a Friday night last May, I joined members of the Class of 1938 at their dinner celebrating the 70th anniversary of their graduation from McMaster. They reminisced about classmates and professors, read three poems prepared by members of the class about their reunion, and sang their class song throughout the evening – everyone would just burst into song when they heard “Oh, we are ’38! ’38 are we!” I must admit it startled me the first few times they launched into song, but by the end of the evening I knew every word. The class even invited a McMaster professor to speak to them about aging. They asked Dr. Willie Molloy if he had any advice for them and he confessed that as they were all in their early 90s, they didn’t need any of his advice except to just keep doing what they were doing. I spent the following evening with the Class of 1953, with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working over the years. They’ve become a special group to me and I consider myself an honorary member of the Class. So I was delighted when they asked me to speak at their reunion: I told them that they are the lucky Mac grads

who knew everyone in their graduating class as well as most from the years before and after them. While I feel as connected to my friends from university as they do, I don’t feel as connected to my graduation class, (which had more than 2,800 people in it), as the Class of 1953 and all of the older classes do with theirs. I’m already looking forward to the anniversary events that will be held on Homecoming Weekend this fall. I just might learn a few new songs. In the Office of Alumni Advancement, we are beginning to work on two special anniversaries for 2009. In May, we will be celebrating our McMaster veterans, in particular our Special Session veterans from World War II. In July, a new alumni program will celebrate 50 years. How’s that? Well, the McMaster University Stratford Seminars on Shakespeare and the Theatre have been part of the alumni program for only two years, but the events themselves have been running for 50, offering seminars for theatre and Shakespeare enthusiasts in association with the Stratford Festival. During the week, participants attend numerous productions, attend lectures and discussion sessions, learn about backstage and production activities, meet some of the Festival cast and dine together. We are already planning a special anniversary dinner as part of our 2009 program and I can’t wait. I wonder if they have a song I need to learn?

By Karen McQuigge ‘90 Director, Alumni Advancement

JD HowellSinging

new songs

Celebrating new beginnings

Alumni Directions

I have to admit I was a bit concerned when they told me I would have to write this column as my first official duty as McMaster Alumni Association president. The MAA just had another great year, culminating with the $500,000 gift to the McMaster Athletics and Recreation Centre and Stadium Campaign. How was I going to compete with that news? No worries…one thing I’ve learned over my past few years working with the MAA is that there is never a shortage of exciting and innovative things happening at McMaster. On behalf of the MAA executive, I am pleased to announce that the President’s Residence has been renamed “Alumni House.” When I was a student several decades ago it was Dr. Lee’s home. I think the closest I ever got was on my walk down to the Zone 4 parking lot. However, in the summer of 2003 the University made a bold move and the Office of Alumni Advancement was moved to the President’s

Residence. Since that time it has been the location of more than 450 events. The renaming follows the tradition of many of North America’s leading universities and signals to the McMaster alumni and campus and extended communities the significance of our alumni to the life of the University. The MAA is already exploring ways to make Alumni House even more vital to McMaster. Stay tuned. The MAA would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Peter George for his support throughout this process. We all look forward to another exciting year at McMaster. I look forward to seeing you at a game at the Ron Joyce Stadium.

Alumni Directions

by Beth Webel, ’84McMaster Alumni Association President


Research Newscontinued from page 13

continued from page 17

McMaster hosts the Canadian Centre ■■for Electron Microscopy, where some of the world’s most powerful micro-scopes are located.

And did you know:

McMaster is one of only three schools ■■in Ontario with a working foundry giving art students the chance to cast sculptures in bronze.

McMaster helped determine the age of ■■Otzi, the 5,300-year-old Neolithic man discovered in the Alps in 1991, (as well as dinosaurs and mammoths) at its leading facility for nuclear dating.

McMaster has Canada’s only physics ■■and astronomy department operating a planetarium, which reopened following renovations in September 2008.

McMaster was the first Canadian library ■■on Cybrary City Island in the virtual world, Second Life.

McMaster’s nursing, medical, mid-■■wifery, physiotherapy and occupational therapy students train together in simu-lated scenarios at the Clinical Learning Centre.

McMaster Faculty of Engineering re-■■searchers are leading a Canadian ini-tiative to develop bioactive paper that contains ingredients to detect and ward off life-threatening bacteria and viruses such as E. coli, salmonella and SARS.

McMaster’s DeGroote School of Busi-■■ness has earned accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the highest stan-dard for management education? Fewer than 10 per cent of business schools worldwide have earned this accreditation. Christine (MacLean) Palka ‘08 is Cam-paign Communications intern with the McMaster Office of Public Relations.

history of life on Earth and on other ■■planets. The project received two single-person Deepworker submers-ibles from the manufacturer, Nuytco Inc., to enable researchers to collect samples of the deepest microbialites at depths unreachable by non-de-compression SCUBA diving. Dr. Alexander Turpie, professor of medicine, predicts a new oral blood thinner will revolutionize treatment for preventing dangerous blood clots in patients undergoing hip and knee surgery. He oversaw four major international studies on the drug rivaroxaban (Xarelto). All four found the drug was significantly more ef-fective than the current standard enoxaparin in preventing venous thrombosis, which begins with a blood clot in a vein and is frequent and potentially fatal complication of major orthopedic surgery. The Early Autism Study uses eye tracker technology that measures eye direction while babies look at faces, eyes and bouncing balls on a computer screen to detect autism in infants as young as nine months. Lead researcher Mel Rutherford, associate professor of psychology in the Faculty of Science’s Depart-ment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, says “I can do [the test] in 10 minutes, and it is objective, meaning that the only measure is eye direction; it’s not influenced by a clinician’s report or by intuition.” Currently, the earliest diagnostic test for autism is reliable around the age of two. Rutherford believes that the earlier the diagnosis, the better the overall prognosis.

Mel Rutherford’s test detects autism in infants as young as nine months.


Occasionally they reacted against some of the civilians’ treasured rituals. An enthusiastic if naïve sophomore painfully discovered this for himself when he invited the veterans, technically freshmen and freshettes, to take part in initiations and wear traditional “frosh” beanies. The invitation was greeted with hoots and derisive laughter, a reaction that may also have reflected what one veteran described as an “internal snobbishness” that looked down its nose at civilian behaviour in general. If such an attitude did exist, it began to dis-integrate once the special session ended and those of its members who had made the grade joined civilian students for the regular fall term in 1946. The blending of groups proved to be a melting pot, helping to dilute and then dissolve the once-sharp differentia-tion between veteran and civilian. One out-ward distinction did remain – the veterans, male and female alike, were inclined to dress formally for class. The men habitually wore suits and ties, observing, whether intention-ally or not, a dress code the University had long and vainly sought to impose on the more casually attired civilian undergrad. Initial faculty fears that the veterans might pose a serious social and academic threat vanished. Gratified instructors welcomed the steadying influence of the older and more mature veterans. Anxious to take full advantage of the academic opportunities de-ferred by wartime service, they showed little tolerance for horseplay in the lecture hall. Some faculty went out of their way to report that the veterans’ healthy war-forged skepti-cism and their eagerness to ask tough ques-tions in class made for a memorable teaching experience.

Return to Civvy Street 1946 Special session of veterans bonded by wartime experiences

By Charles Johnson ’49


“Don’t they know the war’s over?” The re-mark was made by a McMaster student as she and a friend passed within earshot of a be-mused Second World War veteran still wear-ing his air force uniform. It was the early fall of 1945. The student may not have realized, or even cared, that the former airman was not flaunting his military service but waiting to receive the clothing allowance that was part of his other veterans’ benefits. New civil-ian garb was still in short supply in the imme-diate postwar weeks; for the time being, the veteran’s wardrobe was limited to the only thing that still fit him – his uniform.

A male classmate weighed in, complaining that the returning veterans would encroach on the expansive social and extracurricular turf he had carefully staked out for himself. Even some faculty members expressed con-cerns that battle-scarred and war-hardened veterans might have a corrosive influence on the comparatively innocent and insulated civilian student body. For their part, Chancellor George Gilmour and administration members wondered if they could summon the teaching staff and resources needed to meet a large-scale influx of veterans at a time when civilian enrol-ment, long reduced by the war’s demands,

was once again on the rise. Then a Baptist institution with limited means, McMaster had declined a request from Veterans Affairs in early 1945 to set up a special summer ses-sion for demobilized veterans in 1945. The request was inspired by the hope that such a plan might ease their return to the schooling left behind when they went off to war. By the fall of that year McMaster re-thought the matter. A mounting sense of civic duty and moral responsibility overrode finan-cial concerns, faculty doubts and student misgivings, and impelled the University to put together the sought after veterans-only program. It was launched in January 1946 and scheduled to run for six months. One hundred veterans, 10 of whom were women, were admitted under the plan. Like the hand-ful of academically accredited veterans who had preceded them, including the ex-airman who ultimately received his clothing allow-ance, they also had their tuition and inciden-tal fees and living expenses underwritten by Ottawa. While some of the special session under-grads were resuming their higher education after a wartime hiatus, others were enrolling for the first time. A substantial number of the latter, having joined the forces before gradu-ating from high school, had been able to complete their requirements in accelerated classes organized at institutions in Hamilton and Ajax, Ont. The veterans, bonded by wartime experi-ences so alien to civilians, underscored their group cohesiveness by forming a committee to represent their interests on campus.

Such a plan might ease soldiers’ return to the

schooling left behind when they went off to war

Canadian Baptist Archives

The Student Veterans’ Committee represented the interests of the Special Session students.


Note: For a fuller treatment, see Vol. 2 of the author’s McMaster history: The Early Years in Hamilton (Chap. 5). The help provided by James Cross ’47, John Borthwick ’48, Donald Dawson ’49 and the late Norman Shrive ’50 is gratefully acknowledged. Special session veterans are invited to submit their personal accounts of the experience via [email protected] or (905) 648-6272. They will be deposited in the University Library’s special col-lections and made available to researchers. A reunion for McMaster’s vet-erans with special recognition for the 1946 special session is planned for Alumni Weekend Spring 2009. The Office of Alumni Advancement would appreciate if McMaster’s veter-ans including the 1946 special session would let us know who they are by contacting [email protected] or call-ing 905-525-9140 ext. 23900. As details become available they will be posted at http://www.mcmaster.ca/ua/alumni.

Civilian students also recog-nized the veterans’ contributions to campus life. Warming to the civilians’ response, many veter-ans joined student organizations and participated extracurricular activities. The intermingling of veterans and civilians was reinforced by what then passed for a student union, the popular and imagina-tively decorated “Rec (for Rec-reation) Hut.” Complete with lunch counter, music room, and bowling alley, the Rec Hut was housed in one of the surplus military buildings acquired by McMaster to accommodate its burgeoning student population. The veterans’ many and varied contributions to campus life so enthused a non-veteran editor of The Silhouette that he told his readers the veterans at McMaster were “the best in the country”. One thing was certain, their transition to “civvy street” was virtually complete, a vital pro-cess helped along by what could be regarded as the hospitable, though challenging, halfway house afforded by the special session of 1946.

Chelsey Gotell, who swims for the Canadian Paralympic team (she is visually impaired) but competes for the McMaster var-sity team as an able-bodied participant, won two gold medals (100m backstroke and 200m individual medley), a silver (100m freestyle), and two bronze (100m butterfly and 400m freestyle) at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. She also broke two world records, in 100M backstroke (her speciality) and the 200m 1M (individual medley). She wasn’t the only person connected to McMaster to par-ticipate, however. Adam van Koeverden ’07 won a silver medal in the 500m single kayak competition at the Beijing Olympics. He carried the Canadian flag in the opening ceremony and won Canada’s last medal at the Games. Christopher Pellini ’08 and Brady Reardon, who transferred to McMaster this fall, were part of four-man kayak teams (500m and 1000m respectively). Ohenewa Akuffo ’01 wrestled in the women’s 77 kg weight class. Swimmer Julia Wilkinson is the sister of former McMaster swimmer Jane Wilkinson ’07. Athletes who got their start at McMaster included Colin Jen-kins, who started in the sport of triathlon at a summer camp at the university. He competed as a student-athlete for the Mc-Master swim team before moving on to Laurentian University and the University of Victoria. Joshua McGuire took up fencing at the age of six, when he began lessons at McMaster, and Nicolas Youngblud of the water polo team was introduced to the sport by McMaster and Hamilton Aquatics Water Polo Club coach Quinn Farley. Non-competitors included Steve Lidstone, McMaster’s full-time strength and conditioning coordinator, who served as the athletic therapist and strength and conditioning coach for Gymnastics Canada (trampoline). In the media, Chris Irwin ’91 (a former volleyball player at McMaster) was executive producer for CBC Sports and Barrie Shepley ’86 was a commentator on triathalon.

Chelsey Gotell won five medals at the Beijing Paralympics .

Olympic follow-up

Xinhuacontinued from page 31


1940s Joseph McLelland ’46, McCon-nell Professor Emeritus of McGill University and Robert Professor Emeritus of The Presbyterian College, Montreal, celebrated 50 years association with the col-lege in 2007. The occasion was marked by naming the library “The Joseph C. McLelland Li-brary,” and launching a book of his essays, Understanding the Faith: Essays in Philosophical Theology (Toronto: Clements Publishing). He continues to teach a graduate seminar in Philosophy of Religion at McGill. His granddaughter, Kaleigh, is a student in Anthropology and Re-ligion and will graduate in 2010. 1950s Helen (Geiger) Heller ’56, a re-tired professor of French at Brescia College, The University of Western Ontario, was awarded a master’s in Theological Studies by Huron University Col-lege (another UWO affiliate) in May 2008. 1960sAndré Dieter Bandrauk ’68 is one of two Canadian researchers to have been recognized with a 2007 NSERC Polonyi award for his work in developing most of the main concepts of a new field known as “attosecond science.” Attosecond science fuses chem-istry and physics to arrive at the innovative idea of using intense, ultra-short laser pulses to image and even ultimately control mol-ecules. He is Canada Research Chair in Computational Chem-istry and Molecular Photonics at the Université de Sherbrooke.

Grant Head ‘63, a long-time Hamilton heritage advocate, has received a Lieutenant- Governor’s Ontario Heritage

Award for Lifetime Achievement. Head and his wife, Brenda, be-gan preserving houses in the Du-rand neighbourhood in down-town Hamilton in 1971.

Ray Jones ’68 and ’72 was elected president of the Society for Learning in Retirement, in London, Ont. The Society is a peer learning group that offers 10 courses to its 250 members in each of its fall and winter terms.

Reid Keays ’68 has been appointed to the board of direc-tors of Celtic Minerals Ltd. A distinguished geo-scientist, he is now an honorary professorial fellow at both Monash and Melbourne Universities in Melbourne, Australia. Trevor Lautens ’68 writes that he’s has had an “idle, misspent life,” but he’s written a column for 18 years for The North Shore News, a thrice-weekly paper covering the North Shore of Vancouver, and “must not have damaged its quality or reputa-tion too much.” This year the News won a rare double first, judged best in its circulation class both nationally (Canadian Community Newspapers Asso-ciation) and regionally (British Columbia and Yukon Commu-nity Newspapers Association). He began as a proofreader at the Hamilton Spectator in 1953, worked 35-odd years at the Vancouver Sun – excluding three years as a consultant for the Bill Bennett provincial government – and adds: “only real accomplish-ment – begat five outstanding children, with the able assistance

of their three mothers.”

Leon Ledohowski ’68 has been named to the board of directors of the Bank of Canada. He is president and chairman of the hotel company Canad Corp.

Eugene Levy ’69 was one of six recipients of the 2008 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achieve-ment, presented May 2, 2008, at Rideau Hall. “It’s being recog-nized by your country and that’s as good as it gets,” Levy said.

Walter Szarek ’60 has been ap-pointed to the scientific advisory board of Osta Biotechnologies Inc. He is a professor emeritus in the Department of Chemistry at Queen’s University, with a very active research program in the areas of organic and me-dicinal chemistry and drug de-velopment. He has had a distin-guished teaching career at both the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as a distinguished research career, and has won awards for both his teaching and his research accomplishments. 1970s George Eynon ’72 was recently appointed by the Government of Alberta as a board member of the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board, the largest upstream oil and gas regulatory authority in North America.

Carl Fiamelli ’71 is now retired after 35 years service with Citizen and Immigration. He was hired on campus in 1971 and worked at the Hamilton office until December 2006. He lives in Ancaster, Ont. Anthony J. Giovinazzo ’78 recent-ly completed the financing of his fourth biotech start-up in 10 years. Cervelo Pharmaceuticals Inc. is developing new drugs for neuropathic and inflammatory pain patients.

David McHardy ’75 has been ap-pointed director of Abu Dhabi University’s new Institute for Continuing Studies in the United Arab Emirates. For the past three years, he has been managing the development of the American University of Kuwait’s new Center for Continuing Education and prior to that had a success-ful career in both the public and private sectors of higher education in Ontario and British Columbia. Since graduating from McMaster, he has received a diploma in community educa-tion from Mohawk College, a master’s degree in administrative leadership from the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser Uni-versity and is currently pursuing a doctorate in business adminis-tration through the International Centre for Higher Education Management at the University of Bath in the U.K.

Frank C. Hawthorne ’73, distin-guished professor of geological sciences at the University of Manitoba, has been awarded a Killam Prize. The awards, which are administered by the Canada Council, recognize outstand-ing career achievements in engineering, natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and health sciences. Hawthorne was recognized for his work on quantitatively predicting mineral stability as a function of chemical bonding at the atomic level.

Krystyna Hoeg ’73, president and CEO of Corby Distilleries Ltd., has joined the board of direc-tors of Toronto East General Hospital.

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ficer of Seamark Asset Manage-ment Ltd., a Halifax-base com-pany that provides investment management services to insti-tutional clients, mutual funds, private clients, and the wrap programs of many of Canada’s leading investment dealers.

Haim Goldstein ’82 has joined Prism Partners Inc., involved with the Henderson Project ex-pansion here in Hamilton. He is senior construction manager. Wade Hemsworth ’87, a reporter with the Hamilton Spectator, was recognized by the paper’s publishing group for his work as a board member and cur-rent vice-president of both the Hamilton Literacy Council, which teaches adults to read, and Creative Arts Inc., which

presents the annual Festival of Friends. He received the presi-dent’s award, which recognizes staff members who go beyond the call of duty and whose pas-sion and enthusiasm inspire the community, at the Metroland Editorial Excellence Awards in April 2008. Janet Knight ’85 has been ap-pointed chief financial officer of the Hamilton Port Authority, where she was most recently comptroller. Two McMaster grads, David Krawczyk ’89 and Bill McLean ’90 have launched www.POI-friend.com. The site allows users to find, create, share, com-ment on and download places of points of interest to their GPS devices, for free.

National Commerce Bank Jamaica Ltd., a subsidiary of AIC Ltd., the Canadian mutual fund company owned by Michael Lee Chin ’74, has become the biggest bank in Jamaica.

Norm Lockington ’77, who helped introduce concepts of environmental management, life-cycle assessment, sustainable development, corporate sustain-ability reporti ng, climate change and breakthrough CO2 reduc-tion technologies to the interna-tional steel industry.

Hermann Luft ’72 is director of the School of Visual Commu-nications at the International Academy of Design & Technol-ogy in Toronto. He joined the Academy in 1995 as an instructor in Computer Graphics, later be-coming chair of the department before accepting the position of director of the School of Visual Communications. He was re-cently honored for his contribu-tion to the Academy as director of the year for 2007. Luft and his wife of 36 years, Dagmar, have three sons: Marcus, Alexander and Darius. Pat Mandy ’78 is chief execu-tive officer of the Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) of Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant and one of 13 people from across Ontario responsible for introducing a new regional health system. Holly Ratcliffe ’76 and ’82 re-cently successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at l’Université de Montréal. Her research in theology is entitled “ ‘The blessed chère of our Lord God works this in us by grace’ : A psychobiography and soteriol-ogy of mirroring in Julian of Nor-

wich’s Showings.” Though the thesis was written in English, she defended it in French. Michael E. Travers ’70, who has more than 29 years of experi-ence in Christian higher educa-tion, is the new vice-president for academic affairs at Louisiana College.

1980s

Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Bartnik ’88, the Canadian Forces com-mander for the Balkans, hosted the Honourable Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken, MP during his recent visit to NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Lui Temelkovski ’81, the M.P. for Oak Ridges-Markham, was among the delegates visiting the Balkan states for a first-hand look at Canada’s continuing involvement in the region. The Canadian Forces personnel have had continuous presence in the Balkans since 1992, in support of the United Nations and NATO. David Capson ’81 has been appointed chair of the Depart-ment of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster. Dennis Darby ’84 has been appointed chief executive of-ficer of the Ontario Pharmacists’ Association. He joined the OPA from Procter & Gamble where, as director of North America External Relations, he had led a team of senior professionals charged with building and pro-tecting the image and reputation of P&G and its brands. Angela Eaton ’84 has been appointed chief investment of-

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Rich Hesketh ’87, a strength and conditioning coach with the Calgary Flames since 1995, shares workouts and exercises with Flames fans throughout the hockey season on the “Train Like a Flame” page of the team’s website. Hesketh creates individualized training programs for each player of the Calgary Flames for both the hockey season and off-season. A skilled athlete, Hesketh rep-resented Canada on 11 national track and field teams in the de-cathlon. He has competed internationally at two Commonwealth Games, represented Canada at the Pan American Games and is a five-time Canadian Champion in Combined Events. Check out “Train Like a Flame” at http://flames.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NHLPage&id=17925


Dean Peloso ’81 has been named CEO and appointed to the board of directors of Uni-versity Health Industries Inc., a Florida corporation engaged in the development, marketing and sale of proprietary, patent-pending nutraceutical prod-ucts. In addition to his BA in economics, Peloso also earned an MBA from McMaster in 1984. James Reid ’89 has been ap-pointed vice-president, Organi-zational Development, Husky Injection Molding Systems. Reid will be responsible for human resources worldwide and will join Husky’s executive team. In addition to his MBA, Reid completed the Advanced Management Program at Har-vard in Boston, Massachusetts. Congratulations to Ann (Fudge) Schormans ’82, ’83 and ’95 for her appointment as assistant professor, in the McMaster School of Social Work. Her PhD is pending in ’08 from the University of Toronto. Her hus-

band, Jeff ‘83, and daughter, Frances, are very proud of her accomplishments and excited about her future endeavours. Fengate Capital Management, with Lou Serafini Jr. ’89 at the helm, was named one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Businesses by the National Post in February, 2008. Its new LPF Infrastructure Fund was estab-lished to help finance large-scale infrastructure projects of the federal and provincial governments. The company is currently a partner in such Ontario projects as the $105-million wing being built at the Trillium Heath Centre-Mississauga, as well as the new $93-million Brampton Youth Justice Facility and the $132-million Sudbury Regional Hospital. Cynthia Summers ’88 has been appointed to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for a three-year term, in the Toronto office. Prior to her

appointment, she was manager of community engagement and research with the Nuclear Waste Water Management Organization and a director at York University. She is married to Keith Summers ’87.

Barry Telford ’84 has been ap-pointed senior vice-president operations, education services, for Sodexco Canada.

1990s

Jasmine Albagli ’99 and her husband, Peter Hansen, had their first baby on Dec. 31, 2007. William Alain Albagli-Hansen, weighed 8lbs 11oz.

Sam Febbraro ’95 is the presi-dent and CEO of Counsel Wealth Management. He has held various positions with Investment Planning Counsel Inc., written and published several articles and has been an invited speaker and lecturer for Federated Press, The Strategy Institute, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada and Seneca College. He and his wife, Angela (Mallia) ’95, live in An-caster, Ont., with their family. As manager, ISV Partner Group for Microsoft Canada, Allan Hoffmann ’94 is responsible for ISV strategy. He has held several positions with Microsoft Canada, BCE Emergis, Cebra Inc. and Wells Fargo Finance. Allan lives in Carlisle, Ont., with his wife of 10 years Marianne (Petaci) ’93 and their sons, Nikolas, 6, and Alexander, 3.

Jamie Horvat ’99 has joined Sprott Asset Management Inc. as an investment strategist. He is a member of the Toronto

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daughter Estelle, welcomed Isaak Hanley, born Dec. 18, 2007, weighing 9 pounds. The family lives in Kitchener, Ont. Dr. Jill Bailey ’05 joined the Highlands Family Practice Clinic in Orangeville, Ont., in February 2008. She completed a part of her residency in the town, spending time in the Rural Family Medicine Program administered by the University of Toronto.

Craig Bolton ’04, now complet-ing his medical studies at the University of Ottawa, has be-come the 17th medical student to be signed by the city of Belleville, Ont., under a recruitment program that pays medical students $25,000 for six years on the promise that they will practice family medi-cine in the city for a minimum of five years. Bolton’s practice should open in 2010.

Amy Brewitt ’02 has been kept very busy with her geneal-ogy research business, which is based in Toronto. Having worked mostly on referrals for several years, she recently launched www.amybrewittgenealogy.com.

Ryan Browne ’06 and his wife, Patricia, welcomed Tristan Alexander William, who was born on June 26, 2008. Katie Klotz ’06 and Steven Foglietta ’06 became engaged the day they moved into their new house –May 1, 2007. Susan Lehman ’03 has won a two-year resident postdoctoral fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. This international fellowship program is sponsored by the American Society for Microbiol-ogy and the U.S. Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases. Lehman will be investigating ways to minimize the develop-ment of microbial biofilms on urinary catheters.

Atef Mahony ’07 and his wife Yasmin were married on Dec. 5, 2007, in Cairo, Egypt. Atef is currently at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. in Chalk River, Ont.

Laura Marshall ’06 married Troy Reid on Aug. 18, 2008.

Peter O’Hagan ’04 and Karen (Farnsworth) O’Hagan ’96 welcomed their daughter Ainsley Jane Ethelanne O’Hagan on Mar. 18, 2008 in Halifax. Peter is an MSE officer in the Navy currently posted to Stadacona. Proud grandmother Cynthia Farnsworth is also a Mac alumna: she completed her BA in anthropology in ‘81.

Peter Topalovic ’04, now a mas-ter’s engineering and public policy student at McMaster, was awarded the Norm Lockington Sustainability Award for his interest in engineering-related policy issues, especially concerning sustainability in the Hamilton region. In addition to his studies and volunteer activities with the Faculty of Engineering, Topalovic is a systems designer for JNE Consulting Ltd. The award was presented by former Dofasco vice-president of technology.

CFA Society, the CFA Institute and the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Techni-cians and Technologists. He is also a member of the Inter-national Research Association and is a Licensed International Financial Analyst.

The work of artist Nathan James ’99 was featured in the Mashups: Post Pop Fragments and Detournements exhibit at the Kowalsky Gallery at DACS in London, which ran until mid-September. His work combines traditional painting, silkscreen printing and stenciling.

Jennifer (Greenwood) Klein ’95 recently completed her doc-toral degree in rehabilitation sciences at the University of Alberta. She is enjoying taking time off after the birth of her third child and now lives in Edmonton. In addition to her degree in gerontology and soci-ology she also graduated from occupational therapy in ’97.

Tor Lukasik-Foss ’91, a Hamilton-based artist, writer and performer, created the Monotheatrum for the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s summer exhibition Atelier series. The Monotheatrum is a unique solo performance space/struc-ture in which the performer is separated from the audience and one which continues his investigations into the relation-ships between visual art and

performance, between archi-tecture and aura, and between exposure and obscurity.

Lino Coria Mendoza ’98 success-fully defended his PhD disserta-tion in electrical and computer engineering in March 2008 at the University of British Colum-bia. He met his wife, Marcela, at UBC; their daughter Julia was born in April. Lino is now a professor at ITESO University, in Mexico, in the Department of Electronics, Systems an In-formatics.

Catherine (Doerksen) Nyman ’99 and her husband, Dr. Jason Ny-man, are the proud parents of three fabulous girls – big sister Sophie and identical toddler twins, Jill and Georgia. Catherine also works part-time at KidsAbility as a pediatric physiotherapist. In her daily life, she constantly uses the problem-solving and time-management skills she learned in the McMaster program.

Emechete (Eme) Onuoha ’93 has been appointed director, fed-eral government relations and sustainability for Xerox Canada Inc. He has held several senior positions within the Govern-ment of Canada, including roles in the Privy Council Office and ministerial offices.

Jeffrey Remedios ’98 started Arts & Crafts, an independent recording label responsible for Juno Award-winning albums and artists such as Feist, Broken Social Scene and the Constantines.

Stephen Veldhuis ’90 has been appointed director of the McMaster Manufacturing Re-search Institute.

2000s Dr. Laverne Arthur ’04 started a family practice at the Lakefield Day Clinic, Lakefield, Ont., in March 2008. Ingrid Bachmann ’01, her hus-band, Steve Hanley, and

Alumni Album


John Basmajian ’01 (honorary), the “putative father” of electro-myography and a former pro-fessor of medicine and anatomy at McMaster, died Mar. 18, 2008 in Burlington, Ont., at age 86. The author or editor of 400 sci-entific papers and 60 books, his best-known work was Muscles Alive, the first collection of studies using technology to study muscle behavior during voluntary activity.

Joseph Clement ’50 died on Feb. 12, 2008, in Stoney Creek, Ont., after a long fight with pul-monary fibrosis. He is survived by his wife Claire, a former member of the Students Wives Club.

Leslie Anne Daniels ’76 died at her home in Oshawa, Ont., on Nov. 25, 2007, at age 55. Daniels was with the Durham District School Board, and last taught at the Duke of Edinburgh Public School in Oshawa. She was a strong supporter of Ontario Pioneer Camp, and is remembered by her many friends as generous, caring and loyal.

Donna (Clements) Fox ’41 died Mar. 19, 2008, in Kingston, Ont., following a life devoted to her home, family, friends and church. She is survived by her husband, Art, and children, Elizabeth, Lorne and Gloria.

Daisy (Smith) Grant ’88 died on June 19, 2008, in Hamilton. In addition to her degree in soci-ology, she also earned a BScN in 1994. Joe Gupta ’70, a member at large of the campaign cabinet for the Campaign for McMaster University, died in May in California. (see Campaign News, page 7).

Rev. Victor Hall ’34, who was in the ministry for 50 years, died on July 17, 2008, in his

99th year. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, four grandchildren, 12 great-grand-children, and many great-great-grandchildren. In addition to his BA, he also earned a B.Div. in 1938.

Donald Heer ’57, of Tanilba Bay, Australia, died on the June 6, 2008, aged 88.

Jamie Houston ‘85, died on Feb. 20, 2008, following a long battle with breast cancer. She and her husband, Jean-Noel Salnave, attended the Honour Society reunion in October 2007. She was heavily involved in the MSU during her time as an under-graduate.

Brian Ives, professor emeritus in the Faculty of Engineering, died of cancer on Apr. 16, 2008. Ives served as chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and associate dean of Engineering. He was also president of the McMaster University Retirees Association. He played a cru-cial role in ASM International, including serving as president. He also organized a wide va-riety of educational initiatives for the University and for the profession. He is survived by his wife Daina.

Douglas Johnson ’55, died Jan. 29, 2008. He and his wife, Jane (Atkin) ’55, “met at McMaster and created a great twosome,” writes Wilmer Crawford ’54. “Their optimism and sense of humour was endless and has been conveyed to their family – Kathy, Richard and David.”

Helen (O’Neil) Johnson ’43 died in Hamilton on Mar. 15, 2008. She was predeceased by her husband Clark W. Johnson ’40 in 1982.

Alison (Fisher) Lall ’95, along with her husband, Joshua, and their daughters, Kristen and

Rochelle, died in Calgary, Alta., on May 28, 2008. Memorial con-tributions to the Alison (Fisher) Lall Trust, McMaster University, Downtown Centre 125, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton L8S 4K1 (https://awc.mcmaster.ca/awc_family/Makeagift.aspx).

John G. Laurie ’46 died on Aug. 12, 2008, while at his cottage. Capt. Richard Steve Leary ’01 was killed in Afghanistan on June 3, 2008 while leading his troops to safety after his foot patrol came under attack. He was a platoon commander with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Pa-tricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based at Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba. He is sur-vived by his wife, Rachel.

Joan Leedale ’79, an employee in the Finance Department of the City of Burlington, died on Mar. 23, 2008. Her survivors in-clude her brother, Gary ’73.

Robert V. Mason ’67 died in Hamilton, Ont., on Jan. 23, 2005.

Alan McNabb, a founder of what is now the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, died on Feb. 28, 2008 in Hamilton, at age 84.

John A. Millar ’71, of Oakville, Ont., has died.

Margaret Ann (Turner) Murdoch ’58 died May 8, 2008, in Hot Springs Village, Ark., af-ter a brief fight with pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her husband, Charles, and daugh-ters Kathy and Martha and their families. Donations to her memory can be made to the Class of ’59, 50th Anniversary Bursary Fund. In addition to her BA in science studies, she also earned a BPE in 1959.

Mary Louise (Lockett) Nickerson ’46, an enthusiastic

participant in student oper-ettas, died Aug. 6, 2008. She was an associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto in solo performer voice and sang in both the Mendelssohn Choir in Toronto and the Elgar Choir in Montreal, as well as acting in amateur theatre in Montreal and Bridgewater, N.S. She was also active in the United Church for many years. She is survived by five of her children and their families. John H. (Jack) Passmore ’33, whose contributions to teacher education were recognized by a special student scholarship at McMaster in 1980, died on May 11, 2008 in Unionville, Ont. He taught physical and health edu-cation in Ottawa and Toronto, then joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto after the Second World War. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by McMaster in 1982.

Jack Pelech ’55, a member of the McMaster Athletic Hall of Fame, died June 13, 2008 at the age of 75. He was a member of the McMaster Football team from 1952-54, basketball team from 1953-55, was named to the McMaster Football Team of the 1960s, and inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1987. After graduating from Osgoode Hall in 1959, Pelech practised law with the firm of Pelech, Otto and Powell. He was an executive member and a past president of the Hamilton Lawyers Club, a longtime mem-ber of the Ontario Legal Aid Area Committee and a judge with the Canada Pension Plan Review Tribunals. A proud Hamiltonian, he led the city’s bids for the Pan- American Games in 1983 and 1991, and the Commonwealth Games in 1994. As chairman of the Canada Games (1970-2001), he worked to promote and ad-vance amateur sport.

The McMaster Alumni Association offers condolences to the families and friends of the following:

In Memoriam

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Pelech was also actively involved with numerous community groups: Hamilton YMCA, McMaster Alumni Fund, McMaster Alumni Associa-tion, Hamilton Board of Park Management, National Advisory Council on Fitness and Amateur Sport, Participaction, Tiger Cat Trust Fund for Amateur Sports, Catholic Youth Organization and the 2003 Road World Championship. His special honours included Hamilton Citizen of the Year 1987, the Governor General’s Commemorative Medal 1992, Honorary Doctor of Laws De-gree McMaster University 2001, Governor General’s Golden Jubilee Medal 2002, Hamilton Gallery of Distinction 2005, and the Order of Canada 2007.He is survived by his wife Joan ’55, daughters Julia Kellner ’89 (Rob), Marnie (Ni) and Donna (Steven), grandchildren Chloe, Paige, Alec, Jack and Lachlan, and sister Dorothy Mullin.Donations to the Athletics and

Recreation Centre and Stadium Campaign at McMaster Univer-sity in memory of Jack Pelech would be appreciated by the family. They can be mailed to McMaster University, Univer-sity Advancement, Downtown Centre 125, 1280 Main St.W., Hamilton ON L8S 4L8.

Larry Pennell ’38, former so-licitor general of Canada and chancellor of McMaster from 1971-1977, died Aug. 10, 2008. As solicitor general, Pennell shepherded the first bill to abolish capital punishment in Canada through the House of Commons. He also played key roles in establishing the Canada Student Loans Program and the Canada Health Act. Pennell was a federal representative for Brant-Haldimand from 1962 to 1968. He was awarded an hon-orary doctorate by McMaster in 1970. Pennell is survived by his son and daughter and grand-children, Jennifer and Jason.

Rev. Ross Readhead ’49 died July 6, 2008 – on his 85th birth-day. In addition to his BA, he earned a B.Div. in 1952.

Claire (Lucas) Ridker ’37 died in Hamilton on Dec. 23, 2007.

Isobel Robinson ’37, who was director of the Department of Rehabilitation, Division of Oc-cupational Therapy at the Uni-versity of Toronto from 1967 until her retirement in 1981, died Apr. 22, 2008 in Ancaster, Ont., at age 93. She was a co-founder of the Canadian Occupational Thera-py Foundation and was active in national and international professional associations.

Shelley Saunders, of the Department of Anthropology, died of cancer on May 14, 2008. She was an internationally recognized leader in skeletal biology and physical anthropol-ogy, with a career marked by a long series of firsts, includ-

ing being the first biological anthropologist to be elected to the Royal Society of Canada and the award of a Tier I Canada Research Chair in the first year of the program. At McMaster she initiated the Children and Childhood in Human Societies research network; founded and established the McMaster Ancient DNA Centre; and di-rected the renewal and expan-sion of the McMaster Anthro-pology Hard Tissue and Light Microscopy Laboratory. She was recognized for her skilled supervision and devoted men-torship with the President’s Award for Excellence in Gradu-ate Supervision.

Violet (Terryberry) Scott ’36, who graduated in Math and Physics and worked at McMaster as a graduate assis-tant from 1942 until 1951, died on January 9, 2008 at age 93, in Burlington, Ont. “Mom always considered her years at Mac to be some of the happiest of her

In Mem

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of emergency medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Circles in the Sand, a CD by Owen Neill ’49 and his son, Jeff, features 15 poems selected from Owen’s books of poetry. Jeff, a former member of Streetheart, wrote the accompanying music to dramatize the respective themes of the poems. Owen has published 14 books of poetry and has won several awards in Canada and Ireland. The CD can be ordered through [email protected].

Our Place in the Universe, by Norman K. Glendenning ’54, was selected by Scientific American as a forthcoming Book Club selection. This is the second of his books to be so honoured and his fifth book.Springer, (New York) recently published his technical book on special and general relativity.

Canadian Scientists & Inventors 2nd Edition, by Harry Black ’66, profiles Roberta Bondar ’77 and Harold Johns ’36 along with 45 other Canadians whose inventions or discoveries have helped shape and create the modern world. From Pembroke Publishers Ltd.

Bimini and Other Stories, by Frank Buchar ’74, was published in spring of 2008 by Lulu.com. Many of the stories explore the mysteries of love and desire across time and place. It can be purchased from Titles Bookstore at McMaster and from Bryan Prince Bookseller in Westdale Village, Hamilton.

The Red Element (Insomniac Press) is Catherine Graham ’88’s third collection of poetry to be published. She also teaches creative writing in McMaster’s Centre for Continuing Education.. That Elusive Ranch, by Lloyd (Bob) Harshaw ’48, is a collection of humorous short stories

based on Bob’s observations of irony in the world around him. From The Pallet Art Gallery, ISBN 0-9782355-0-9

The 10 Most Fascinating Phenomena, by Sunniva “Sunny” Buskermolen ’83, is a children’s book published by Scholastic Books. Buskermolen was executive editor of The Silhouette in 1983-84.

The senior editor of Patient Safety in Emergency Medicine (Lippincott) is Pat Croskerry ’75. Dr. Croskerry is a professor

Did you know that Titles Bookstore stocks more than 600 books written by McMaster faculty, staff and alumni?

McMaster Writes

Terry Fallis ‘83 won the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for his novel The Best Laid Plans. Canadian humourists such as Douglas Coupland and Will Ferguson were also nominated for the award, which carries a cash prize of $10,000. “I had just barely begun to recuperate from the shock of being short-listed a month ago,” said Fallis, just moments after the award luncheon announcement at the Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ont. “So today’s announcement set back my recovery considerably.” Fallis, who calls himself a “weekend novelist,” had been working on the novel for a long time, waking in the morning hours to write while his wife and two sons slept.

Self-published novel wins Stephen Leacock Medalby Mark Lefebvre

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life,” writes her daughter, Sharon Scott-O’Connor ’73.

Donald Sheppard ’50, died in Peterborough, Ont., on June 14, 2008.

Richard Soady ’74 died on Dec. 12, 2005. He was teaching ESL in Japan at the time.

Gwyneth (Smith) Speers ’42 died on April 27, 2008 in Barrie, Ont., just days after celebrat-ing her 87th birthday. She had a long career as a social worker and was an active partner with her husband’s ministry with the Anglican Church.

Aravamuthan Srinivasan ’76 died in Toronto in December 2007.

Kenneth Stanley ’53 died at his home in Aurora, Ont., on Apr. 3, 2008, at age 80. He worked for the Hamilton Board of Education for 18 years and was principal of Scott Park Second-ary School. He retired from the York Regional District School Board in 1988 as superinten-dent of Curriculum. Ken was an all-around athlete and played as a defensive end for the Hamilton Tiger Cats. He was elected to McMaster Univer-sity’s Football Team of the Century. Amelia Tham Lai Hong ’76 died in Singapore on Sept. 28, 2007, following a 1 1/2-year battle against kidney cancer.

Donald J. Wallace ’53, who served as a Provincial Court judge for 12 years died June 28, 2008, in St. Catharines, Ont. Judge Wallace practiced law and served for a term as alder-man on the Niagara Falls City Council before his appoint-ment. He is survived by his wife, Glenda Tennyson, his son Bill, and daughter Kimberly.

Francis James (Jim) Walsh ’41, father of Kathryn (Walsh) Jones ’86, has died. Jim enjoyed his years at McMaster and tried to attend every reunion. He was involved in helping orga-nize the 60th and 65th year reunions. He retired from West-inghouse as a manager of Stan-dards and enjoyed travelling and belonging to an amateur radio club as VE3SON. He was a Scout leader of 4th Water-down and a member of Grace Anglican church. His wife Betty predeceased him in 2005. In ad-dition to Kathryn, he is survived by sons Michael and Frank.

Lois M. Walton ’75, died on May 17, 2008, in Hamilton. Dorothy (Warwick) Williams ’36 died on June 27, 2008, in Kitchener, Ont. She is survived by her son, Dennis Williams ’68 and daughter-in-law Rev. Bev (Sharpe) Williams ’68.

In Mem

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When he finished the novel nearly two years ago, he sent the manuscript to a group of agents, most of whom never responded to his queries. So, familiar with podcasting, (Fallis is the co-host of the public relations podcast Inside PR on www.insiderpr.ca), Fallis set about podcasting his novel, chapter by chapter. He attracted more than 1,500 listeners around the world, but publishers still weren’t interested. Fallis self-published it the book earlier this year and launched it at McMaster’s Titles bookstore. The book began to gain a respectable readership, mostly from word of mouth and personal recommendations. Things began to change in late March, when it made the Leacock short-list. Within 24 hours, Fallis landed an agent. A collector and avid reader of humorous novels, Fallis says that he “was thrilled to be on the [short] list with such extraordinary writers.” He joked that since the March 27 short-list announcement, he would return to the website link of the nominated authors every 20 minutes or so just to make sure it was still there. “I keep expecting Rod Serling to enter the room,” Fallis quipped. Fallis, who was president of the McMaster Student Union in the early 1980s and later worked for Jean Chrétien’s 1984 leadership run and served as an aide to federal Liberal minister Jean Lapierre and former Ontario finance minister Robert Nixon, drew upon his experience in politics and passion for humour when crafting The Best Laid Plans. Titles placed an order for fresh stock within minutes of the Leacock Award announcement and the bookstore staff is thrilled with this recognition for an alumnus. The Best Laid Plans can be ordered through www.titles.mcmaster.ca

Mark Lefebrve is book operations manager of Titles bookstore.

continued from page 39


As someone who has worked in university communications for almost 25 years, I’ve been a keen observer of how other universi-ties work to build their reputations. Every university strives to attract not only the finest students, faculty and staff, but also people who understand and support their mission – whose work will strengthen the university’s reputation. McMaster seems to exemplify that approach. When I started working here two years ago, I was struck by the way action followed words – that it wasn’t enough to think the big ideas, but it was important to put those ideas into action. There is a commitment to obtain the infrastructure needed to do that work, whether through grants, fellowships or partnerships with outside agencies. In two years, I’ve seen the new Engineering building progress from plans, to ground breaking, to a nearly completed structure. The McMaster Innovation Park has continued to develop, with renovations and the relocation of the CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory to the site promising a healthy future. There have been major funding announcements, such as the $13.7 million from the Ontario Research Fund to advance McMaster’s work in microbial chemical biology, micro- and nano-systems, intestinal diseases, and anxiety disorders. New programs, such the graduate programs in neuroscience and in health policy, have been introduced that capitalize on McMaster’s existing academic strengths while providing the framework to advance the knowledge base in those areas. I’ve received letters to the editor from communities where McMaster has established off-campus teaching sites; letters that

express gratitude and support for this community-level action. In talking to alumni, I hear the pride they feel in their association with the University as it continues to grow and change. As I plan and research each issue of the McMaster Times, I’m impressed and excited by the range of activities at the University. I see students who pour hours of time and energy into community and program-related projects, in addition to their course work. Whether they are volunteering for Service Learning opportunities in developing countries or brainstorming at the MBA Games, their level of commitment is impressive. I talk to faculty about their research projects and learn how their findings have already or have the potential to transform the way we deal with major societal challenges such as the treat-ment of disease, caring for an aging society, developing policy and technology to ensure a safe and consistent water supply. I interview alumni who have taken their lessons learned and who contribute to society as thoughtful, informed professionals in all types of careers. I take note of awards won, honours granted, the University’s standing in national and international reports. “Work is the price which is paid for reputation,” wrote philosopher Baltasar Gracian. The evidence that McMaster has done that work to earn its reputation for excellence in teaching and research is all around us.

Jean Burrows is editor of the McMaster Times.

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Building a reputation By Jean Burrows

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavour to be what you

desire to appear.”–Socrates

Keywords for McMaster’s reputation shine on a gate at Mills Library.

fall 2008 mcmaster times

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