winter 2008 mcmaster times

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Living the lesson

McMaster Times

International programs broaden the McMaster experience

Political animals

A conversation with Susan Cunningham

Have degree. Will travel.

McMaster Times - Winter ‘08 3

Learning without boundaries ......................................... 8

Transportation institute gets green light ..................... 8

Six buildings receive heritage designation ................ 8

Burlington campus takes new direction ..................... 9

PhD program offered in Health Policy .......................... 9

Peace and war .................................................................. 9

High fives for CPRGlove................................................... 9

Preserving fertility in cancer patients ....................... 10

Peat, vegetation help reduce permafrost .................. 10

Lose fat, drink milk ......................................................... 10

Caffeine used to regulate breathing ........................... 10

McMaster “punches above its weight” ..................... 11

Engineering students excel at innovation fair .......... 11

Collaborative nursing program earns top marks ...... 12

School of Business among world’s best .................... 12

Gerstein receives national award .............................. 12

Mills Learning commons awarded ............................. 12

Teaching excellence recognized ................................ 13

Boreham wins teaching award ................................... 13

McMaster represented on Gallery of Distinction .... 13

MBA games draw 400 .................................................... 13

Royal Honours ................................................................. 13

University News

$10-million gift for liberal arts ....................................... 6

Gift creates chair in entrepreneurial leadership ...... 6

McMaster employees support their own .................... 6

Cabinet welcomes new member ................................... 7

Quick rise to the top ......................................................... 7

Campaign goes online ..................................................... 7

Campaign News

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

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

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

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

ALUMNI ALBUM ............................................................. 31

IN MEMORIAM................................................................ 36

McMASTER WRITES ...................................................... 37

THE LAST WORD ............................................................. 38

Departments

“I’m grateful to have seen so much, and

to have hiked in five canyons. Getting right

down into the canyons was the best,” said

Alvin Lee ’93 (honorary). He went on

the first MacPack adventure, with

his daughter Margaret Bader ’91 and her son James.

Living the lesson ............................. 14 International placements broaden the McMaster experience.

Asking new questions .............................................. 14 Beyond introspection ............................................... 16 Struck by reality ........................................................ 17Not just history ........................................................... 18

Meet McMaster .............................. 20In conversation with Susan Cunningham ’79.

Breaking the genetic code ........... 22McMaster scientists work with stem cells to unlock the secret of what orchestrates our lives.

Political animals ............................ 24Legislative internship program helps alumni find their paths.

Have degree. Will travel. .............. 27Travel program sets a new course.

Features

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Students in the “Phoenix: Out of the Ashes into the Atomic Age” course saw history made real on a class trip to Hiroshima in May 2006.

Fiona McN

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Anne-Marie M

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Alvin Lee, President & Vice-Chancellor Emeritus

Fiona McN

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ContributorsSusan Bubak, Peter George ’96, Jason Jones, James LaCombe, Mike Lalich, Glenn Lowson, Karen McQuigge ’90, Suzanne Morrison, Joseph A. Stephen ’84, Nick Wiebe, Martin Wissenz.

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

Officers, Alumni AssociationJoseph A. Stephen ’84, president; Kathy Chittley-Young ’96, past-presi-dent; Elizabeth Webel ’84, first vice-president; David Adames ’92, second vice-president; Don Bridgman ’78, financial advisor; Sheila Smith ’90, executive councillor, volunteer management; Anne Plessl ’79, executive councillor, alumni outreach; Cameal Sinclair ’07, executive councillor, student relations. Ex officio members: Lou Cafazzo ’06 (associate director, Alumni Advancement); Karen McQuigge ’90 (director, Alumni Advance-ment); Ryan Moran ’07 (president, MSU), Branch presidents.

Representatives to the University Senate:Earl Cochrane ’64, Lily Fong ’83, Jay Graydon ’71, Maureen Harmer ’66.

Representatives to the University Board of Governors: Quentin Broad ’86, Doug Lord ’73, Ellen Malcolmson ’83, Howard Shearer ’77, R. Peter Washburn ’73.

McMaster Times is published three times a year (January, April, and September) 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

Assistant EditorChantall Van RaayArt DirectorJD Howell ’04

Letters to the editor I wish to express my disappointment with McMaster Univer-sity’s decision to promote and pursue embryonic stem cell research. Genetic science has great potential for either serv-ing or degrading humanity. Its proper use requires moral reflection and the establishment of moral limits. On a biological level the pre-natal being is not like any other tissue: it is human with its own DNA indicating that, as a human, it has the same fundamental and moral right to life as any other human being. Human welfare does not demand that scientists pursue every avenue available. On the contrary, human welfare depends upon a shared responsibility that involves moral limits. Amazingly, though embryonic stem cell experiments have failed to produce a single, unqualified, therapeutic success, even in animal models, supporters of the embryonic model continue to laud their unproven and currently unethical methods and ignore the fact that adult stem cell therapies are being used extensively today in treating diseases. We must help those who are suffering, but we may not use a good end to justify an evil means. Human beings are not raw materials to be exploited or commodities that can be bought and sold. To suggest otherwise is to endorse a macabre interpretation of progress. Paul Kokoski ’07 See “Breaking the Genetic Code”, pages 22-23, for more on this issue. Editor.

Bravo to “Building pride in McMaster”, McMaster Times, Fall 2007. I applaud your presentation of strategy and efforts: networking; pre-graduation connectivity; alumni identity; Mac Career Services (thank you for two of my first jobs); and, career coaching. I did not realize the value of these ca-reer tools until recently. In both praise and constructive criticism: Mac is alive and I re-live my great years with my classmates each time we get together. Since graduation, I have only experienced two occasions that I felt an alumni bond. Once was when I returned to bestow the engineering iron ring on to my graduating sister and close friend when I received a social welcome from my professors at the ceremony. The other time was at the 2005 Homecoming Engineering End-zone BBQ at which Mac leaders and alumni welcomed me with a first-class setting and conversation. Too bad it has been only twice in 13 years. Ray Tribe ’94

On the cover Strings of paper cranes hang near the Children’s Peace Monu-ment in Hiroshima Peace Park. Sadako Sasaki died at 12 of leukemia – the result of her exposure to radiation from the atomic bomb blast in Hiroshima. Based on a Japanese legend that said that anyone who folded 1,000 cranes would be granted a wish by the gods, she folded more than 1,000 paper cranes in hopes of a cure. Now, people from around the world fold chains of 1,000 cranes as gestures of peace and send them to Hiroshima to be placed on the statue. Photo by Fiona McNeill.


President’s Message

I experienced my first significant international exposure in 1970. My family and I left behind Canada’s cold, winter climate and travelled to the warmth of Tanzania, Africa. We quickly settled into a new life as I spent my days as a project manager with the Tanzania Tourism Corporation. We returned a year later, my life greatly changed. I came home persuaded on the importance of international exposure. During my experience, I was an eyewitness to dramatic political change in Tanzania. This small, East African country had recently gained independence and the country was acquiring a new political/social philosophy. For the first time I became part of the evolution of another culture. Ultimately, it transformed my own life experience. Today, I often hear from McMaster’s faculty and students who travel abroad. They recount their experiences around the globe and inevitably say how it too changed their lives. McMaster provides numerous international experiences, such as Engineers Without Borders, international placements in nursing and Médicins Sans Frontières. These and other organizations allow students to experience new ways of life. Ultimately, their experiences become investments, not only in their future, but in the futures lives of those they become intertwined with during their journeys abroad. In creating our strategic plans, Directions and then Refining Directions, we realized that although we’re located in a particular geographic area, and we have very strong roots and responsibilities locally, our connections internationally for our faculty and student body have become more diverse and more international. We have a responsibility to create international partnerships and interaction through globalization. As a result, we are building our international connections with schools and organizations worldwide and they are helping us build on our basic philosophy of capacity building. Without a doubt, McMaster has developed strong connections overseas. During my travels I often hear positive reinforcements that McMaster is on the right track. While most often people

comment on our successful medical curriculum, there are several other areas of study that are signaled out such as our physics department and its role in the field of nanotechnology and our political science department and its world famous Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition. In fact, McMaster is better known internationally than I would have thought even just a few short years ago. While we continue to build international collaborations overseas, it remains a challenge. The world marketplace is increasingly competitive and one of our opportunities is to demonstrate that McMaster can provide genuine and meaningful opportunities and collaborations for students and faculty. As a university president, I can travel the world signing agreements but what’s really challenging is allowing these agreements to come to life academically. They must be living documents and it’s essential that we select the right partners so both institutions can identify faculty that can make the collaboration work. Obviously, we have achieved this feat. As you will read in this issue of the McMaster Times, many McMaster faculty and students are involved in inspiring work around the globe. They are the ones putting McMaster on the world map. They spread McMaster’s message and because of them, we are known as a success on the international stage. This is why creating opportunities is so important. Not only is it a transformative experience for those involved, but it spreads wide the path for those who follow.

Peter George, President,McMaster University

Global transformations

President Peter George received a traditional Aboriginal welcome from a Murri Nation repre-sentative at an Association of Commonwealth Universities summit conference at the University of Adelaide in Australia in 2006. George regularly trav-els overseas to build international collaborations and bolster McMaster’s international reputation.

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Campaign News

$10-million gift for liberal arts President Peter George, left, and Lynton (Red) Wilson ’62, at the announcement of Wilson’s

$10-million gift to the liberal arts.

JD Howell

Gift creates Chair in Entrepreneurial Leadership

Canadian business leader Teresa Cascioli ’83 has donated $1 million to establish the Teresa Cascioli Chair in Entrepreneurial Leadership. Cascioli, who is a member of the executive cabinet of The Campaign for McMaster Uni-versity, is the former chair and chief executive officer of Lakeport Brewing Income Fund. The entrepreneur and founder of the Teresa Cascioli Charitable Foundation brought the Hamilton-based brewery from bankruptcy pro-tection in 1999 and built it into one of Canada’s leading breweries. She successfully led the sale of Lakeport to internationally owned Labatt Brewing Company Ltd. in March 2007. “McMaster University helped me become who I am today,” she said. “I’m blessed to be able to give back to the University and the Hamilton community. I hope this gift will inspire others to support the exceptional teaching that is tak-ing place on campus.”

McMaster employeessupport their ownBrad Coburn ’03 can’t imagine working any-where else but McMaster. Since joining the Uni-versity as a student nearly 10 years ago, the mar-keting and promotions co-ordinator with the Centre for Student Development has found his dedication to the University has mushroomed.

McMaster is embarking on a resurgence that will redefine liberal arts for the 21st cen-tury thanks to a $10-million gift from McMaster Chancellor Lynton (Red) Wilson ’62. His gift supports the University’s plan to re-vamp the way the liberal arts are defined and taught through one-of-a-kind initiatives that range from the Centre for Global Citizenship Experiences and the Wilson Centre for Canadian History to Collaborations for Health and the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind. A new signature liberal arts building will be home to many of these initiatives. The building will be named in honour of Chancellor Wilson. Wilson, a McMaster graduate in econom-ics, said he is investing in the liberal arts be-cause he believes in the vision for liberal arts set out by McMaster President Peter George and the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences. “These disciplines are important in the development of the next generation of en-trepreneurs, policy makers, innovators and politicians, who in turn, will make us com-petitive and compassionate on a global scale,” said Wilson. “I hope that this gift will inspire McMaster, other donors and future genera-

tions of scholars and students to make, each in his or her own way, a similar type of com-mitment.” Academic initiatives proposed for the new building include an expansion of the Wilson Centre for Canadian History and an estab-lished professorship, created in 2004 with a generous gift of $1 million from Wilson. The eminent business leader is co-founder of Historica, an initiative created to help Canadians understand the depth, breadth and impact of their national history. President George said the Information Age created a drive toward technical skills that was understood, endorsed and perfected at McMaster. “But the world equally needs people who are problem solvers at every level from the local to the global. With the foresight of benefactors like Red Wilson, we are creating a thoroughly engaging approach that will equip students with the diverse skills and critical thinking capabilities to make bold decisions in a complex world. Innovation doesn’t come in a neat little box. It needs dialogue, debate and disagreement to create the spark that leads to enlightenment and discovery. We want to get students to think critically and to question the status quo and in the end, we will all be better for it.”


For Coburn, his involvement with this year’s Community Campaign for McMaster is one way he can demonstrate his commitment. “There is something about our community that keeps us here. The reason may be slightly different for each of us, but many of us simply want to be part of something special. We work in a supportive community that fosters leader-ship in its students, staff, and faculty.” Coburn and six other McMaster employees spearheaded the 2007 annual Community Campaign, called Making Change for McMas-ter. Gifts will support bursaries, scholarships, research and construction of new facilities. The McMaster University Retirees Associa-tion, (MURA), which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2010, is also supporting the cam-paign by raising enough funds to permanently endow two student awards: the McMaster Uni-versity Retirees Association Scholarship and the McMaster University Retirees Association Prize. Robert Burgess ’79, director of Adobe Systems Inc., is the newest member of McMaster’s Campaign Cabinet. The cabinet includes a cross section of 17 ex-ecutive members and 16 members-at-large who support campaign priorities and act as ambassa-dors for the campaign. “I am honoured to join such a highly esteemed group of individuals who make up McMaster’s campaign cabinet,” says Burgess. “Each member embodies a spirit of McMaster that I believe will help us meet the extraordinary opportunities this campaign offers.” Burgess was formerly chairman and CEO of Macromedia, which was acquired by Adobe in 2005 for $3.4 billion. Under his tenure, Macromedia transformed from a CD-ROM- based multimedia company to the leader in web authoring and development solutions with products such as Flash. The cabinet has met three times so far to discuss The Campaign for McMaster University.

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Campaign cabinet

Member Profile

McMaster has launched a new campaign website, as part of an overall website site rede-sign for the university. In addition to student, faculty and staff pro-files, the site contains quick biographies of the campaign cabinet and information on how to support the campaign. A campaign video can also be accessed from the site, as well as

messages from Campaign chair Ron Joyce ’98 (honorary) and McMaster President Peter George. The redesign brings the website in line with a new brand design, part of the University’s three-year marketing strategy. See the site at: www.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-campaign/default.html.

At age 36, he’s the youngest member of McMaster’s campaign cabinet. But his age aside, Priyanthan Kodeeswaran has a world of experience behind him. Since graduating from McMaster in 1995 with a commerce degree, Kodeeswaran has moved quickly up the ladder of success. He began his career with Europa Capital Manage-ment in Prague working in private equity in Central and Eastern Europe. Two and half years later he was recruited to London to work as a fund manager for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, first on the Emerging Europe team and then the continental European team. In 2001, he moved to the hedge fund side of the business when he joined Avocet Capital as one of the founding principals. At the end of 2003, Kodeeswaran joined Cheyne Capital, where he now manages a global long-short investment strategy focused on the technology, media and telecommunica-

tions sectors for the firm. Last year he became a partner of Cheyne Capital LLP. “I have been involved in dynamic growth markets throughout my professional career,” he says. Although much has happened in his 12 years since graduating, Kodeeswaran has strong memories of his McMaster days. “I remember trayboggoning at Faculty Hollow to relieve exam stress, working at Hamilton Hall as the treasurer of the McMaster Students Union with the rest of the gang, and singing along to Cliff Erickson at the Rathskellar,” he laughs. Kodeeswaran also made strong bonds at the university, having met his wife, Anna Cornacchia ’95, here as well as a number of close friends. He credits McMaster’s influence for his quick success. “McMaster was good prepara-tion for the real world via the excellent blend of extracurricular activities married with strong academics,” he says. “DeGroote’s business policy courses and Marvin Ryder’s market research and new product marketing classes were particularly real-world oriented. Mac gave me a sound foundation and a rounded view on business.” So it was an easy decision to join McMaster’s campaign cabinet, says Kodeeswaran. “I have always thought McMaster is an excellent university that provides a top-notch educa-tional experience for its students while delivering world-class research. A number of things have changed in the local economy and environment since I went there, and I have always viewed change as an opportunity,” he adds. “The campaign will provide the University with resources that will enable it to take advantage of these changes and drive its academic leadership forward in this century.”

Priyanthan Kodeeswaran

Campaign goes online

Quick rise to the topBy Chantall Van Raay

Mike Lalich

New cabinet member


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Transportation institute gets green light The McMaster Institute for Transportation and Logistics is already positioned to work with industry and government partners to address planning and policy issues related to efficient transport and logistics systems, with three confirmed industry partners and interest from all levels of government. It received Board of Governors approval in October. Pavlos Kanaroglou ’76, acting direc-tor of the School of Geography & Earth Scienc-es and Canada Research Chair in Spatial Analy-sis, will serve as the Institute’s first director. The Institute will focus on: • Performing affordable, objective research for public and private partners, emphasizing the efficient and sustainable operation of transport and logistics systems; • Providing industry and government with trained personnel and educational programs on transportation and logistics; and • Promoting interaction between industry, gov-ernment and academic experts to create benefits for industry and society alike.

McMaster’s six original buildings have been granted heritage designation by the City of Hamilton. The buildings include University Hall, Hamilton Hall, Wallingford Hall, Edwards Hall, the Refectory, which opened in 1930, and Alumni Memorial Hall, built 20 years later. “This designation ensures that the historic core of the campus, the elegant design of the structures and spaces will be preserved,” said Karen Bellaire, vice-president of administration. The buildings were positioned to take advan-tage of the natural surroundings provided by the

Lynton (Red) Wilson ’62 makes his first convocation address as McMaster chancellor. He was sworn in at fall convocation on Nov. 16.

Martin W

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Learning withoutboundaries You may have seen McMaster’s name more frequently over the last few months. This fall, the University rolled out a new marketing plan with an advertising campaign. “One of the goals of Refining Directions and one of my own goals for my third term as presi-dent is to raise McMaster’s national profile and reputation,” said Peter George, McMaster presi-dent. “We have worked for some time to develop the University’s distinct brand and to develop a marketing and advertising strategy to tell McMaster’s story. This strategy is particularly important as we work together on our ambitious goals for The Campaign for McMaster Univer-sity, and the campaign budget has allowed us to move ahead with our plans.” This past fall, a special “Learning Without Boundaries” insert was included with the Globe and Mail (home delivery), sent to almost 100,000 alumni in the fall issue of the McMaster Times, and distributed to faculty and staff. Additional McMaster advertising has been placed in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Report on Business, Canadian Business, Finan-cial Post Business Magazine, MoneySense, and in a special innovation series in Ottawa Life. Electronic ads have been featured on the Globe and Mail site and the Business News Network and the University will continue its advertising in the skywalk between Union Station and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.


wooded ravine along the campus’s north side. The brick and stone buildings feature a “Col-legiate Gothic” design inspired by the medieval colleges of Oxford and Cambridge as well as late 19th and early 20th century American cam-pus buildings. The stone exteriors of University Hall and Hamilton Hall consist of rock-faced ashlar with dressed stone trim and carved ornamentation. The other four buildings are brick masonry with stone trim.

Burlington campus takes new direction McMaster continues to make progress on opening a new campus in Burlington, Ont. It just won’t be at the downtown location that was originally considered. The University announced its decision to pur-sue other sites in a project update presented to the City in late October. “The University is committed to establishing a campus in Burlington and to make the project successful we need to make sure that the site has the greatest potential in both the short and long-term,” said Ilene Busch-Vischniac, provost. “New potential sites have come to our attention that would better meet the needs for the De-Groote School of Business, allow greater acces-sibility and future expansion, and potentially open the campus earlier than would have been possible downtown.”

PhD program offered in Health Policy McMaster University has launched a new PhD program unique in Canada to train leaders in the field of health policy. The Health Policy PhD is now accepting applications for the interdisciplinary program which will begin in September 2008. Students will study theory and empirical methods for framing, investigating and answer-ing crucial questions about health policy. The program represents a collaboration of the Faculties of Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Science and Humanities, as well as the DeGroote School of Business and the School of Geography & Earth Sciences. The program has a special relationship with Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analy-sis, which provides an established environment for health policy education and scholarship.

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Corey Centen ’07 and Nilesh Patel continue to earn recognition for the CPRGlove they invented for a final year design project in electrical and biomedical engineering. The pair won the undergraduate category of the prestigious Collegiate Inventors Competition (CIC) in October, taking home $15,000 in prize money. Their academic advisor, Hubert de Bruin ’76, associate professor of electrical & computer engineering, also received a $5,000 prize as a result of their win. TIME magazine also selected the CPRGlove as one of the best inventions of 2007 in the health category. The glove is a wearable cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training, testing and assisting device developed to improve survival rates from cardiac arrest. The custom-made glove is equipped with sensors and an LCD screen to give instructions and feedback when the user performs CPR. The glove is able to provide information on the rate, depth, force and angle of compressions as well as the heart rate. It also speaks, providing verbal cues for the user. Although millions of people in North America are trained to provide CPR, they are unable to properly administer the life-saving procedure less than six months later. This includes doctors and nurses. As a result, survival from cardiac arrest remains low. Along with Sarah Smith ’07, Centen and Patel have established Atreo Medical Inc. to develop and market the CPRGlove. They have received initial funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence and are planning to undertake clinical trials with the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Pennsylvania. See more at www.cprglove.com.

A website dedicated to peace and war in the 20th century will feature diaries, letters, photographs, popular songs, recruiting posters, propaganda material and trench maps.

From left, Sarah Smith, Nilesh Patel and Corey Centen, established Atreo Medical Inc. to develop and market the CPRGlove.

High fives for CPRGlove

Peace and war From Vera Brittan’s diary account of the day that the First World War was declared and the arrival of the news that her fiancé had been killed to the letters of then-recent McMaster graduate B.F. Trotter ’45, written from the trenches to his parents at home in Canada in the days before he was killed, stories of peace and war in the 20th century abound. This spring, these tales of war will be made available on a state-of-the-art website through the Division of Archives and Research Collec-tions at Mills Memorial Library. While the site is being developed, you can check out the wiki at www.warpeace.pbwiki.com.


Research News Preserving fertility in male cancer patients A Hamilton Health Sciences study proves that sperm freezing and banking is an effective way to preserve fertility in adolescents and young adult males with cancer. Researchers at the Centre for Reproductive Care, McMaster Children’s Hospital and the Juravinski Cancer Centre will investigate the benefits of proactively preserving sperm prior to starting cancer treatment to allow male cancer patients the opportunity to father biological children in the future. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy may cause transient or permanent infertility in young male cancer patients by affecting either ejaculatory or erectile function or by impairing the generation of sperm. Michael Neal ’70, laboratory director at the Centre for Reproductive Care, and his co-investigators found that even though sperm freezing is shown to be highly effective, it is an underutilized option of fertility preservation for young male cancer patients.

Peat, vegetation reduce permafrost thaw Peat and vegetation in northern areas may help protect permafrost from the effects of cli-mate change, according to a McMaster study published in Geophysical Research Letters. “Northern regions are warming and perma-frost is melting as shown by numerous observa-tions and modeling studies,” said Altaf Arain, co-author of the study and associate professor in the School of Geography & Earth Sciences. “However, there is large uncertainty about the rate and magnitude of permafrost degradation.” Previous studies suggest global warming is rapidly melting permafrost in northern regions. According to these studies, only one million sq. km of the currently estimated 10.5 million sq. km of permafrost would remain by the end of this century. However, these studies did not take peat or soil organic layer into account. Arain’s study indicates that although perma-frost degradation was predicted over the 2000 to 2100 period, areas with mineral-based soil and no vegetation were most affected. He found forest cover provides more protection than shrubs or bare ground, and thick layers of peat were such effective insulators that permafrost shows only minimal decline even by 2100. A

layer of peat above the permafrost acts as insula-tion by trapping air pockets, which reduces heat transfer.

Insight into Huntington’s McMaster researchers have first insight into how Huntington’s disease (HD) is triggered. Ray Truant, professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, has been studying the biological role of the huntingtin protein and the sequences in the protein that tell it where to go within a brain cell. Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurological disorder resulting from degeneration of brain cells. The degeneration causes uncontrolled limb movements and loss of intellectual faculties, eventually leading to death. Truant and PhD candidate graduate student, Randy Singh Atwal, have discovered a small protein sequence in huntingtin that allows it to locate to the part of the cell critical for protein quality control. Similar findings have been seen to be very im-portant for other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

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Very premature babies who were given caf-feine to regulate their breathing have a signifi-cantly lower incidence of disabilities such as cerebral palsy and cognitive delay at the age of two years, according to an international study led by researchers at McMaster. Researchers studied more than 2,000 premature babies who were either treated with caffeine or given a placebo. The infants weighed between 500 and 1,250 grams at birth, and were at risk of apnea – interrupted or irregular breathing due to immaturity. The ongoing study, with colleagues in Canada, Australia, the US, Europe and Israel, will continue to follow the children until they reach the age of five. The project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Health and Medical Re-search Council of Australia. Caffeine and similar drugs have been used for more than 30 years to make the breath-ing of very preterm babies more regular, but without sufficient knowledge of the possible benefits and risks. According to Dr. Barbara Schmidt, the principal investigator of the research project, the latest results of the study showed that among the babies receiving caffeine therapy, only 40 per cent had an unfavourable out-come by the time they reached the end of their second year of life. Caffeine reduced the rates of cerebral palsy and cognitive delay, but had no significant effect on the rates of death, bilateral blindness and severe hearing loss. Schmidt is a part-time professor in the Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Bio-statistics at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

Caffeine used to regulate breathing

To gain muscle and lose fat, drink milk Part of a continuing study into the impact of drinking milk after heavy weightlifting has found that milk helps exercisers burn more fat. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was conducted by the Department of Kinesiology’s Exercise Metabo-lism Research Group, led by Stuart Phillips ’89. The researchers took three groups of young men 18 to 30 years of age – 56 in total – and put them through a rigorous, five-day-per-week weightlifting program over a 12-week period. Following their workouts, study participants drank either two cups of skim milk, a soy beverage with equivalent amounts of protein and energy, or a carbohydrate beverage with an equivalent amount of energy, which was roughly the same as drinking 600 to 700 mil-liliters of a typical sports drink. Upon the study’s conclusion, researchers found that the milk-drinking group had lost nearly twice as much fat – two pounds – while the carbohydrate beverage group lost one pound of fat. Those drinking soy lost no fat. At the same time, the gain in muscle was much greater among the milk drinkers than either the soy or carbohydrate beverage study participants.

Steve Russell


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Both research specialists and students have given McMaster high marks in studies released this fall. Research Infosource Inc. released its 2007 ranking of Canada’s top 50 research universities and McMaster placed among the country’s best. A total sponsored research income of $331.6 million kept McMaster in sixth place overall. In terms of research intensity – a measure of research income per full-time faculty member – McMaster placed second in the country, averaging nearly $291,000 per faculty member. Mo Elbestawi ’76, vice-president, Research and International Affairs, is pleased with the overall results, noting the University continues to “punch above its weight.”

The full report can be viewed at www.researchinfosource.com. In the Globe and Mail’s annual University Report Card, McMaster stu-dents gave the University strong grades in many key areas, including qual-ity of education, academic reputation, faculty members’ knowledge of subject and reputation for conducting leading-edge research. “The Report Card provides a snapshot of what students think about the university and McMaster clearly provides students with the quality academic experience and student services they believe are important,” said provost Ilene Busch-Vishniac. “It also helps identify areas where we need to find ways to do better, including class sizes, class scheduling and the availability of scholarships and bursaries.”

Awards Honours

McMaster continues to “punch above its weight”

Engineering students excel at regional innovation fairFive McMaster engineering entrepreneurship master’s students walked away with $5,000 each thanks to their talent for pitching business start-ups as part of the inaugural TECNet Smart Start Innovation Fair in October. The fair challenged students enrolled in the engineering entrepreneurship programs at McMaster and the University of Waterloo to make two-minute business pitches to a panel of well-known venture capitalists and investors. Two of the highest-ranked pitches were made by McMaster students for developments from the Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship

and Innovation (XCEEi) program: • Winovi: A wireless platform to deliver filtered, summarized, peer-reviewed, relevant, evidence-based medical knowledge to health care professionals on their wireless devices, saving them from having to read thousands of journals. It is run by McMaster students Alena Morozova and Aizhan Tursunbayeva with technology from Dr. Brian Haynes ’73, a professor of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics. • Hospital Inventory Tracking and Management using RFID Technology: A services-related initiative out of the XCEEi

program enabling healthcare facilities to track their equipment and devices in real-time to better manage theft and loss. It is run by Pankaj Sood ’04, a 2006 graduate of the XCEEi program. McMaster University will host the 2008 competitions. TECNet is a joint initiative between McMaster’s Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Business Entrepreneurship and Technology.


The DeGroote School of Business has received top marks from its graduates, who lead all other business students in the country when it comes to earnings, according to a survey. In the prestigious Princeton Review Best Busi-ness Schools list, DeGroote earned a place on the Best 290 Business Schools list. The Review – known for its college rankings based on how students rate their schools – surveyed DeGroote MBA students about academics, campus life and career preparation and planning opportunities. According to Canadian Business magazine, MBA graduates enjoy a triple-digit percent-age increase in salaries upon graduating. The survey shows DeGroote Co-op MBAs enjoying a 118 per cent post-graduation salary increase, allowing DeGroote to claim the top spot in the national study. The annual survey examines MBA schools across Canada. The average entering salary for DeGroote Co-op students is $31,813 and the av-erage starting salary upon graduation is $69,283.

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Gerstein receives national award Dr. Hertzel Gerstein ’89, professor of medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, received the Charles H. Best Award from the Canadian Diabetes Association for his leadership in the field of diabetes research and care. The award recognizes a health professional who has made a significant difference in improving the quality of life of Canadians living with diabetes. Gerstein is the founder of Diabetes Hamilton and holds the Population Health Research Institute Chair in Diabetes Research. He is also recognized for the DREAM trial that showed that a drug used to treat diabetes may significantly reduce the chances of developing the disease when taken by those most at risk.

Mills Learning Commons Project receives awardThe Mills Learning Commons Project is the 2007 recipient of the McMaster Students Union’s Rudy Heinzl Award of Excellence, which recognizes an outstanding one-year achievement that improves the lives of McMaster students. The Mills Learning Commons opened last October and has become the most popular and busiest area in Mills Library. It is an active, student-centred learning space that integrates traditional and emerging scholarly resources, information technology, expert help, and collaborative and individual study space.

School of Businessamong world’s best

Collaborative nursing program earns top marks A program that combines the best of nursing education at McMaster University, Mohawk and Conestoga colleges has earned the highest level of accreditation possible from the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN). The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program and its curriculum, offered by the con-sortium of the three schools, has earned a seven-year accreditation from the association. Schools of nursing must be accredited for graduates to be eligible to write their registration examination to become registered nurses.

Glenn Lowson


Teaching excellence recognized Five McMaster professors have received a boost of recognition for excellence in teaching from the Ontario government’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Recipients of the Leadership in Faculty Teaching (LIFT) Award are: • Deborah Cook ’85: Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics • Richard Day ’77: Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour • Miroslav Lovric: Mathematics & Statistics • Mandeep Malik: Strategic Market Leadership & Health Services Management • Marshall Beier: Political Science The LIFT Awards recognize and encourage teaching excellence at colleges and universities in Ontario and are presented to faculty who influence, motivate and inspire students as well as demonstrate leadership in teaching methods. This is the first year for the awards.

Doug Boreham, associate professor in Medical Physics & Applied Radiation Sciences, has received a Hamilton Spectator Publisher’s Award for Education. The award recognizes academics who take the classroom to the community and share knowledge with the residents of Hamilton. In Boreham’s seven years at McMaster, he’s been recognized by students, administration and peers for his commitment to research, teaching and overall excellence, winning the McMaster Students Union Merit Award, the President’s Award for Overall Excellence in Instruction and the Canadian Nuclear Society’s Education & Communications Award.

Six outstanding citizens, including two with McMaster connections, were inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in November for their leadership, dedication and talent. Sandra Witelson, a McMaster University neuroscientist, has brought international honour and distinction to the city of Hamilton through her research and study of Albert Einstein’s brain. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has been an active community volunteer on the Opera Hamilton board and the Halton-Wentworth Alzheimer’s Foundation. John Munro (posthumous), who attended McMaster, was one of Hamilton’s most famous politicians. He boosted the city throughout his career as MP for Hamilton East for 22 years, securing federal support to establish McMaster University’s medical school, the expansion of Hamilton General Hospital, the modernization of Hamilton Harbour and the expansion of Hamilton (now Munro International) Airport. Other inductees are Louise Dompierre, John Fortino, Roy Green and Isaac Buchanan (posthumous).

MBA Games draw 400 More than 400 MBA students will converge on the DeGroote School of Business at the beginning of January for the 2008 MBA Games. This national student competition will draw teams from at least 16 schools from across the country. The MBA Games consist of three areas of competition: academics, athletics and spirit. Over the course of three days, students participate in a variety of challenges. This year, the academic events will include two live cases – one with a focus on business strategy and one with a focus on marketing – a negotiation

challenge and a simulated stock challenge. The strategy and marketing cases will be judged by representatives from industry and aca-demia. The 2008 MBA Games at DeGroote will focus on Canadian contributions to internation-al development, encouraging MBA students to apply innovative business solutions to interna-tional development issues. In keeping with this theme, MBA Games 2008 has partnered with MBAs Without Borders, a not-for-profit organization that strives to improve international business development by sending MBAs overseas to countries where their business expertise is in high demand and where they can make a remarkable impact in the global economy.

Seven McMaster professors have been honoured by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). This is the largest contingent of McMaster faculty to receive awards in a single year, bringing to 70 the number of faculty members who have been invited to join the Society. Chris Wood of the Department of Biology is one of the McMaster professors honoured by the RSC. His award differs from that of his colleagues as he is already an RSC member. But this year the Society awarded him the Miroslaw Romanowski medal for his work on metal toxicity in aquatic ecosystems. McMaster professors inducted into the Society and receiving citations from the Academy of Social Sciences are: Daphne Maurer, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour; and Geoffrey Norman, Educational Research & Development. Those receiving citations from the Academy of Science are: Walter Craig, Department of Mathematics & Statistics; Brian Haynes, Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics; John MacGregor, Department of Chemical Engineering; and Max Wong, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering.

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Boreham wins Hamilton Spectator Publisher’s Award

New Hamilton Gallery of Distinction inductees Sandra Witelson

Douglas Boreham

Chris Wood

Ron SchefflerRoyal honours for seven professors

Chantall Van Raay


It’s a wonder Stephen Lewis ’79 (honorary) finds time to prepare to teach his upcoming course on global health and climate change at McMaster. In fact, it’s a wonder he has time to speak to the McMaster Times about his recent three-year re-appointment at McMaster given his incredibly demanding calendar. Just home from a back-to-back trip to Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Victoria, Whistler and Calgary, he had a few minutes to chat before preparing for the next day for another new adventure. He and his wife Michele Landsberg ’06 (honorary) would receive a joint honorary degree from Ryerson University and would together speak to students about feminism. But does he flinch at the thought of his daunting schedule? Except for the fact that he doesn’t get to spend as much time with his grandsons as he’d like, he says “this is my life,” then pauses briefly, “and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Lewis is a coup for McMaster. His credentials

range from co-director of AIDS-Free World, a new international AIDS advocacy organization, to deputy executive director of UNICEF at the organization’s global headquarters in New York. But of all his accomplishments, it’s not surprising the one that affected him most was his five-and-a-half-year role as the UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, which ended in 2006. While difficult work, he says it persuaded him more than ever on the importance of fighting for social justice. During his three-year appointment as scholar-in-residence at the Institute of Globalization and the Human Condition at McMaster, his task will be to relay some of his experience and knowledge to students. Beginning in January he will teach a fourth-year undergraduate course that will examine climate change and the related consequences for global health in both the developed and developing world. The course will be offered in the Department of Health, Aging & Society through to 2010.

McMaster students who are interest-ed in working and/or studying abroad have a world of choice – with more than 70 student exchange programs and various work/study abroad options available through clubs and special interest groups. “Students learn to understand how other people think, what they think of other people, and gain knowledge of other cultures and languages through international placements,” said Luke Chan ’74, McMaster’s associate vice-president of International Affairs. “They also gain a better understanding of Canada.” Through the following articles, McMaster Times presents a sample of the international opportunities avail-able to students.

Living the lessonInternational programs broaden the McMaster experienceBy Jean Burrows and Chantall Van Raay

Asking new questions Stephen Lewis maintains a busy schedule as visiting professor of global health.

Nick W

iebe


Living the Lesson

Lewis became the inaugural scholar-in-residence of the Institute in 2006. “I agreed to rejoin McMaster because I very much enjoyed last year and I wanted to continue, but I didn’t want to continue with intermittent lectures,” he says, adding he hopes his course will give students some insight into the implications on climate change on the human condition. “It’s a really prominent issue right now with the World Health Organization’s emphasis on climate change and its threat to public health and Al Gore recently winning a Nobel prize for his work on global warming. There is more and more international attention being given to it,” he says. “I’m thrilled to be able to address it with students.” In addition to conducting public lectures related to social justice, and finding time to write another book, he will also have two interns and will be available to speak with students one-to-one. “Working with Mr. Lewis was an amazing experience, especially when I realized the responsibility he was giving the interns, in terms of research as well as asking for our own opinions,” says Katelin Short ’07, one of Lewis’ five interns last year. “I was so motivated after I first heard Mr. Lewis speak at a conference and to hear the exact same passion and drive when speaking on a one-to-one basis was really inspiring. “What I took away from this experience is that no work is insignificant when you are fighting for something you really believe in,” she says. “To expect quick and immediate results is probably setting yourself up for disappointment so be prepared to face some challenges and not allow setbacks to diminish your determination.” Lewis inspired Short to kick-start her own international experience. Last summer she

travelled to Moshi, Tanzania with two friends to teach English to a class of 90 kindergarten-aged children over a period of four weeks. “While I was there I was able to meet a group of young local people which has created a program that uses dancing and drums to teach HIV/AIDS awareness. I was also able to befriend an amazing woman who lived near my school who I visited nearly every day and taught me much about life and the responsibilities of

women in the town. I would definitely like to have more international experiences in the future and encourage anyone else who can to try and do so.” Short is now a student in the University of Toronto’s one-year International Relations Collaborative Program. After, she hopes to work for a non-governmental organization or inter-governmental organization that will allow her to continue her research, specifically focused on women’s issues and HIV/AIDS. Short continues to work with Lewis,

summarizing and analyzing reports. Lewis also has maintained contact with each of last year’s interns. Lewis enjoys working with students; a change from his regular work. “I got a tremendous kick out of students who clearly took the subject matters seriously. I met with a cross-section of students and it was the intensity of the interns which prompted me to do a more serious course instead of something eclectic.” While Lewis has been involved in fighting for social justice for more than two decades since leaving politics, McMaster students have taught him new ways of looking at it. “The questions students asked were very unselfconscious. For example, they asked about climate change in the South Pacific. They asked about AIDS in Africa and they pressed me hard about self-prevention and treatment options. They really pressured me to ask new questions,” he says. “I was also struck by the number of students who want to take the plunge into international development.” Aside from his McMaster duties, he has taken on a new role as co-director of AIDS-Free World with Paula Donovan, his senior advisor when he was the UN special envoy and a 20-year veteran of international development, women’s rights and HIV/AIDS. “The work that we’re doing together is the most significant work I’m doing now, beyond McMaster,” he says, adding Donovan is also assisting him in his role at McMaster, by meeting and talking with students. On the heels of his 70th birthday, Lewis shows no signs of slowing down. After all, there is still work to be done, he says. “There’s a lot at stake in this world. I always know if you grit your teeth and keep at it, the pendulum will swing your way. One day I know the pendulum will swing our way.” – CVR

Living the lessonInternational programs broaden the McMaster experience Fiona M

cNeill

“I got a tremendous kick out of students who clearly took the subject matters seriously.

I met with a cross-section of students and it was the

intensity of the interns which prompted me to do a more serious course instead of

something eclectic.”

– Stephen Lewis


When Tamara Baldwin visited East Africa three years ago, she thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Instead, in December 2007 she headed back to work with community leaders to set up McMaster’s second Service Learning project in the country. The eight McMaster students who went to Kenya in May 2007 were part of a work and learning opportunity that is quickly gaining popularity in McMaster and in Canada. Service Learning enables students to apply what they learn in university to community projects.

They also have the opportunity to reflect on what they learn from the experience to gain new skills and deeper understanding. Past projects have included Reading Week sessions in Hamilton, Vancouver, St. John’s, Louisiana, and Cuernavaca, Mexico. Personal interest drove Baldwin, a residence life co-ordinator in Housing & Conferences Services, to become involved in Service Learning. Five years ago, she attended the founding meeting of the Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning and has worked on a pilot program at McMaster for the past four years. “We took people to New Orleans four years ago – before Hurricane Katrina,” Balwin said. “(The program) really owes its start to Housing & Conference Services. They supported it by allowing me time to pursue my passion and by providing office space for students who contribute to the development of all McMaster Service Learning programs and initiatives.” In 2007, Service Learning was given $200,000

in special funds from McMaster University Student Services to cover the program for the next two years. “This will give us the time to take a long-term view, to set directions, and to explore different sources of funding,” Baldwin said. She has been able to hire two, fourth-year students to help with the work. Cookie Pais, Geography & Environmental Studies, and Brandon Love, Philosophy & Psychology, are Service Learning program assistants who organize and manage logistics, develop service experiences and corresponding learning objectives, develop relationships with local and international community partners, and work with the student participants to pull all the pieces together. “I’ve always been interested in international issues,” said Pais, who took part in the March 2007 trip to Cuernavaca. “In Mexico, I really got a chance to view another part of the world. I now want to pursue international issues, rather than environmental issues when I graduate.” Love is fascinated by theories in education. “Community immersion provides a sharp contrast to the learning experience you receive in university. Even just living somewhere else helps you learn more about yourself.” In every setting, Service Learning works with local community groups to develop programs that are of real benefit to the community. “Good intentions aren’t good enough,” Baldwin said. “By working with community groups, we are able to keep pushing the envelope on what we can accomplish in the field placements.” On the month-long Kenya placement, participants split their day between teaching at a primary school and working with local contractors to help build a learning resource centre. Some of the participants became frustrated because the classes they were teaching numbered in the hundreds, Baldwin said. “There was no opportunity for individual teaching, rather it was educational management.” The city’s education administrator spoke to the group and explained that, during a previous election campaign, the national government

had promised free access to public education but hadn’t backed up the promise with additional funding or resources. “He was able to provide background on how the situation had evolved, so that even if the students’ frustration didn’t disappear completely, they at least had a better understanding of the context,” Baldwin said. The project in Mexico was organized through the Cuernevaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development (CCIDD), which has the same mandate as a service learning group. “CCIDD was able to facilitate the same experience,” said Pais. “A local professor, activist groups and community members all spoke to our group.” Pais’ group worked to help paint a local school, served breakfast at a squatter settlement and worked with Habitat for Humanity and at a local composting centre. Service Learning also takes place in local communities; for the past two years students from McMaster and the University of Alberta have worked with service providers in Hamilton including a homeless shelter, food bank and community centre. They also worked with the Hamilton Social Planning and Research Council to conduct a needs assessment in a local community that is currently under-serviced. “It provides exactly the same experience as an international placement. . .some participants want the opportunity of serving their own community,” Baldwin said. “Having the students from the University of Alberta really helped up to see our community through new eyes.” Participants lived (in Hedden Hall) and cooked all their meals together, just as they would on an international placement, Baldwin said. There are a variety of fundraising options to help students who have funding limitations to participate in the program, said Pais. She raised about 75 per cent of the money she needed. “When I heard about how great the experience was, I wasn’t going to let finances stop me from going. I found creative ways to make it happen.” Participants have different backgrounds, interests, and motivations, Baldwin said. “Some are looking for a different Reading Week experience, some want to learn more about their own community, some want to experience a different type of education, some want to experience a different location.” “We stress that it’s not just a week away – people have to commit to attending pre-trip learning experiences that start in December,” said Pais. “Experiential education such as Service Learning enhances an exchange experience through the process of learning-by-doing,” said Love. “It’s beyond introspection.” – JB

Service learning can take place in the local community. Here, students sort produce for the Hamilton food bank.

Students on the Kenya Service Learning experience spent half of their day teaching children at a local public school.

Beyond introspection


Living the Lesson

Daniel Langdon spent months preparing for his journey to Ghana, Africa. The McMaster Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter had raised $6,000, enough to get him there and established with a host family and work placement, and he had taken part in mandatory training in Toronto with participants from EWB chapters across Canada. He was nervous, excited, unsure, all the emotions expected of someone about to embark on a three-and-a-half-month journey abroad. But above all, he felt he was prepared. That was until three days after arriving, reality of life in rural Ghana hit hard when one of his host family’s children died of malaria. He was shocked. “In Canada, when we have the death of a child it is a major event and personally I had never experienced it.” he says. He recalls that shortly after mourning with the family, a woman approached him and asked how many children he hoped to have. “I replied that I wanted one or maybe two children and she said, ‘One or two? What will you do if both die?’ I think that is probably what struck me the most.” Last May, Langdon joined dozens of students from across the country to travel abroad with EWB, a student-run organization that promotes human development through access to technology. As a “Junior Fellow in International Development”, Langdon and fellow McMaster student Denis Beaulne, were selected to spend the summer volunteering with a local non-governmental organization (NGO) in Africa. They lived with a traditional family, taking part in daily chores and working hand-in-hand with the community.

Langdon was placed in Saboba, a town in north-eastern Ghana, where he ran team-building and communication workshops with the District Assembly of Saboba-Chereponi. He also taught employees how to use computers, scanners and fax machines. Beaulne, co-president of McMaster’s EWB and a fifth-year mechanical engineering & management student, spent the summer working with Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief near Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. He worked on a food security project, called Moving Beyond Hunger, where he conducted an assessment of different food processing and preservation methods as well as assessing marketing opportunities for different crops grown in the area. The McMaster chapter also sends a long-term volunteer overseas. Boris Martin, a PhD student in materials engineering, is working on a 14-month placement in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso with a project called PAMER (Projet d’Appui aux Micro Entreprises Rurales = Project for the Development of Rural Micro Entreprises). PAMER delivers technical and accounting training and financial assistance to rural entrepreneurs who want to start or strengthen non-agricultural activities in agricultural areas. “I’ve been extremely impressed by the level of maturity each of the McMaster chapter members has shown in the quest for better understanding of global issues,” says Martin. “EWB raises the bar of academic excellence and that will definitely translate into an increased value of a McMaster degree.” EWB was established in 2000 as a program for engineers building technology infrastructure

in development countries. It has now grown to include participants from all areas of study, including Langdon, a second-year life sciences student, and Stephanie Tom, a fourth-year Arts & Science student who is co-president of the McMaster chapter. “It is not just about technology, but about information sharing and partnering with NGOs and offering expertise in a variety of areas,” says Tom, who will travel to Africa next summer with EWB. “The founders of the program – Parker Mitchell and George Roter from the University of Waterloo – realized that engineering was an untapped resource and so the initial focus was on building technology. But over time it became apparent that you can’t just import technology, you need to work with the community so they know how to use it.” Now that they’ve returned, Langdon and Beaulne are sharing their experiences with other students at McMaster and across the province. “I feel that the Canadian component is vital,” says Langdon, also the vice-president external of McMaster’s EWB. “Participants return with a strong knowledge of the actual needs of the country that can help communities gain access to technologies and information that will improve their lives.” Langdon hopes other students become inspired to participate in programs like EWB. “McMaster has so many great students and I really hope they trust in themselves to apply to these programs, whether it’s EWB or one of the many other great international programs that McMaster has to offer. There are so many great groups on campus that really do make a difference.” – CVR

Daniel Langdon, who volunteered with Engineers Without Borders in Ghana, Africa last May, is pictured with M’Beynjoon, daughter of his Ghanaian host brother.

Struck by reality N’Te W

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At first glance, Nghi Phan ’06 thought the course “Phoenix: Out of the Ashes into the Atomic Age”, merely offered a chance to visit Japan while completing a course requirement for his bachelor of health sciences degree. Instead, the experience was transformative. “The course was physically and emotionally intense in nature, and its impact is so deep, that I cannot truly measure how it has affected me,” Phan said. Now in the first year of a master’s in radiation biology, Phan is considering going on to earn a PhD – something he never considered before the trip. “(Radiation biology) is a hot topic – it relates to people, it relates to current events,” he said. “You understand why there’s fear, what can be done differently.” Phan was one of 36 students who travelled to Hiroshima in May 2006 with Fiona McNeill and Doug Boreham, the chair and an associate professor, respectively, in Medical Physics & Applied Radiation Sciences. McNeill and

Boreham reasoned that if students understood the effects of high-dose radiation, they would appreciate the public’s generalized fear of nuclear technology. McNeill is a physicist and Boreham a biologist, “so between us, we were able to

cover most of the sciences associated with the bomb,” McNeill said. “The trip kept sparking questions and generating information,” Phan said. “You’re learning what you want to understand and the learning comes from your curiosity.”

The group spent five days in Hiroshima, touring the Peace Park and its monuments and ruins of buildings destroyed by the bomb, meeting and hearing testimony from survivors, and touring the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, where American and Japanese scientists are researching the long-term effects of radiation exposure. “They were great hosts and very accommodating to have 40 students come in and disrupt their research,” McNeill said. She would like to establish exchanges and sabbatical placements with the foundation. “The hands-on experience sets this course apart,” Phan said. “I’d read about what happened, but when I met people face to face and talked to them, what I’d learned before really clicked. It wasn’t just history.” At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the group met Seiko, a survivor who had been a schoolgirl at the time of the blast. Horribly burned, she’d undergone eight surgeries to

Not just history Students from the course “Phoenix: Out of the Ashes into the Atomic Age,” visited Hiroshima to learn first-hand about the effects of radiation.

“You’re learning what you want to understand and the learning

comes from your curiosity.”

–Nghi Phan


Living the Lesson

repair the damage and was still scarred. “No one moved, no one made a sound, everyone’s attention was 100 per cent focused on what she was saying,” said Boreham. “That was the most powerful moment of the trip for me.” “We didn’t appreciate the emotional exhaustion that people would experience trying to take it all in at once,” McNeill said of the visit to the museum. “Next time we’ll space out visits to the Peace Park and give students more time to explore on their own.” Before the science part of the course started in Hiroshima, Phan participated in a home-stay option during which he lived with a Japanese family and took part in its daily rituals, including farm work, going to the bathhouse with the other men in the family, and taking an entire evening to eat dinner as the family sat together and socialized. Phan was raised in Hamilton and had no previous experience of rural life. “Being exposed to a very different way of life helped me break

out of my shell,” he said. “There was a lot of hugging and kissing as the students said goodbye to their host families,” McNeill said. “The billeting accomplished the goal of encouraging connections with another community.” “The students did learn a lot of the science associated with Hiroshima,” said McNeill. “But they also gained all sorts of social and relationship skills from travelling in a group and travelling to another country. All of this creates a deeper empathy for other human beings.” The course is offered as an elective and is open to undergraduate and graduate students. Once back in Canada, students were required to complete and present research projects and papers. McNeill and Boreham hope to run the course again in May 2008. – JB Jean Burrows and Chantall Van Raay are the editor and assistant editor, respectively, of the McMaster Times.

“No one moved, no one made a sound, everyone’s attention was 100 per cent focused on what she was saying,” said

Boreham. “That was the most powerful moment of the trip

for me.”

–Douglas Boreham

Fiona McN

eill


Where do you find inspiration? The natural world – it’s what drew me to geology in the first place. I need to get away from cities on a regular basis, to re-attune myself by camping or hiking. It always reinforces the realization that we leave a footprint here on the globe, that we need to strive for balance and avoid being destructive. It’s not always easy in the worlds of oil and gas and mining, but it’s something that has been very important to me right from the start.

What challenges did you face as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry?The only time being female was a clear negative when I was being considered as an exploration manager in Cairo; that wasn’t going to fly at that time for cultural reasons. The only other time it could have been a problem, but wasn’t, was in 1992 with the opportunity to become managing director of Amoco’s operation in Denmark and Sweden. I was manager for field development, Gulf of Suez, Egypt and my name was on the list of candidates. They asked my then-boss for his opinion, and he said I was six or seven months pregnant so it probably wouldn’t be a good idea – a bit of corporate paternalism. But the other gentleman suggested that maybe he could ask me how I felt about it. The long and

short of it was that I got the job, arriving in Denmark with my five-week-old son.

Did you do a lot of fieldwork? I did a fair amount as a student, working in Northern Ontario and the then Northwest Territories, and early in my career in East Africa in the late 1980s. (It was) a real experience as camp boss, living in tents in the middle of a wildlife preserve in the Rift Valley, being shuttled around by helicopter to different mapping sites.

Do you see yourself as a role model and mentor to other women? I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to serve as a mentor in any formal way. I try to be there, help if I can, offer advice if asked – the same sort of thing I enjoyed from a woman who worked with Amoco when I joined in 1981. She was confident and well-respected in the company, and I remember thinking that if she could do it, I could do it too. So I hope I’ve been able to pass that spirit along to other women in the business.

What sort of contribution do you want to make to your industry? A lot of companies talk about “compliance,” and compliance is good. But it isn’t enough. To be a good global corporate

citizen, it’s got to be about doing the right thing. That’s one of the reasons I joined Noble Energy. Our CEO, Chuck Davidson, is extremely ethical and while he uses the language of compliance, he always aims higher. That’s what we’re all about as a company. We’re very cognizant of our environmental footprint.

What are the steps, issues and priorities for the oil and gas industry to raise the bar as corporate citizens?As explorationisters, we’re always looking for new hydrocarbons so we can meet demand, but we want to develop new resources in the most responsible way we can. As geologists, we care about the earth. As a company, that ranges from how we approach drilling operations and post-drilling remediation, to our contribution to local communities in developing nations – building hospitals and contributing in other ways to local infrastructure. In West Africa, Noble and our partners have set up a program to eradicate malaria through public education, by providing sleeping nets and through spraying. We’re proud of the results. It makes good business sense but it’s also really rewarding.

What are your favourite books / writers? I always have two stacks of books on the

Dedicated to responsible action

Meet McMaster


go. One is fiction – just for enjoyment. The other is what helps me stay current, informed, and stimulated. Recently, I just devoured Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse – they opened my mind to a lot of things I hadn’t thought about before. Humans exploit their environment and always have. And when the environment changes, which it always does, humans often get in trouble. We need to learn and do things differently. What living person do you most admire? Although I don’t agree with all of her political views, I admire Hilary Clinton’s tenacity, her poise in some very unpleasant circumstances, and her belief in herself and her ability to bring about positive change. She’s aiming high, she’ll fight back, she carries on.

What is your best memory from your time at McMaster? It’s hard to pick out any one thing. We had some great people to learn from: Roger Walker, one of the world’s great authorities on turbidites, and Gerard Middleton, who co-authored the key geology text. Professor Derek Ford was internationally known as a caver, and it was because of him that we had a spelunking club. We’d climb into vans and go down to places in

the States to go caving on the weekends. It was a blast!

When and where are you at your best? When I’m part of something bigger than me, but something that enables me to contribute and to learn. It’s a lot of fun working with our management group here at Noble, solving problems and coming up with new ideas. At this stage in my career, I also enjoy teaching. I volunteer at a local elementary school, and go in a few times each year to talk to the Grade 5 students about geology. It’s a lot of fun putting together multimedia presentations and rock samples to show them. What career accomplishments are you most proud of? It’s nice to have registered a couple of firsts. I was the first woman to head up one of Amoco’s overseas offices. I’m the first woman to serve on the board of the Offshore Technology Conference, a global organization – more than 50,000 people involved from 150 countries. In Houston, this event is second only to the rodeo in scale. And I’m happy to have reached the position I have currently with Noble Energy. Mostly, I’m fortunate to have a job that’s challenging but also lots of fun. I’ve had a chance to travel, to interact

with different cultures, to work with great people, and to meet a huge societal need in a responsible way. Looking ahead to when I have a little more time, I want to pursue volunteer work that helps women in developing countries, women who simply don’t have the same sort of opportunities to realize their own potential that we enjoy here.

What are the life accomplishments you’re most proud of? My boys – aged 15 and 11 – make me proudest. They’re good, good kids and they have a whole world of possibilities in front of them. I want them to participate and to contribute, and to realize that they have an obligation to give back to the world around them.

What would you like to be remembered for? It would be great to be remembered as someone who had a chance to be a bit of a trailblazer for other women in the oil business. I’d like to be remembered for helping people by providing for one of their basic needs and doing so in an ethical and positive way. I’d like to be part of laying the groundwork for transition to our next major source of energy. Ultimately, I’d like to be remembered for balancing my life and my work, and enjoying both fully!

Susan Cunningham ’79, senior vice-president of exploration for Noble Energy, talks of how her personal val-ues of behaving ethically and honestly have shaped her career path in the oil and gas industry. Right from the start, she asked herself: “What can I do to help ensure that we meet society’s needs responsibly and without de-struction; to balance the value we provide to society and the economy with our responsibility to preserve the planet?”

Dedicated to responsible action

Meet M

cMaster

James LaCom

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Locked in our genes is the mystery of who we are and what we may become – perhaps an elite athlete or brilliant scientist. Or, we might live a life marked by chronic illness or sail through to old age scot-free of any disability. Scientists at McMaster University, and around the globe, are working with stem cells to unlock the secret of what it is that orchestrates our lives, assisted in large part by the international, multi-billion dollar Human Genome Project which identified 26,000 genes in the human body. Mick Bhatia ’92, director of McMaster’s Stem Cell Research and Cancer Institute, says the sequencing of the human genome is like having 26,000 keys on a piano. “If we play them incorrectly, you get cancer or diabetes. We want to know how that is orchestrated. Fortunately, or unfortunately, human stem cells, because of the way they work, seem to be the maestro. “We want to take the human sequence and interrogate systematically how those genes play a role together, and individually, to do a variety of things that cascade into all disease – Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s diabetes, regeneration.” As this process unfolds, McMaster’s new stem cell library – the only resource of its kind in the world – will serve as a database of information amassed as researchers “interrogate” each of the 26,000 genes. Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body, serving as sort of a repair system for the body. When a stem cell divides, each new cell can either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell. Bhatia and other McMaster alumni are earning international reputations for themselves and the University as they forge ahead with new discoveries in the field of stem cell research. This year, Bhatia and his team at the Institute published breakthrough research in the journal Nature which showed how embryonic stem cells build themselves a protective “niche” which, in turn, feeds and nurtures stem cells with a combination of special protein growth factors. These proteins appear to be able to determine what the stem cells do: whether they replicate (make copies of themselves) or differentiate (turn themselves into completely new kinds of cells, such as blood, bone or neurons). The discovery opens the door to new avenues of stem cell research. Neurosurgeon-scientist Dr. Sheila Singh ’97 discovered for the first time that key stem cells may drive the formation and spread

Breaking the genetic codeBy Suzanne Morrison

Glenn Lowson


of deadly brain tumours while she was working in Toronto with Dr. Peter Dirks, a pediatric neurosurgeon at The Hospital for Sick Children. “This was the first time that discovery was made,” Singh said. “The assumption has always been that any cell in the tumour could repopulate the entire tumour. But, we found there were actually only a rare fraction of cells within the tumour that had the ability to renew the entire tumour, regenerate it, and drive tumour formation.” Singh, who joined the McMaster institute in July, is developing a new research program using the tools and scientific methods in which she was trained in Toronto. “The whole idea of brain cancer and stem cells is so new that it still needs a lot of validation and basic ground work to be laid down so I feel there is a lot of room in this field for Dr. Dirks and me to continue advancing it.” She thinks each of them will take the research in different directions while continuing to collaborate. Her interest is in looking at the molecular changes that cause a normal neural stem cell to divide into a cancer stem cell. To accomplish that, she will be collecting tissue from brain tumour patients in Hamilton. She will then compare genetic profiles and focus on signaling pathways, or molecules, that may be involved in directing the formation of a tumour. Singh doesn’t require embryos for her research and questions how right-to-life

issues fit into this area of science. She believes it is inappropriate for right-to-life activists to take up this issue because it essentially comes down to an individual woman’s right to choose. In California, Dr. Elizabeth Lawlor ’86, a research scientist at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and assistant professor of pediatrics and pathology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California received a two-year $633,120 grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine earlier this year. A pediatric oncologist who earned both her bachelor’s (’86) and medical degrees (’89) at McMaster, she is studying a tumour family called Ewing’s sarcoma, a very aggressive and rare cancer that primarily affects children and young adults. Using human embryonic stem cells in the laboratory as a model system, Lawlor wants to recreate the events that lead to the formation of Ewing’s sarcoma. Her focus is neural crest stem cells. “You can never get enough numbers of these cells from any other source other than to try and make them yourself,” said Lawlor. “That is the approach. Taking embryonic stem cells, differentiating them into neural crest stem cells, then studying them to see if it’s possible to make human sarcoma in the lab.” Lawlor said this tumour is a perfect model to use to study how gene deregulation in stem cells can lead to the formation of cancer. “The importance of mutations in stem cells is becoming more and more apparent, especially in pediatric tumours, because single mutations seem to be uniquely powerful as cancer-causing events when they occur in stem cells.” Her ultimate goal is to find novel targets for new therapies that aren’t restricted to Ewing’s sarcoma but could be applied to many different types of cancer that arise from stem cells. From afar, Lawlor remains a proud McMaster alumnus and has high praise for donors in the Hamilton community who are supporting stem cell research financially. “The thing about the people who are opposed to this research is that they are extremely vocal about their objections,” she said. “They are so passionate about their feelings on the issue that they are compelled to speak out publicly. However, we must remember that there are all kinds of people who think it’s wonderful but you rarely get letters from them.” Suzanne Morrison specializes in healthcare journalism.

Ethical debate David Braley’s $15-million cheque to create the world’s first human embryonic stem cell library at McMaster was barely in Mick Bhatia’s hands when a debate erupted over the ethics of conducting this type of research. In announcing his extraordinary gift last June, Braley ’00 (honorary) admitted he saw his donation as a means to developing cures for terrible diseases, ranging from cancer and Alzheimer’s to heart disease and diabetes. Not everyone shared his enthusiasm. Immediately, in letters to the McMaster Times and Hamilton Spectator, pro-life advocates and others stepped forward to condemn this research as unethical. Others argued that adult stem cells have achieved published success in more than 70 diseases to date without compromising morality while the promise of human embryonic stems cells has yet to be fulfilled. Bhatia ’92, scientific director of McMaster’s Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute, where the new library is based, said this debate is a continuation of arguments begun decades ago with the birth of the world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978 using in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Bhatia believes few people completely understand this research. “One of the things people always think is that to continue this research you must use multiple embryos again and again. That is not the case,” he said. (His team will begin working with cell lines that already exist, such as ones harvested from human embryos in Wisconsin in 1998 that are still being used in many research labs around the world). Rigorous legislation, at both local and national levels, is in place in Canada so embryos can only be used for research after a woman indicates she wants them discarded. “(McMaster researchers) are asking if, instead of being discarded, we can use them for stem cell research,” Bhatia said. Once a woman’s decision is made, she is required – weeks or months later – to re-consent which is “unprecedented” in clinical consent procedures. There is no mechanism for researchers to obtain embryos from any other source or in any other way in Canada. – SM

Mick Bhatia

Glenn Lowson


They may have gone in different directions, but for many McMaster graduates the Ontario Legislature Internship Program (OLIP) was a pivotal turning point on the path that led them where they are today. It was during the 10-month program that immerses recent university graduates into the world of the Ontario legislature that many realized how networking, hard work and confidence pay off. “The internship program definitely changed me,” says Nicola Hepburn ’02, who entered the program in 2004-05. Like all of the alumni in this article, she is a political science graduate, earning both her honours BA and MA in 2004. “It’s one thing to go to school and say you like a program; it’s another thing to go out and get immersed in it and that’s exactly what we did. At the end of it, I knew this is where I wanted to be. It was an affirmation that I’d made the right choice.” Hepburn is a research analyst with the Council for Ontario Universities, a position she says stemmed directly from contacts she made while an intern with OLIP. “We met people with so many different types of pull in the community,” she says. “Networking is continual. Without the

program I wouldn’t have the network I have.” Ian Burns ’04, who was an intern with OLIP in 2006-07 and is currently attending the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, agrees. “Besides an understanding of the inner workings of government, the connections we made to important players as a part of the program were invaluable,” he says. “I hope that these connections will help me with my career after I graduate.” While most graduates of the program enter a life of politics, such as Chris Charlton ’88, member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain and Graham White ’71, OLIP’s first graduate, who is now a political science professor at the University of Toronto, others have chosen a much different path. Jennifer Harrington ’99, for example, is now director of special events for Arts Umbrella, a not-for-profit visual and performing arts school for children, Ted Flett ’00 is the marketing and media relations co-ordinator with Tourism Hamilton and Rebecca Sciarra ’04 is a heritage planner with Archaeological Services Inc.

But one thing is clear. Those who enter the program must have an interest in and knowledge of Ontario politics. In fact, it is one of only two minimum requirements. The other is a degree from a Canadian university. But that doesn’t mean entrance into the program is easy. “It is a very competitive program,” says Henry Jacek ’80, director of OLIP and McMaster political science professor. Applicants are chosen through a rigorous process based on academic excellence, personal maturity and demonstrated interest in parliamentary government. “The people who apply are usually outstanding individuals. We personally interview 24 of the best applicants and eight are selected. It is rare that of those eight, any one will decline. People will defer PhDs and acceptance into law school to participate in the program. So even if you are number nine on the list, your chances of making it in are slim.” McMaster has traditionally had a strong showing in the program. Since its inception in 1975, there has been one McMaster graduate employed almost every year. The non-partisan program was established in 1975 by the Canadian Political Science

Political animalsLegislative internship program helps alumni find their path By Chantall Van Raay


Association and The Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The program, however, is not for the faint of heart. During their 10 months at Queen’s Park, interns divide their time between two backbench members of the legislature: they work half of the time for an MPP from the party in power and the other half for an opposition MPP. The range of duties performed by interns depends on the member’s priorities and responsibilities. Interns write speeches, prepare MPPs for question period and for committee work, research policy issues of interest to the member, assist with constituency work and attend meetings for the member on her or his behalf. As a result, interns learn how the legislative part of the Ontario government works and they also meet numerous individuals involved in the legislative process, including government figures at Queen’s Park, business leaders, union leaders and journalists. The program opened Hepburn’s eyes to the daunting work schedule of a politician. “Days could be long and demanding. We would arrive early each morning and start the day preparing for the afternoon’s

question period and making sure our MPP was well-prepared and well-versed.” While some days might end at 5 p.m., others could go as late as midnight, depending on the schedule of the MPP, she says. In addition to meeting with various participants of the legislature, interns travel to jurisdictions in other provinces and, at the end of June, travel to London, to visit the British parliament. At the end of the 10 months each intern writes a research paper on some aspect of the program and presents it at the annual meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association. Many of these papers are published, as they deal with aspects of the legislature that are not covered elsewhere. Katie Robb ’07, who is currently in the program, says that within two weeks of starting she knew she was in for a busy year ahead. “It’s been crazy,” she admits. “Every day is filled with meetings and meeting incredible people and really just finding out the nitty gritty of how everything works.” Like many interns, Robb applied for the program to help bridge the gap between her formal education at McMaster and her real world experience.

“Most of us have an undergraduate or master’s degree,” she says. “This is sort of a test of what we want to do once the program is finished. For me, I think it will depend on what this year brings because there are so many pathways it can open.” The non-partisan aspect of the program appealed to her. She is originally from British Columbia so is excited to have the opportunity to dive into Ontario politics. Like many alumni, Lauren Starr ’06 has positive sentiments about the program. “The OLIP program was fantastic,” says Starr, who participated in 2006-07. “I met people like Bill Davis, Jean Charest, Bob Rae and Peter Mansbridge, who I would never have met otherwise. Every day was exciting and you never knew who you might meet each day. I think the most important lesson I learned from being an intern was the fact that the MPPs at Queen’s Park are just regular people, who honestly want to do the right thing. This realization encouraged me to be even more non-partisan than I was when I started. The insights I gained at Queen’s Park were invaluable. If only it paid better, I could’ve stayed forever.”


If you love to travel, but are tired of the “if this is Tuesday, it must be Rome” approach of many package tours, the Alumni Travel Program may be just the ticket. Through a combination of alumni-focused packages and customized trips led by McMaster faculty, the program offers an educational element in addition to the tourist experience. “We’ve run the travel program for a number of years, but it never really took off until a few years ago,” said Anne-Marie Middel ’90, alumni officer, Service & Benefits. That’s when Luke Chan ’74, associate vice-president, Office of International Affairs, led a group of 25 on a tour of China. Now with the success of a few trips, the program is building a life of its own, Middell said “Luke is the ideal guest host,” Middel said. “He’s knowledgeable about the country, knows how to present the educational aspect, and has connections so that he can specify exactly what he wants for the group.” Another trip to China that will include Tibet is planned for May 2008. Middel is now working with Bob Henderson ’79, associate professor in Kinesiology who specializes in outdoor education, to develop a tour of Norway. For the past seven years, he’s been researching the Norwegian concept of “friluftsliv” which embraces the “lifeways” of the people and the wisdom to be gained from nature. “Too much of outdoor education gives people an experience before they know where they are,” Henderson said. He’s worked out an itinerary of soft adventure, including sea kayaking, hiking, golf, and sailing. In keeping with the heritage-based approach of friluftsliv, participants will hike from hut to hut on a pilgrimage route that dates to the 12th Century. Sailing will be done in traditional wooden boats. “My aim is to provide an understanding of another culture and how that informs our culture,” Henderson said of the trip, which is scheduled to run in the summer of 2008. Providing a deeper understanding and knowledge of a specific location is also the aim of the Alumni Campus Abroad trips, which McMaster runs through Alumni Holidays

International. Groups stay in one location, with lectures in the morning and sightseeing trips in the afternoon. “It was very relaxing,” Martha Kennedy ’66 said of her Alumni Campus Abroad trip to Normandy in 2004. “You didn’t have to have your bags outside the room at 8 a.m. – I’m a bit beyond that. I like to stay focused on one country so I can really soak up the atmosphere.” She’d toured with other companies and chose the Normandy trip because it included all the places she wanted to visit – Monet’s garden at Giverny, Bayeux, to see the tapestry, and Mont Saint-Michel. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that the trips were all inclusive – “If you didn’t buy souvenirs, you didn’t have to spend a penny” – and she enjoyed the educational element. Kennedy had always wanted to visit Russia, and a visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Treasures of the Heritage exhibit further whetted her interest, so the cruise of the Russian waterways offered last summer was a logical choice. The boat travelled overnight, with lectures and tours offered during the day. “To be able to see St. Petersburg and Moscow in that way was amazing,” said Kennedy, who is now considering a cruise that McMaster offers through Holland and Belgium. “While most trips are pretty active, and not your hang-around-the-pool-with-a-drink type of holiday, the newly introduced, MacPack Adventures offer a soft adventure component for those looking for more than walking tour”. Introduced as a way to involve young alumni, we’ve discovered the hiking and canoeing trips attract a broad range of alumni, from young alumni singles to parents and their children. Guided by leaders from Athletics & Recreation’s Outdoor Recreation Program, it’s a great way for folks to try new activities with instruction and equipment supplied. Guides Wayne Terryberry ‘92, outdoor recreation co-ordinator, and Maya March lead the first big hike, a hiking tour of the Grand Canyon and by offering a choice of intense hikes or more leisurely walks, accommodated the range of interests and abilities of the trip’s

participants. Middel has first hand knowledge. “Our first hike into the canyon was the most demanding one, taking me six-and a half hours. The next day, I opted for a rim walk. Both offered spectacular views and were very rewarding.” “Wayne and Maya complemented each other,” said Darcy Kelley ‘97. “Maya had led hikes to the Grand Canyon before, so she really gave us a sense of how the canyon changes throughout the year. Wayne added another dimension, with his knowledge of the local vegetation, agriculture techniques, and the geology of the canyon.” Kelley had been considering a walking tour of the Lake District or the Scottish Highlands but was sold on the Grand Canyon trip after attending the information session. So were his parents, who’d tagged along for general background. “We had a cool mix of people – retirees, people who were still working, my parents and me, three generations of the Lees (former president Alvin Lee ’93 (honorary) was one of the hikers) – it was really warm and familial.” This was Kelley’s first such trip and he’s keen to go again. “Our time was well spent, I liked what we saw, and it was well-organized. Given the time we had available and the places we saw, I didn’t really feel like I’d missed anything.” While the trips are marketed to alumni, they are open to family and friends, so there is a range of ages and interests, Middel said. “People choose to travel with an alumni group because they realize the tours are high-quality trips and they’ll be travelling with like-minded travelers,” Middel said, adding the McMaster group is partnered with other Canadian university groups on the Alumni Holiday tours. Middel researches trends, sees what destinations have worked well for other universities, and asks past travelers where they’d like to travel next when choosing each year’s offerings. “I tell people that the Russia trip was like a sumptuous dessert,” said Kennedy. “I just don’t know where I could go to top it.”

Have degree. Will travel. A trip to Norway, planned for 2008, will allow participants to embrace the concept of “friluftsliv.”

Bob Henderson

By Jean Burrows


We’ve always wanted to hear from our grads, especially when it’s exciting news they have to share. Now, thanks to a new program sponsored by our affinity partner, Manulife Financial, we can help them celebrate their news with a small gift. Grads are encouraged to share news of their new job or business, wedding, new home or baby with the alumni association by emailing [email protected] or calling 905-525-9140 ext. 27255. We’ll then send along a gift of a handy shoe buffer/lint brush with news of a new job to help them put their best foot forward; a sturdy tape measure for new home buyers, and a gift card for new couples. The most popular item though is an adorable stuffed “Mini Marauder” for the ‘Marauders to-be’. Manulife has partnered with the McMaster Alumni Association for almost 25 years, offering life, disability, and health and dental insurance, as well as critical illness insurance to alumni. For more information on their products, visit www.manulife.com/mcmaster.

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Distinguished Alumni/Alumnae Award Nominations are now being accepted for the McMaster University Distinguished Alumni/Alumnae Award. The award is in recognition of outstanding contributions to the arts or sciences. Two awards normally will be made each year, one in the arts (comprising Humanities, Performing and Fine Arts, Social Sciences and Business) and the other in the sciences (comprising Science, Engineering and Health Sciences). The awards will be made to alumni/alumnae of McMaster University who have distinguished themselves by way of their outstanding scholarship, research, creative contributions to the arts or sciences or service to society. For more information, please contact the Office of Alumni Advancement at 905-525-9140 ext. 23900. MAC Reads, the Alumni Association’s Book Club is gearing up again for a new semester. Launched this fall in Hamilton, the Alumni Book Club is a great opportunity to read thought-provoking books, meet new people and learn from some of McMaster’s most engaging professors. The Alumni Book Club meets three times a semester in the Great Hall, Alumni Memorial Hall. For more information and a list of books, contact Amber Stuckey at [email protected] or 905-525-9140 ext. 24482. For alumni interested in helping to set up an Alumni Book Club in their area, please contact the Office of Alumni Advancement at [email protected].

Interested in sharing your story with McMaster students? As part of the Alumni Association’s Student Relations program, our Dinner with Alumni program provides an opportunity for 10 to 20 undergraduate students to meet alumni in a collegial and relaxed setting at the President’s Residence, home to the Office of Alumni Advancement. Students have the opportunity to draw inspiration and advice from the professional, educational, philanthropic and personal achievements

of McMaster alumni. Whether you are a recent graduate just starting on the professional path or a graduate at the pinnacle of your career, your professional insight and experience are invaluable to our undergraduate students. If you are interested in sharing your professional achievements and interested in developing closer ties with the University community, please contact Lori Moulden at [email protected] or 905-525-9140 ext. 26648.

Alumni babies receive a Mini Marauder from Manulife.

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

Marking milestones

MAC Reads:Alumni Book Club

Dinner with Alumni Program


I want to say thanks. Thank you to all of the alumni who participated in the alumni program and those who made a financial gift to McMaster in 2007. This time of year we all take the opportunity to reflect the previous year’s successes and challenges and begin to look ahead to the upcoming year. We are no different here at the Office of Alumni Advancement and while the new year has already begun, we are very excited about the promise of 2008. The past year saw some remarkable accomplishments and changes at McMaster, and one that certainly affects us is the shift in our alumni demographic. Did you know that 2007 marked the first year when female graduates equalled male graduates? The trend of more women attending and graduating from university will only increase. I am very pleased that our newest program, “A professional and personal series for today’s woman” had such a great start in the fall. The program is an opportunity for alumae to gather, network

and learn a variety of topics led by industry professionals in a social setting. We also noticed that 70 per cent of McMaster graduates received their degrees since 1980 and the average age of a McMaster grad is 43. To help maintain a McMaster connection with this increasingly busy group of alumni, we have expanded our family programming while continuing to offer social and educational programming for our grads. The success for both types of programming has been evident, with many events reaching and surpassing space availability. With our successes come some challenges and we continue to strive and find lost grads, increase donations by alumni, and create novel and exciting programs to attract new alumni. We look forward to the new opportunities our changing alumni demographic will create at McMaster and to achieving new successes in our programming in the coming year.

Recently I had the pleasure of representing McMaster’s alumni at the 2007 Fall Convocation during which our new chancellor, L. R. “Red” Wilson, was installed. As I helped Chancellor Wilson into his new robes, I marveled at his foresight in earmarking his recent $10-million gift to liberal arts. As Chancellor Wilson himself noted, the importance of humanities and social sciences can sometimes be overlooked by the business community. As an esteemed member of that community – and a Mac economics grad – Chancellor Wilson no doubt understands how a liberal arts education can impart critical business skills like reading, writing and how to develop a persuasive argument. But liberal arts and the business community intersect in other important ways in today’s fast-paced, complex economy. Liberal arts often entail the study of “big ideas” whether in the fields of history, literature or economics. In today’s business world, on the other hand, it is easy to get bogged down in the task at

hand and not see the strategic picture. In a dynamic, global economy, shifting skill sets are required to keep up with evolving trends. McMaster already has a well-respected reputation in the business community for turning out grads with excellent technical skills and it remains committed to perfecting this reputation. However, the University recognizes that it must bring together these seemingly disparate branches of learning to prepare students to compete in the future. As alumni, one of the greatest gifts we can offer the University is our support of its vision. While for some of us this can best be accomplished through a strategic financial commitment, the gifts of time and talent also play a crucial role. For example, alumni can serve as mentors for graduating students or volunteer to speak to students about the best way to accomplish their career objectives. Contact with alumni who can offer practical, real-world advice helps enrich the McMaster community in ways that are equally inspiring.

New programming looks ahead

Supporting the University’s vision

By Karen McQuigge ‘90 Director, Alumni Advancement

Alumni Directions

By Joe Stephen ’84McMaster Alumni Association President

JD Howell

Chantall Van Raay


With stints of living in Paris and now London and flying back to Toronto for photo shoots, it might sound as though Heather Shantora ’00 is living the life of a fashion model. In fact, she is. In addition to her job as director of Trafalgar Capital Growth – she is working on opening the London branch – she also has a career as a plus-sized model. This is a busy woman. She holds two BAs – in economics (’00) and political science (’01). She earned an MA in political economy at Schiller University in Paris in 2003, taking just a year to complete the course and thesis work that normally takes three years. And, Paris not being “full-figure friendly”, she flew back to Toronto throughout the year for modelling assignments. Once finished with her MA, she flew home and was married a couple weeks later. “I want to run for office eventually and wanted to get international experience,” she explains. Where does the modelling fit in? Friends encouraged her to try it, so the day classes ended in 2001, she went to Toronto and applied at the Ford Agency. “If I was going to be rejected, I thought it might as well have been by the best,” she says, but was signed the same day. “I was absolutely floored when they wanted to sign me.” She worked her modelling around her other jobs, starting with Freedom 55 in Burlington, Ont. “But I wanted to get into public service, so I left that and started working with Beth Phinney, who was then MP for Hamilton Mountain.” When the Ontario Liberals won the 2003 election, she then worked with cabinet minister Marie Bountrogianni, leaving as a senior policy advisor. She moved to London in 2006 to organize the first Canada Day celebration for the

Canadian embassy. Held in Trafalgar Square, it attracted 40,000 people for events that included a street hockey tournament, a powwow and a concert by Sam Roberts. “We gave out little flags and tattoos – the square was a sea of red and white,” she says. “Canada’s reputation is still quite high internationally, and it was great to see that.” Once in London, she started working through the Hughes Agency, which specializes in plus-sized models. “Within England, there is a greater debate over the ‘size zero’ issue and how unhealthy super-skinny models are,” she says. “They are

starting to use plus-sized models on the runways at fashion shows. It’s incredible – you wouldn’t have seen that a few years ago.” Shantora, who is size 14, points out that her size isn’t what most women would classify as plus-sized. But that’s how it’s seen by the fashion

industry, which looks to plus-sized models when it wants curvaceous, “womanly” women. With luck, Shantora says her modelling career could last until her mid-30s. She has a year left on her visa and is applying for an extension. “I want to continue with the same combination of work for now,” she says. She plans to run for federal office within eight to 10 years. “My international experience is providing me with a macro view,” she says. “I’ll likely have children in that timeframe too,” she says. “There are challenges in being a woman in politics with a young family, but then you’re representing a segment of society.” For now, she’ll continue to represent full-figured women. “I wanted to take the time to do the modelling, because women need examples of attractive, plus-sized models in magazines. When you flip a page and there’s a curvaceous and beautiful woman – that registers. I hope more and more magazines catch on to that.”

Alumni Album

Full life for plus-sized model

Alumni Album

1930s William Judd ’38 wrote 500 letters to London, Ont.’s city council and gave dozens of speeches in a successful 30-year fight to preserve the site of William Saunders cabin at London’s Westminster Ponds. The 92-year-old retired zoology professor currently lives in London.

1940s Jean (Isard) MacDonald ’47 wrote to the McMaster Times that she has had “a great life” and that she currently resides in Vancouver, B.C.

1950s “Just because you’re a senior citizen doesn’t mean you can’t earn a degree from McMaster University,” says William Muir ’56. Muir, 72, received a bachelor’s degree in history in June 2007, 51 years after he earned a BA in economics and business from McMaster. After spending most of his life running trust companies, Muir said he chose to study history out of personal interest.

1960s Craig Ashbaugh ’61, a retired educator with a long and varied record of community service in Haldimand County, has been named the first chair of the Source Protection Committee for the Lake Erie Source Protection Region. Ashbaugh now lives in Port Rowan, Ont. Robert Dynes ’65 will step down as the University of California president by June 2008. Dynes was named president in October 2003, when he said he planned to stay as UC president for five years. Dynes is recently married and plans to continue his research into superconductivity. Jan Hillyer ’67 is among six new members appointed to the Ontario Region of the National Parole Board. Hillyer currently works part-time in a law firm preparing settlement briefs and helping civil clients prepare victim impact statements for criminal court proceedings. She also obtained a master’s in English from McMaster in 1975. William Morrison ’63 was awarded an Honorary D.Litt. last spring from Brandon University, where he once taught. He is currently a member of the History Department of the University of Northern British Columbia.


McMaster’s Nursing Class of 1964 gathered on Sept. 21, 2007 in Nanaimo, B.C., for a class reunion.

The reunion took place at Jim and Joan ’64 (Halpin) Frame’s residence. The group included Olga (Lypka) Blaney ’64, Joan (Dixon) Boughton ’64, Susan Dunbar’64, Joan and Jim Frame, Roland and Ailene ’64 (Mann) Henry, Liz ’64 (Quick) Brian Mitchell ’62, and Dorothy Pringle ’64. Neville Thompson ’62, emeritus professor of history at The University of Western Ontario, spoke to the Class of 1962’s 45th reunion on June 2, 2007. He provided a broad perspective on change in Canada, at McMaster and

in the graduates who marched into the Drill Hall to receive degrees 45 years earlier. Ross Thrasher ’68 recently retired as library director at Mount Royal College (MRC) in Calgary. Prior to his eight years at MRC, his library career ranged from a small college in British Columbia to universities in the South Pacific, Colorado, Toronto and Calgary. Thrasher and his wife Maxine are enjoying an active retirement in Calgary and Arizona. Tom Weisz ’67 and his wife Sasha were honoured at the annual Negev Dinner last June. Weisz is president of Effort Trust, senior partner at Weisz, Rocchi & Scholes and president of the Weisz Family Foundation. Robert Williamson ’62 was presented the Ontario Senior Achievement Award, the highest award available to senior citizens for volunteer/professional contributions to their community in the province. He has authored or co-authored 14

heritage books, 11 of which were to raise money for community projects. Most recently he wrote Hamilton’s only theatre history, Our World’s A Stage, The Summers Family History and edited/co-wrote the hospital story, Chedoke, More Than A Sanatorium for the institution’s centennial. A member of the Hamilton Historical Board, since his retirement as a school administrator, he has given more than 750 heritage lectures to schools, community groups and retirement homes.

Waldemar Zimmerman ’61 has been appointed chairman of CML Healthcare Inc. and CML HealthCare Income Fund’s Board of Directors and the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

1970s Kenny Adegbesan ’77 joined Southern Pacific Resource Corp. as its new manager of engineering. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers, Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta with more than 25 years of experience in reservoir engineering and modeling. Elizabeth Bagshaw ’74 (honorary) was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame during its 10th annual induction ceremony on Oct. 2, 2007. Bagshaw, who passed away in 1982, was the medical director of Canada’s first, illegal, birth control clinic, a position she held for 34 years. As a family doctor, Bagshaw traveled about Hamilton by horse and carriage, bicycle and later by car serving many low-income families before retiring at age 95. She was a member of the Order of Canada (1972). Glyn Raymond Berry ’71, who was killed in a terrorist attack in

Afghanistan in 2006, has been honoured by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada with The Glyn Berry Program for Peace and Security. The program supports the development of Canadian and international policies, laws and institutions that embed core human security objectives of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law into international peace and security efforts. Berry was a humanitarian who advocated for peace-building efforts around the world and volunteered in the field to combat war crimes against humanity. Brian Bethune ’77 co-led a team of seven economists from Global Insight to win the Forecaster of the Month award from MarketWatch. The team was honored for having the most accurate forecasts on 10 major U.S. economic indicators released in June 2007.

Robert Bismuth ’76 has been appointed vice-president of business development and marketing with Unidym Incorporated, a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corporation. Leonard Chow-Wah ’76 is the recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Service Award from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta. Chow-Wah is the senior director, tax, for Petro-Canada. He is married to Choon Foong and they have four teenagers. They still enjoy traveling to the Far East including China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Lucy Ciuriak ’78 has been appointed vice-president of Citibank Canada and director of Citibank Canada Investment Funds Ltd. Maureen (Hassanali) Crichlow ’74 currently resides in Ottawa with her husband Keith Crichlow, after moving from Trinidad and Tobago. Rod Eastman ’72 was inducted into the Klaus Woerner Skilled Trades Hall of Fame. Skills Canada-Ontario presents this award annually to recognize those who have made significant contributions to the advancement of skilled trades and technologies.

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A recent retiree from Dofasco, Eastman continues to promote training through his new business,

R. Eastman & Associates. He also recently received an Outstanding Achievement Award for dedication and commitment to apprenticeship in Ontario, from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. John Evans ’72, a visionary educator, medical statesman and humanitarian, received the Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research, one of Canada’s premiere honours in health sciences. The founding dean of McMaster’s medical school revolutionized medical education by introducing a teaching model eventually adopted by Harvard Medical School. Harry Huizer ’71 has retired from 36 years of teaching. He spent two years in South River, Ont., and 34 years at St. Catharines Collegiate. He was the head of math from 1992 to 2007 and taught in the same room all of those years. “Golf and humour were two of the main ingredients to any success I had,” he says. “Travelling, babysitting, visiting and golf will be a big part of my retirement.” He is married to Margaret (MacInroy) ’70 and

they have three children, all of whom are teachers. Michael Lee-Chin ’74, chairman of AIC Ltd. and National Commercial Bank, received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Northern Caribbean University on Aug. 12, 2007. In his presentation, Lee-Chin used his life experiences to encourage and challenge graduates. Canadian comedian Eugene Levy ’70 recently focused his attention on autism by taking aim at the federal government. Levy, who also received an honorary doctorate from McMaster in 2005, has called on Ottawa to put autism treatment under medicare, and create a national strategy to help families who are struggling to get treatment for their autistic children. Bob Nuttall ’74 was appointed vice-president finance of Dofasco Inc. Since beginning his career at Dofasco 29 years ago in the internal audit department, he has held positions as assistant to the treasurer, director finance and comptroller. He received an MBA from McMaster in 1978. John Rook ’76 was appointed president of the National Council of Welfare. He was previously chief executive officer of The Salvation Army Community and Residential Services in Calgary. He has also worked as a student outreach support worker with the Canadian Rockies Schools and served as the executive director of the Brain Injury Association of Alberta. He has spent some time of his teaching

career as an associate professor at McMaster and is the author of numerous academic journal articles. He holds a master’s degree in divinity from McMaster. Mamdouh Shoukri ’74 was installed as York University’s seventh president and vice-chancellor on Oct. 18, 2007.

Shoukri was previously vice-president Research and International Affairs at McMaster. Randy Slemin ’73 is a commercial and offshore banking manager with Scotiabank on the British Virgin Islands. Tony Valeri ’79, former federal cabinet minister, is executive-in-residence at McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. Cameron Wybrow ’78 is a freelance writer with a doctorate from McMaster. He has published two books on the origin of modern science.

1980s David Armour ’81 was appointed the new president of the Canadian Automobile Association.

Tim Aubrey ’89 was appointed to Q9 Networks Board of Directors. Previously he was senior vice-president, finance, for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Craig Ballantyne ’98 is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. Ballantyne also received a master’s degree in human dynamics from McMaster in 2000. Robert Douglas ’85 was appointed president and chief executive officer with Bioscrypt Inc. Albert Frederick ’83 has been appointed deputy police chief, administration of the Windsor Police Service. He joined the police force in 1985. In 2003 he was promoted to the role of staff sergeant and made the rank of inspector in 2006. Tom Jenkins ’82, executive chairman and chief strategy officer of Open Text Corporation, was the keynote speaker at the 2007 Government Technology Exhibition and Conference, a leading conference for technology decision makers in federal, provincial, municipal and regional governments. Leslie Leach ’82 enrolled at Dalhousie University for family medicine after graduating from McMaster. She settled in Brantford, Ont., where she practices family medicine and obstetrics. Leach and her husband David have two sons: Ian, 18, who is in his first year at the

Alumni Album


University of Waterloo; and Alex, 16. Leach enjoys playing the flute in a local community concert band and skiing with her family. Michael Shadbolt ’86 has been named a partner with Macleod Dixon. David R. Taylor ’82 has been appointed vice-president, business development with Petro Andina Resources Inc. Peter Twist ’86, a strength and conditioning specialist, teamed up with Scott Atkins and Wave Hockey to open a sport conditioning centre in Burlington, Ont. Called Twist Conditioning,

the centre is located in the Wave Twin Rinks and offers educational resources, sport conditioning certifications and sport-fitness products. Twist is an exercise physiologist and 11-year NHL conditioning coach. Ruta Valaitis ’83 is the inaugural holder of the Dorothy C. Hall Chair in Primary Health Care Nursing at McMaster. Dorothy Hall was a pioneer in primary health care nursing and a long-time international nursing consultant with the World Health Organization. After completing an honours political science degree from McMaster, Thadeus Zebroski ’88 acquired a master’s of science degree in education from Niagara University in New York State. He has worked as a teacher in the Brant and Grand Erie Boards of Education as a primary, junior and intermediate teacher since 1992. Zebroski became vice-principal in 2001 and principal in 2005. Zebroski married Sandra

McDonald who is also a teacher in the Grand Erie Board of Education. They celebrated the birth of their daughter Tatyana Paulina in 2005 at McMaster Hospital. 1990s Kenny Adegbesan ’97 was promoted to manager of engineering with Southern Pacific Resource Corp. Adegbesan has more than 25 years experience in reservoir engineering and modeling. Livio di Matteo ’90, an economics professor at Lakehead University, regularly publishes opinion pieces in the Winnipeg Free Press and other publications. Laura Hollick ’98 was featured on BRAVO TV’s “The Artist’s Life” this past October. She is one of six

artists from across Canada to be featured in this year’s series. Amanda Jamieson-Bain ’97 lives in Mississauga, Ont., with her husband Adam and son Peyton, who was born on July 27, 2007. She is currently taking leave from her home-based personal training and Pilates business, At Home Fitness. Christine Kerr ’98, who recently graduated from teacher’s college at Brock University, received an Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers. Over the years

Kerr has volunteered to teach children to dance at the Fascination Dance Studio, assisted in a physiotherapy clinic, spent a summer as a counselor at a summer camp and volunteered at Camp Trillium for children dealing with cancer. She also helped with recreational programs at Shaver Hospital while in high school as well as the Welland soup kitchen. Tracey (Reid) Kibble ’95 and her husband Gavin moved to Edmonton in 2006 with their daughter Rachel Dianna. In September 2007 they welcomed their second daughter, Clara Kimberly, to the family. Tracey has also recently launched her own consulting business, Power of Potential Support Services, offering training and educational workshops, program design and evaluation services along with other supports to social service agencies in Edmonton and Northern Alberta. More information can be found at www.popss.ca. Jeff Larsen ’94 has been appointed to the board of trustees of the Art in Motion Income Fund and to the board of directors of Art in Motion GP Inc. Stephen Manuel ’92 and his wife Christy are proud to announce the

birth of their first child Carson deJesus Manuel born on Sept. 15, 2007. The family currently lives in Barrie, Ont. Rafal Nowak ’98 is an associate in the New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell and is assigned to the Synthetic Equities Group. The Academy for Science and Design added Izuh Obinelo ‘90 to its board of trustees. Obinelo

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is the director of the Center for Airflow and Thermal Technologies at Degree Controls Inc. of Nashua. He earned his PhD in mechanical engineering and engineering physics from McMaster in 1994, specializing in computational two-phase flow and heat transfer. He has authored or co-authored numerous patents and technical articles on electronics cooling. Anastasia Romanchuk ’91 was awarded the Sophomore Class Faculty Excellence Award during Northwood University’s Honors Convocation last spring. Romanchuk is a full-time faculty member with more than 10 years experience teaching English at Ontario colleges. She lives in Midland, Mich., with her husband, Lincoln and daughter, Emerson. Peter Rasocha ’91 has been named chairman of the management board of Vseukrainsky Aksionerny Bank. Divya Srivastava ’98 initially held positions at the Department

of Finance and Health Canada. In 2004, she took her M.Sc. in international health policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She then worked with the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies in Brussels. She is now pursuing her PhD in pharmaceutical policy at the LSE. Corrado Tiralongo ’94 has been appointed chief investment officer and the lead portfolio manager of IPC Portfolio Management Ltd. for Counsel Wealth Management. Kimberly A. Woodhouse ’93 was named dean of the Faculty of Applied Science at Queen’s University. She received her PhD in chemical engineering from McMaster.

2000s Taneem Ahad ’05 is currently an investment policy analyst at IFC Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund of the World Bank Group. Gokul Bhandari ’05 received a

tenure track faculty appointment at the School of Business at the University of Waterloo. Bhandari obtained a PhD in business and MA in economics from McMaster. Barb Bloemhof ’05, assistant professor in McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business, led a roundtable discussion at the Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education annual conference last June. The discussion was titled “Knowing it Works: Researching What Happens in Your Classroom.” Kwaku Darko-Mensah Jr. ’06 (aka Kae Sun) is a Ghanaian-born singer, songwriter and poet, currently based in Hamilton. He received a BA from McMaster in multimedia and philosophy. Daniel de Munnik ’03 has co-authored a Bank of Canada working paper entitled “Micro Foundations of Price-Setting Behaviour: Evidence from Canadian Firms.” Tristan Emmanuel ’06, founder and president of Equipping Christians for the Public-square Centre based in Jordan Station, Ont., joined WorldNetDaily’s commentary lineup last summer to offer his perspective on issues of faith and liberty. Diana Grierson ’04 left Human Resources and Social Development Canada for a position at the Department of Finance (Economic and Fiscal Policy Branch, Canadian Forecast and Provincial/Sectoral Analysis Group). Sajjad Jafri ’06 is a competition law officer with the federal government’s Competition Bureau’s Civil Matter Branch. Kristen Jewell ’06 received a $6,000 post-graduate award from USC Education Savings Plan Inc. She was one of 13 winners from across Canada to win more than $120,000 in scholarship money awarded by the International Scholarship Foundation (ISF), the parent company of USCI, one of the country’s leading RESP

providers. Jewell is now pursuing her medical career at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster. Susan Johnson ’01 has been appointed an associate professor of economics at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Morgan Lim ’06 won a Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis doctoral fellowship to pursue her doctorate in health research methodology at McMaster.

Kristina Lutz ’06 received a $100,000 post-graduate award from the USC Education Savings Plan Inc. Lutz is completing her medical doctorate at The University of Western Ontario. She is among 13 candidates who demonstrated academic excellence, contributions to campus and community life. She graduated with distinction from McMaster and continues to volunteer her time with special needs individuals.

Mandi McLellan ’01, who wants to be St. Catharines’ first female firefighter, was among 70 individuals to pass all six of the fitness, health and aptitude tests of the Brock University Firefighter Screening Services program. McLellan and the other successful candidates can now apply for the four vacancies currently being filled by the St. Catharines fire department. Richard Ralph ’04 travelled across Canada on inline skates to raise money for cancer research. He started the Skate for Hope on May 4 in St. John’s and finished his journey in Vancouver in September. His goal was to raise $300,000 for cancer research with funds going to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

David Sherrard ’07 was appointed marketing analyst with Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada Inc. Sherrard, who graduated from the DeGroote School of Business commerce program, won Canada’s Next Top Ad Exec Competition last year.

Alumni Album


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

Marilyn Binder ’81, who battled kidney cancer for almost four years, died Aug. 4, 2007. After graduating with a BA in economics, she had a career with National Trust, Canada Trust, and London Life before devoting

herself to raising her two sons and to volunteering. She loved lakes and the ocean and enjoyed boating in the Muskokas and in the Okanogan. Fred Bramberger ’78, 53, died Sept. 20, 2007 from an apparent heart attack while cycling through Provence in southern France. Originally from Hamilton, Bramberger studied chemistry then worked as a chemical distributor for Sylvite in Burlington, Ont. He taught and coached his sons, Luke and Nick, who today are competitive skiers. Bramberger was also a certified scuba diver, a good cook, and “know it all” when it came to cars. Brothers Greg Brophy ’87 and Sean Brophy ’81 were killed Sept. 30, 2007 after the plane in which they were travelling crashed in Alaska. Also killed were their guide and pilot. The four were on their way back to the lodge from a fly-fishing expedition when their floatplane crashed into a group of trees. Greg founded the information security company Shred-it, which began as a two-person show in 1988. Sean was the vice-president of two successful telecommunications companies, OneComm and Verio. Greg leaves his wife, Tracey, and their three children, aged 14, 16

and 21. Sean leaves his wife, Lucy Provost, and children, 11 and 13.

Gladys (Happy) Connor ’33 died July 16, 2007. Born in India, Connor came to Canada at the age of 13. After obtaining an honours economics degree she became a teacher and taught in Ontario and Nova Scotia. She visited McMaster for Alumni Weekend in 2003.

Sheila Darlison ’84 died July 24, 2007.

Richard Diubaldo ’63, emeritus professor of history at Concordia University, died July 1, 2007. Diubaldo earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from McMaster.

Susan Margaret Joyce ’76 died on Oct. 2, 2007. She is survived by her husband David Donald. Joyce spent more than 30 years in the Hamilton public school system as both a teacher and principal, and retired in 2004. She was a member of the Bay Area Science & Engineering Fair for the past five years. Robert Love, professor emeritus of management science at McMaster, died in Naples, Fla., on Aug. 18, 2007. He helped establish the PhD program in the McMaster Faculty of Business. Raymond Lowes ’85 (honorary), whose vision led to the creation of the Bruce Trail and protection for the Niagara Escarpment, died Aug. 29, 2007 at 96. Born in Saskatchewan, he and his wife Jane came to Hamilton in 1936. He served as director and secretary of the Bruce Trail Association for 20 years, on the escarpment commission for 10 years and supported many other environmental and humanitarian organizations. He helped raise $110,000 to refurbish Raspberry House in the Royal Botanical Gardens to serve as the association’s permanent headquarters.

Alexander Gordon (Sandy) McKay ’92 (honorary), one of the world’s most distinguished classicists, died Aug. 31, 2007. He wrote 15 scholarly books and founded the Vergilian Society more than 50 years ago. The group studies the works of the first-century Roman poet Vergil, whom McKay could quote at length in Latin. At the time of his death, the 82-year-old scholar was professor emeritus at McMaster where he had been founding dean of the humanities department and had taught classics since the 1960s. A native of Toronto, he did graduate work at Yale before receiving his PhD from Princeton University in 1950. At Princeton in 1946, he met his future wife, Jean, who was in music college. They married in 1964. Ed Mirvish ’94 (honorary) died July 11, 2007. The Toronto businessman, renowned both for his landmark discount store Honest Ed’s and for his key role in revitalizing the city’s theatre scene, was 92. Walter C. Pohl ’99 July 30, 2007. A member of the McMaster Association of Part-Time Students’ board of directors from 1999 to 2005, he was also president from 2002 to 2004. Pohl was a graduate of McMaster’s Centre for Continuing Education’s addiction studies program in 1999 and was continuing his studies as a part-time student working toward a Bachelor of Arts. Jocelyn Kay Raymond-Read ’49 died Aug. 13, 2007 in Halifax. She was 77. She was a journalist, artist, author, educator and devoted parent. She leaves her husband Robert, children Michelle and Jacques, brother Arthur and numerous nieces and nephews. Roy W. Reid ’50 died Nov. 9, 2006 at the age of 78. Reid taught at Waterdown District High School and Aldershot High School before retiring in 1985. He is survived

by his wife Diane (Barnes) ’51 and four children and nine grandchildren.

Major Raymond Ruckpaul ’88, 42, was found shot in his barracks in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 29, 2007 and died shortly after. Ruckpaul lived in Germany with his wife and two children. The Hamilton native joined the Canadian Armed Forces prior to studying geology at McMaster. He was serving at the headquarters of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force at the time of his death.

Alan J. Smith, the first director of the McMaster school of Physical Education and Athletics and a professor emeritus, died Sept. 19, 2007. The A.J. Smith Gymnasium in McMaster’s Ivor Wynne Centre is named in recognition of his contribution to the university community. Vera (Munz) Wilson ’56, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and social worker, died June 7, 2007. Her professional life focused on working with children and with the bereaved, latterly at the Queensway General Hospital.

An active volunteer, she made important contributions to the mental health community and to housing projects for seniors. In retirement, she enjoyed travel and horsemanship. Wilson and her husband Alex ’54 founded the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging at McMaster. She is survived by her husband, children Laura and Bob, and grandchildren, Kate, Scott and Mark.

In Memoriam

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

aster Writes

The Best Laid Plans, by Terry Fallis ’83. Fallis, former president of the McMaster Students Union, is currently president of Thornley Fallis Communications. His book is available as a free audio book podcast at www.terryfallis.com.

Pacifists, Patriots and the Vote: the Erosion of Democratic Suffrage in Britain dur-ing the First World War, by Jo Vellacott ’75. Available in Canada through Palgrave USA: www.palgrave-usa.com or by calling 888-330-8477. The Drone War, by Kevin Johansen ’94. Children’s science fiction, Sybertooth. This follows his previous books Nightwalker,

young adult fantasy, Orca Books and Torrie and the Snake-Prince, children’s fantasy, Annick.

Feeling British: Sympathy and National Identity in Scottish and English Writing, 1707-1832, by Evan Gottlieb ’97. Bucknell University Press. Gottlieb was the Chan-cellor’s Gold Medal winner of his graduat-ing class and is now assistant professor of English at Oregon State University. Gottlieb and his wife Lynette (Miller) ’96 have two sons, James and Liam.

Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudo-ar-chaeology Misrepresents the Past and Mis-leads the Public, by Garrett G. Fagan ’93, an associate professor of classics and ancient Mediterranean studies at Penn State University. In 2007 he also co-edited From Augustus to Nero: An Intermediate Latin Reader. Mark Frenette ’97 co-authored a chapter in Dimensions of Inequality in Canada, which won this year’s Purvis Prize for an outstanding work in Canadian public policy. The award was presented at a Canadian Economics Association meeting.

Curious Obsessions in the History of Science and Spirituality, by Rachael Kohn ‘79. ABC Books April 2007. Alvin Lee ’89 (honorary), president of McMaster from 1980-90, is the general edi-tor of a large publishing project, The Col-

lected Works of Northrop Frye. University of Toronto Press, 1996. Of the 30 volumes, 26 are now in print, including The Great Code: The Bible and Literature, edited by Lee, and Northrop Frye on Religion, co-edited by Lee with Jean O’Grady. In ad-dition, Penguin Books in 2007 published in their Modern Classics series Frye’s The Great Code and Words with Power with an introduction and bibliography by Lee.

Like Our Mountains: A History of Arme-nians in Canada, by Dr. Isabel Kaprielian-Churchill ’58, won the Clio Prize for the best book on Ontario History, awarded by the Canadian Historical Association. California State University, Fresno, recently bestowed on her the title of Professor Emerita of Armenian and Immi-gration History (Department of History). The Armenian Weekly and Horizon Weekly published her article, “Keghi: Yes-terday, Today, and Tomorrow,” describing her visit to her father’s village in Anatolia. Her book review essay, “Murad of Sepas-tia,” and her article “Holy Saviour Hospi-tal” have also recently been published.

Truth and Power: Gandhi’s Political Phi-losophy, by Darryl Naranjit ’72, gives a cogent analysis of the political, economic, social and spiritual strategies of Gandhi in his quest for equality for the Blacks and Indians in South Africa. It also studies Gandhi’s struggle in India and how he helped to dismantle the British Empire. Just World Publications.

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When Peter and I were interviewed in China by Luke Chan ’74, McMaster’s associate vice-president of International Affairs, it marked the starting point of tremendous changes in our personal and professional lives. Separately, we made the decision to attend McMaster and became MBA students in September 2000. We were from two different cities, so Peter and I didn’t know each other in China. We first met at a friend’s birthday party in Hamilton. During the two-year MBA program, we took lots of courses together, discussed assignment questions in the Innis library, and enjoyed relaxing with friends after each exam. The more we got to know each other, the more we found that we shared common interests. Our friends joked that we were born to be together and that Luke Chan happened to become our matchmaker. Two years after we finished the MBA program, we got married in Toronto. Lots of good friends who shared the same experience with us in the MBA program witnessed this significant moment of our life. We were happy and we were blessed. Our time at McMaster also changed both

of our career paths. Peter had worked for one of the largest banks in China for three years before attending the MBA program. Shortly after he started, he was chosen to be one of the first two international students to participate in McMaster’s co-op program. The co-op experience polished his interview and networking skills, offered opportunities to understand Canadian corporate operations and helped him decide which direction he would like to pursue after graduation. This professional knowledge and McMaster’s strong alumni network helped him land a full-time position successfully in 2002. Peter is working for the Global Finance group at TD Securities and enjoys his work every day. I was an English language and linguistics major in my undergraduate program in China and was working as an interpreter at a software company in Beijing before I entered the MBA program. Had I not attended McMaster, I would have been working as an interpreter for a long time. In the MBA program, I focused on finance, which broadened my professional knowledge, and more importantly uncovered my academic potential. My enthusiasm for finance and

economics led me to continue my studies and finally choose the PhD program in finance at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Thanks to the solid background I obtained in the MBA program and the graduate program in the Economics department, the teaching experience I gained from holding tutorials, and the research skills I accumulated when working as a research assistant at McMaster, I overcame various difficulties in the rigid PhD program. I am currently in the final year of my PhD study and I believe the training I received at McMaster University will benefit my entire professional life. Looking back at the past seven years since we came to Canada, we cherish every moment we spent at McMaster and appreciate those people in the university community who gave us a helping hand in times of difficulty. We were proud to be McMaster students, we are pound to be McMaster alumni, and we will make McMaster proud of us! Yi Feng holds both an MBA (’02) and an MA in economics (’03) from McMaster and Qin (Peter) Chen holds an MBA (Co-op ’03).

Yi Feng ’02 and Qin (Peter) Chen ’03, who came to McMaster as international students, discovered that univer-sity life can provide more than an education – it can provide a life partner. Here, Feng reflects on the influence McMaster has had on her personal and professional life.

Life changes

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]

winter 2008 mcmaster times

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