The McGill news v.87 n1 summer 2006

2006·49.4 MB·English

by  McGill University. Graduates' Society.

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contents
Moving On Up
16
Funding, families, finances and flexibility. These are just a few of the things
McGill's 6,000 graduate students must consider as they help drive the research
that is vital to the University's continued success.
by ANDREW MULLINS
School of Rock
22
Arcade Fire. Wolf Parade. DJ A-Trak. Socalled. These are all talented musicians and
performers, but they have more than that in common. McGill's impressive tradition
of graduates who rock is alive and well.
by DANIEL McCABE.BA'89
Coupez!
28
C'est un sport de grace, de synchronisme, de coordination, sans oublier bien sur les heures
d'entrainement intense. Pour les bucheronnes et bucherons de McGill, il n'est pas question de
vivre clans l'ombre des equipes sportives mieux connues.
par NEALE MCDEVITT
traduction de LUCIE LEGAULT
High Marks for Mini Schools
32
The courses may be miniature, but the crowds attending sure aren't. Mini lectures
in Medicine, Law and Music offer the Montreal community a glimpse of what
goes on at McGill, and have created a buzz that is anything but small.
by AN DREW MULLINS
3 editor's notebook 14 scenes from 4 3 alum notes
convocation 2006
4 letters 5 I in memoriam
36 reviews
6 from the desk of the principal 52 epilogue
39 alumni activities
8 newsbites
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McGillNews
The Festive Season
VOLUME 87 • N° I • SUMMER 2006
EDDiaInTaO GRr ier Ayton THE ARRIVAL OF WARM WEATHER SEES Mr. Darcy in a Montreal High School produc
Montreal move into full-on festival mode. tion of Pride and Prejudice.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists Although Plummer never attended
Daniel McCabe, BA'89
take to the streets in celebration of every McGill, he does have a number of historical
ADVERTISING thing from beer brewing to fireworks, connections to the University. A maternal
Christina Barile gardening, Formula One, chamber music, great-grandfather, John Bethune, was McGill
Tel: [phone]
comedy, fashion, aboriginal culture and, Principal from 1835 to 1846. Another great
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS of course, jazz. Montreal's 11-day Festival grandfather, John Joseph CaldwellAbbott,
Christina Barile
International de Jazz, which just wrapped earned a McGilllaw degree in 1854, and was
Jason Pauly, MA'OS
up, is recognized by the Guinness Book of Dean of Law for 25 years. He later served in
ADVISORY BOARD World Records as the largest on the planet. the cabinet of John A. Macdonald and
AnnVroom, BA'67 (Chair)
Bob Babinski, BA'86 As demonstrated by the exuberant law succeeded him as Canada's Prime Minister.
David Harpp grad on the cover, McGill does its own His great-aunt, Maude Ab bott, BA'1890,
Richard Latendresse, BA'85 share of celebrating at this time of year, was one of Canada's first women graduates in
Charles Mappin, MUP'95
Donna Nebenzahl, BA'75 as close to 6,000 new alumni are welcomed medicine, although she was not allowed to
into the fold. It's a time both tearful and study at McGill. She became an international
(ex officio)
Honora Shaughnessy, MLS'73 joyous, with the wrench of parting from authority on congenital heart disease and
Tom Thompson, BSc(PE)'58, MEd'78 friends and familiar haunts tempered by herself received an honorary degree from
DESIGN AND TYPOGRAPHY the excitement of the opportunities that McGill in 1910. She was made an assistant
Steven McCienaghan lie ahead and the button-busting pride of professor in 1825. Finally, Plummer's
Instructional Multimedia Services family members. mother Isabella, was secretary to the dean
ONLINE EDITION All of us at McGill feel pride in these ofsdenceinthe1930s.
Eric Smith, BA'91 young people, who may one day hatch inno The actor told the Montreal Gazette he
McGill Web Service Group
vative ideas like that of Architecture profes wasn't sure he deserved his honorary degree.
McGill News sor Vikram Bhatt, MArch'75. He spoke last "But I'm happy, because it means more
1555 Peel Street, Suite 900 month to a packed house at a world forum to me than anything to have received it in
Montreal. Que. . Canada H3A 3l8
on sustainable cities as he shared his my own hometown." To read about all of
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected] concept of "the edible landscape," where this year's distinguished honorees, see
Web: www.mcgill.ca/news agricultural space is incorporated into www.mcgill.ca/newswire/?ItemiD=20073.
McGi/1 News is published quanerly by plans for cities. While rural areas tradition Also in this issue is a story about gradu
McGill University ally produce food and bring it to urban ate students and their importance to McGill
Circulation: 155,000 copies. centres, Bhatt's idea is to transform cities and the research carried out in so many disci
Printed in Canada ISSN 0709 9ll3 into areas of production as well as con plines. One example is the work of doctoral
sumption. Eventually, urban agriculture student Linda Levesque, working in collabo
Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales
Agreement No. 40613661. would be a permanent feature of housing ration with Dr. James Brophy and fellow
design. Models are being tested in three doctoral candidate Bin Zhang. Levesque is
Cover photo o{law cities-Kampala (Uganda), Rosario principal author on a paper they recently
graduate Pasml Zamprelli (Argentina) and Colombo (Sri Lanka), produced showing that one-quarter of
by icolas Morin where a large percentage of the popula patients who suffered a heart attack while
tions live in poverty. Results so far seem on Vioxx did so within the first two weeks of
to be very promising. taking the drug-much earlier than previous
Among the recipients of honorary ly believed. Vioxx was voluntarily withdrawn
degrees this year is actor Christopher from the market in 2004, in part based on
Plummer, who says he abandoned the McGill the team's earlier findings of increased
entrance exam years ago because "it was cardiovascular risk.
looking very inviting outside and spring was Wishing you all a festive summer.
in the air." By then the young man's fancy had
1Ju-.'1JQ_ a(~ ~n
already turned to acting, thanks to a part as
3
letters
Remembering Reg number ofy ears "and then promoted What's in a (Re)Name?
him to Rentals Commissioner, with a
I enjoyed William Tetley's memoir in higher emolument. Mr Plimsoll noted I recently saw the McGill News alumni
the McGill News about Reggie Plimsoll. philosophically that the order-in-council quarterly Winter 2006 edition.
I encountered Reg frequently in the naming him Rentals Commissioner was I note the front cover line "Two
course of my errands on St. James written, in Duplessis's singular style. It McGill faculties get rechristened
Street as a student in the '40s. He was a began 'Whereas Reginald Plimsoll, QC, and recharged." Rechristened?
well-known personage on "the Street." has resigned as Assistant Fire Arnie Aberman, BSc'65, MDCM'67
I recall that he was an habitue of the Commissioner ... "' This was the first viaemail
Bodega in the Transportation Building. indication Plimsoll had that he had
He could be found at the bar there most been given a new job. Tetley adds, Ed. Note: Dr. Aberman may be questioning
mornings around 11, r~galing a few "Duplessis believed in rewarding his a possible religious connotation to the use
cronies with his "war stories." faithful, but they could not have more of the word, but its primary meaning
than one sinecure at a time." Plimsoll, a is "rename." One meaning given in the
staunch conservative, repaid Duplessis Canadian Oxford for the word "christen"
by being a straw candidate for his Union refers to the ceremony ofb aptism, but
Nationale party in ridings "where another cites as an example "the discovery
Duplessis did not wish to defeat a ofa new element which they christened
sympathetic incumbent." On his death 'radium."'
in 1963, the Montreal Star referred to
Plimsoll as "Mr. Montreal."
0 Sister, Where Art Thou?
This year Gamma Phi Beta Sorority
is celebrating 75 years at McGill.
There is a big celebration in the
works to commemorate the
founding of the McGill Chapter
with a variety of activities during
If memory serves, Reg was the Homecoming weekend. The
beneficiary of Quebec Premier Maurice highlight of the reunion is the 75th
Duplessis's appointments. I think he Anniversary Banquet to be held at
was the City Fire Commis-sioner for the Omni Hotel on Saturday, Missing Plaque Mystery
some considerable period of time. October 21, 2006.
An old friend, the late Betty A search is now on for the more In the Winter 2006 McGill News, your
O'Toole, worked for Reg for a brief than 700 Gamma Phi Beta members ever-interesting Factfile series told
period as a secretary in the early '50s. who initiated at McGill so that an about the role of the McGill
She said that the terms of her invitation with complete details Observatory in setting Canada's clocks.
employment included an agreement can be mailed to them this summer. You might have also mentioned the
that every mistake she made would We'd like to ask that alumnae brass marker carefully set in the floor of
subject her to a fine of 25 cents and update their addresses and email by the Leacock Building-just outside the
that Reg would be subject to the same sending their contact information to entrance to the Noel Fieldhouse
penalty, a settlement to be made at the [email protected] or c/o Auditorium-marking the site of the
end of each week. Invariably, Betty G PB Reunion, 562 Grosvenor Street, Observatory. The diagonal in the brass
came out well ahead! Montreal, Quebec, H3Y 2S7. rectangle shows the line of longitude
John H. Watson, BA'43, BCL'49 As well, I am looking for alumnae established using the transatlantic cable
viaemail interested in being part of the and signals from Greenwich
planning committee or in helping Observatory in England. From this line,
Ed. Note: Thanks to John Watson for the with the fundraising and awards McGill's position was precisely fixed
great story. Included in Professor Tetley's committee. I can be reached at (613) for the first time (and by extension,
original, longer memoir was the fact that 282-7 482 or dgroul.x@gmail. corn. the rest of Canada's).
Duplessis, an admirer ofP limsoll, named Dominique Groulx, BA'95 The diagonal line in that rectangle
him Assistant Fire Commissioner for a Ottawa, Ont. points directly towards the North Pole
MCGILL NEWS · SUMMER 2006
letters
and is almost parallel to Sherbrooke Step Up ... and Up participate as individuals or in teams of
Street. The contrast between Montreal three to five. Come out to run or cheer on
North (which is almost due west!) and I'd like to challenge fit and motivated your friends and enjoy the music,
true north is always enlightening. alumni and students in the Montreal movies, food and games.
The plaque that told this story has area to take part in an event called For more information, including a
been missing from the nearby wall for Step Up for the Cure, a 24-hour stair video trailer, or to register, visit
many years. Do you think you could use climbing marathon which will take www.stepupforthecure.com, or contact
your influence to have it replaced? place at McGill's Molson Stadium on me at 514-285-1112.
Kendall Wallis, BA'69, MLS '71 September 9 and 10 to raise money and Hopetoseeyouthere!
Liaison Librarian, Humanities and awareness for people living with cancer. Dan Fischer, BSc'02
Social Sciences Library The event gets under way at noon. Montreal, Que.
Ed. Note: We do hope the plaque elves are
reading the News. McGillArchives provides
this photo (left) oft he McGill Observatory,
Something on your mind?
originally built in 1862 for physician and
We love to hear from readers.
meteorologist Dr. Charles Smallwood.
Write to us at:
Following his death in 1873, another storey
McGillNews
was added to the house (as shown here)
1555 Peel Street, Suite 918
when it became a "chief station," connected
Montreal, Quebec
directly to the telegraph so that observations Every four minutes a person is
H3A3L8.
could be reported every three hours. An early diagnosed with cancer in Canada.
Engineering graduate, C.H. McLeod, who Therefore, the challenge for each
worked with Smallwood as a student and participant in Step Up for the Cure is to Or send an email to
eventually became Vice-Dean ofA pplied run one set every four minutes. Our [email protected].
Science, supervised the facility's operations goal this year is to raise $60,000 for the
for the next 40 years. Cancer Research Society. People may
Commemorate a milestone or hon·our jon~r] tranritil'e t'r:rb
mark a loved one's passing
distinguish, exalt, or ennoble somebody:
with a contribution to McGill's
In Honour/In Memory Fund. to recognize son1cbod) pu111cl_ or c. le ate VH11c
Gifts support the University's educa body's status officially, u u, lly h_ gi inh that 1 er
tional mission in any area
you choose. We will advise the hon son a title or an a 'a,r d
oree or family, according to your
m m·O·ry !n1cm :1re !noun
instructions. All donations are
acknowledged with a tax receipt. . posthumous impression: the 1 no lcdg
For more information please contact or in1pression of son1cbod retained b othc. r 1 c. o
Begoria Pereira at [phone]
or [email protected] plc after that person's death
~McGill
5
MCGILL NEWS·SUMMER 2006
from the desk of the principal
Measures of Success
LIKE YOU, I BEAM WHEN Me GILL grade of 88. 9%. Ditto for Rhodes scholarships and other dis
receives high praise. When Maclean's tinguished prizes awarded to students. And our reputation
magazine ranks your alma mater as around the world is in a league of its own.
the top Medical-Doctoral university in At McGill, we are proud that we are consistently ranked
Canada, it's a moment to celebrate. And among the very best in the world, but we are not content to
when London's Times Higher Education let others set the bar. We set our own very high standards,
Supplement names McGill as one of the academic plans and indicators against which we measure our
top 25 universities in the world, we take progress, in order to make McGill an even better place.
a moment to appreciate the news. The Principal's Task Force on Student Life and Learning
But as Einstein said, "Not everything aims to create the optimal environment in which under
that counts can be counted, and not graduate as well as graduate and professional students can
everything that can be counted, counts." benefit fully from the research-rich environment in which
Performance indicators help us in they learn. We recruit the very best students and profes
numerous ways, but rankings tell only sors, enriching the student experience and building on
part of the story. areas of academic excellence in teaching and research in the
Universities are complex and dis neurosciences, music, environmental sciences, interna
tinctive institutions, each one with its tionallaw, human rights, engineering design, among many
own special characteristics and programs, strengths and important fields.
weaknesses. No single measure could ever accurately reflect We are doing more to support students, reduce red tape,
the quality or character of a university, where hundreds of pro provide better counselling and advising. We are doing more
fessors and lecturers teach a broad array of courses across dis to enable them to take full advantage of our wonderful loca
ciplines as varied as medicine, law, engineering and music, tion in Montreal, as well as of our study abroad and exchange
and where students come from diverse backgrounds, from programs. We want every student to experience the thrill of
across Canada and around the world. Like any university, intellectual discovery. For that reason, we have established
McGill - distinctive in its international character and its programs that enable students to work side-by-side with
Canadian values and history - cannot and should not be professors on research and scholarly initiatives.
summed up in a single score, or even multiple ones. By any measure, McGill boasts excellence across the
While the Times Higher Education Supplement places board. And our many successes must be sustained. And,
McGill in the world's top 25, the other global ranking of uni while we depend on effective levels of public investment,
versities, published by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, we could not achieve McGill's levels of excellence without
places the University of Toronto and the University of British the private support that alumni and friends offer - these
Columbia ahead of us. Why? are critical to our success.
The Shanghai system gives special weight to large univer The recognition we earn- in rankings and awards, and
sities (McGill, by these standards, is medium-sized) and, on indeed, in the record levels of the private support that we
the staff presence of a No bel Prize winner (Canada currently receive- are but a by-product of our mission and dedication
has only two No bel laureates who work and reside in Canada, to high standards in research, teaching, service and student
one at the U ofT, and the other recently hired from the United support.
States by UBC). This fall, a new wave of university rankings will emerge.
In other rankings, McGill takes the lead. McGill is Yes, it is my hope that McGill will continue to excel in each
Canada's most research-intensive university. Our professors one. More important, however, is that we continue to make
win more research grants on a per-faculty basis in competi a powerful difference as we move forward with our mission,
tions than those at any other university in Canada. That is positively transforming the lives of our students and advanc
why McGill is once again at the top of the Research Infosource ing knowledge for a better Canada and a better world. For me,
research competitiveness rankings. that's the number one spot that counts. \&..-
Similarly, when it comes to attracting the smartest stu
dents, McGill is tops in Canada, with an average entering HEATHER MUNROE-BLUM
MCGILL NEWS · SUMMER 2006
~
COMING EVENTS
• August 16, Brome-Missisquoi: Cocktail • October 16, Montreal: Panel discussion: • November 17, Southern Alberta:
Reception and Dinner. Alex Paterson, Why Do Children Dislike School? Leacock Luncheon with guest speaker
BCL'56, OC, 00, QC, will be our Dean of Education Roger Slee, Professor Bob Rae. Fairmont Palliser Hotel.
guest speaker, 6:15pm. Contact: Nancy Heath, Professor Noel Burke. Contact: [email protected]
Jane Brierley at 450-297-2508. 7-9 pm. Contact and RSVP: Sophia or 1-800-567-5175.
Johnson at [email protected]
• August 20, Montreal: Belugas and • November 24, Vancouver: Lea cock
or 800-567-5175.
Beer Bike Tour. Join lngrid Birker, Luncheon with guest speaker lan
McGill Science Outreach Coordinator, • October 19-22, Montreal: McGill Ferguson, Four Seasons Hotel.
for a bike tour of Montreal. Tour Homecoming 2006. Keep this Contact: [email protected],
begins at McGill's Redpath Museum weekend free! Visit the Homecoming 1-800-567-5175.
at 4 pm. Contact: lngrid Birker at website for more information • November 25, Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue:
[email protected] or www.mcgill.ca/homecoming. All-year Diploma I Farm Management
514-398-4086, ext. 4094. • October 25 and 26, Montreal: McGill and Technology Reunion and Banquet.
• September 9, Montreal: Step Up for Book Fair, 9 am-9 pm at Redpath Hall. Tour the Macdonald Farm and the cam
the Cure. Marathon stair-climb at Book donations welcome. Sale proceeds pus's buildings between 1 pm and 4 pm.
Molson Stadium, noon. Here's a support scholarships for women Relax and mingle at the Ceilidh bar after
chance to make your mark in the fight students. For more information on the 2 pm. Take part in Ste. Anne's Christmas
against cancer, Book Fair, call 514-398-5000. parade as a walker or rider on the
and a great opportunity to meet fellow • October 31, November 7, 14, 21 and 28, DIP/FMT float at 4 pm. Enjoy a great
students and a!umni while enjoying Montreal: Vogel Lecture Series, Stephen meal and live music at the banquet, held
the Lea cock Building, Room 232. 9:30am, $30 in the Centennial Centre at 7:30 pm -
festivities. Contact: Daniel Fischer at (for series of five lectures, with coffee). there will be an open mike, so bring
[email protected] or Contact: sophia.johnson @mcgill.ca or along your best Mac stories! Banquet is
514-285-1112. 514-398-7684. $50, tours and parade are free. For more
information, contact Caroline Begg at
• October 4, Montreal: McGill Reads • November 8, Montreal: McGill Reads 514-398-8749 or [email protected]
Book Club. Lecture and discussion led Book Club. Lecture and discussion
by Nathalie Cooke of Mordecai led by English professor Tabitha • December 6, Montreal: McGill
Richler's Solomon Gursky Was Here, 6- Sparks of Jane Austen's Sense and Reads Book Club. Lecture and
7:30pm. Contact: Alumni Education Sensibility, 6-7:30 pm. Contact: discussion led by English professor
representative at Alumni Education representative at Monica Popescu of J. M. Coetzee's
[email protected] or [email protected] or Waiting for the Barbarians, 6 -7:30 pm.
800-567-5175. 1-800-567-5175. Contact: Alumni Education representa
tive at [email protected] or
800-567-5175.
7
MCGILL NEWS·SUMMER 2006
newsbites
TASK FORCE
McGill community; assessing administrative
support and financial assistance, including
special support for students in crisis;
fostering sensitivity to cultural differences;
ensuring that students from outside the
province enjoy an enriched and integrated
Quebec experience; and enhancing
electronic communication.
The final report, including a timeline for
implementing recommendations, is scheduled
for the end of 2006. The goal is to enhance
student life and improve the experience of
every member of the McGill community.
As Principal Munroe-Bium says, "We want
McGill to be known not as a great university
T he life of a student is never easy. Preliminary recommendations - to attend in spite of its bureaucracy but as a
New environments, professors, expanding advising and mentoring great uni_versity to attend, period."
colleagues and courses can be programs, improving financial assistance,
overwhelming, and wading through the red and establishing a senior administrative
tape and regulations is a daunting endeavour. position responsible for student life and
Does anyone care? Well, yes, in fact. The learning - illustrate some of the potential
Principal's Task Force on Student Life and improvements that will benefit students,
Learning, which issued a progress report in who are well represented on the task force.
April, has been studying the problems Principal Heather Munroe-Bium chairs the
faced by McGill students and has plans to committee, made up of 12 students and
fix them. The report follows a year of 12 administrators or professors.
discussion and debate, fuelled by over 160 The task force is divided into working
submissions from the McGill community groups which explore specific areas, such
since a call for input in May 2005. as defining the place of students in the
WILLARD BoYLE, BSc'47, MSc'48, PHD'SO, IS THE "That was a long, hard day,"
eo-inventor of the charge-coupled device, and while you he says. "I don't know how
probably haven't heard of Boyle's innocuous-sounding politicians do that all the
brainchild, you're certainly familiar with the things that the time!" More recently, Boyle
CCD has made possible. and Smith were inducted into
Like digital cameras, for instance. Also fax machines, the National Inventors Hall
photocopiers, scanners, bar code readers and the Hubble of Fame in Akron, Ohio.
Space Telescope. When Boyle and his Bell Laboratories Boy le, who grew up in a remote logging town in Quebec,
colleague George Smith dreamed up the CCD in 1969- was home-schooled by his mother. "She deserves all the
sketching out its essentials on a chalkboard in about an hour credit in the world for getting me started," he says.
-the duo were trying to come up with novel methods for Boyle had a pretty momentous year in 1969-apart
storing data on semiconductors. It quickly became apparent from his CCD work, he was also on the scientific team that
that their light-sensitive CCD was compact, energy-efficient helped NASA select the site for the first Apollo landing
and ideally suited to capturing and transmitting images. on the moon.
The two inventors were honoured for their work on the When asked which CCD-related innovation excites him
CCD by the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, which the most, he briefly considers the outer space applications
awarded them the $500,000 Charles Stark Draper Prize. of his invention before settling on his reply. ''I'm very
The Halifax-based Boyle recently travelled to Washington to interested in the way [CCD technology] is used in medicine,
receive the prize, where he was besieged with interview in the tiny cameras they use for laparoscopic surgeries and
requests from journalists from around North America. other procedures. That's pretty impressive."
n") M CG ILL N EW S · S UMMER 2006