Kudos

Dr. Mark Wainberg, director of the McGill AIDS Centre, was part of a team of researchers who recently won this year's Prix Galien. The prize is generally regarded as the most prestigious award recognizing pharmaceutical research and development. Wainberg earned the honour, along with scientists from BioChem Pharma and Glaxo Wellcome, for discovering and developing 3TC, a promising new treatment for people infected with the HIV virus.

Principal Bernard Shapiro and his twin brother Harold, the president of Princeton University, were given honorary doctorates by New York's Yeshiva University on May 22. The degrees were awarded in recognition of the Shapiros' contributions to higher education.

Professor Grant Ingram, from the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, has been elected a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America in recognition of significant contributions to the knowledge of the polar and sub-polar regions.

Mr. Jean Lamoureux, a master's student in the Department of Occupational Health has been awarded the first 3M Canada Occupational Hygiene Scholarship. In addition to receiving $3,000, Lamoureux was 3M's guest at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference where there was an awards luncheon in his honour.

Mr. Stephan Patten, a graduate in Biochemistry, was one of the winners of the Canadian Authors Association's annual student writing contest. Patten took first place in the "best article" category for his piece "The Struggle for a Malaria Vaccine" which appeared in the McGill Tribune. Patten, science editor for the Tribune and a science writing intern for the Reporter, receives $500 and a year's subscription to Canadian Author magazine, which published his article in July.

Mr. Rahul Varma, a research assistant at the Montreal Neurological Institute, is the author of a play titled Counter Offence that completed a successful run at the Strathearn Intercultural Centre. The play earned glowing reviews from the media. The Montreal Mirror said, "It might be the most important play to come down the chute all year." Varma is a two-time Quebec Drama Festival award winner for previous works.

Five students earned Margaret Gillett Graduate Research Awards from the McGill Centre for Research and Teaching on Women. The winners are Ms. Kate Boyer (Geography), Ms. Cressida Heyes (Philosophy), Ms. Jackie Klopp (Political Science), Ms. Natalie Oman (Philosophy and Political Science) and Ms. Jessica Slights (English). The awards assist graduate students in pursuing thesis research in women's studies. The value of the grants is up to a maximum of $1,000.

Mr. Allan Levine and Mr. Larry Meek, from Information Systems Resources, were winners of two of the three top awards for presentations at the annual conference of CAUCUS in May. CAUCUS is a group representing those who use and develop computerized administrative systems in higher education. Levine's paper dealt with Year 2000 problems in computerized systems and Meek's with magnetic stripe card technology and use.

Professor Monroe Newborn, of the School of Computer Science, has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Ohio State College of Engineering, where he completed his master's and doctoral degrees. A former director of McGill's School of Computer Science and expert in computer chess, Newborn earlier this year chaired the organizing committee of the Association for Computing Machinery Chess Challenge, which pitted world champion Garry Kasparov against IBM's Deep Blue.