Professor Avi Friedman, from the School of Architecture, received the Grand Prix de l'Exportation, Secteur Construction, for exceptional contribution to the advancement of research in housing for his work on Le Casa a la Carta, a $15,000 housing prototype built in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Mr. Guy Dorais, the HVAC supervisor in the Department of Facilities Management, was recently presented with a certificate from Rosemont Technology Centre in appreciation of his (and his department's) efforts on behalf of Rosemont students. Dorais has set up a mentoring system for Rosemont students -- giving seminars on how to find jobs, setting up unpaid internships for them and hiring some graduates to work on McGill projects.

Dr. Steven Backman, from the Department of Anesthesia, won the Fraser Award for outstanding research from the Royal Victoria Hospital for his contributions to a study entitled "Cholinergic mechanisms mediating loss of consciousness produced by anesthetic drugs in man." In addition, Backman also won the 1998 Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Canadian Research Award in Anaesthesia and the Rosario Denis Award of the Fondation d'Anesthésiologie et Réanimation du Québec for work on the same project. Backman received the Research Scholar Award from the Association of Anaesthetists of Quebec for his work on "Effect of edrophonium on automatic control of a cardiovascular system in patients undergoing surgery." His collaborators on these projects included departmental colleagues Dr. Pierre Fiset and Dr. Gilles Plourde.

Dr. Pierre Fiset, from the Department of Anesthesia, was selected as one of three recipients of the 1999 Clinical Scholar Research Award from the International Anesthesia Research Society. He will receive $75,000 (U.S.) over two years for research he is currently working on with departmental colleagues Dr. Steven Backman and Dr. Gilles Plourde.

Mr. A.M. El-wazri, a graduate student, Mr. E. Es-sadiqi, a former graduate student, and Professor Stephen Yue, all from the Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, won the Mechanical Working Steel Processing Meritorious Award for their paper entitled "Influence of Physical Stimulation on the Hot Ductility Behaviour of a Microalloyed Steel in the Continuous Casting Process."

Mr. Bruno Tremblay, a recent PhD recipient from the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, was one of three doctoral students enrolled at Montreal universities to earn the Prix d'excellence from the Académie des Grands Montréalais. The prize is awarded for theses of exceptional quality. Tremblay's PhD supervisor was Professor Lawrence Mysak.

Mr. Rémi Duquette, a student in the Faculty of Engineering, earned the SNC-Lavalin Award in recognition of his academic accomplishments and leadership qualities. The prize consists of a four-month paid internship and a $1,500 scholarship.

Mr. Sean Shepherd, a midfielder on the McGill Redmen soccer team and the club's captain, has been named to the Canadian Intercollegiate Athletics Union's All-Canadian first team. His McGill teammate, Mr. Gaetano Zullo, a defender, was named to the CIAU's All-Canadian second team

Ms. Stacey Morley and Ms. Jaime Rock, members of the McGill Martlets rugby team, were both named to the CIAU's All-Canadian rugby team. Morley is a geography and environmental studies student while Rock studies food science.

Professor Arun Mujumdar, from the Department of Chemical Engineering, recently presented the plenary lecture at the XII Mexican Biochemical Engineering Conference held in Acapulco. He was named to the board of directors for the new industry-sponsored Dewatering Research Centre of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim where he gave the keynote lecture in September.