Local Programs
Mac Reads Book Club
Women's Series
Family Series
Discover Psychology Public Lecture Series
Science in Real Life: The Insider's Guide
Alumni Professional Development Series
Mac Reads Book Club
Please join us for Mac Reads,
McMaster Alumni Association's book club. This program is a great
opportunity to read thought-provoking books, meet new people and learn
from some of McMaster's most engaging professors, lecturers and
authors.
Book club guests can come prepared to discuss and debate or simply
observe and listen. Participation in the discussion is voluntary and
even guests who have not completed the work being discussed will still
enjoy the evening.
The book club meets six to seven times a year on campus in the evening
from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Guest speakers range from professors to local
authors to McMaster alumni authors to community members. Each fall the
McMaster community, through the book club, has the opportunity to meet,
read and discuss a selected literary work of the University's Writer-in-Residence. Past Writer-in-Residence authors have included, André Alexis, Trevor Cole, Daphne Marlatt, and
Lawrence Hill.
Cost: $5 per person (coffee/tea and cookies are served)
Upcoming Books for 2013:
Tuesday, February 26:
Up and Down by Terry Fallis
7pm - 8:30 pm
Join us for an evening at The University Club on McMaster campus with McMaster alumnus and celebrated author, Terry Fallis, as he discusses his most recent novel, Up and Down.
Terry will read from Up and Down, a novel that describes the adventures of David Stewart in the world of international public relations, and discuss his own personal life as a writer and PR practitioner.
For more information and to register, please visit here.
A sample of the books covered in 2012 include:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens with Dr. John Ferns & Gillian Ferns
In Bed With the Word by Daniel Coleman with author Daniel Coleman
Beauty & Sadness by Andre Alexis with author & writer-in-residence Andre Alexis
Rollback by Robert J. Sawyer with guest Mark Leslie
McMaster alumni authors who have visited campus within the past year include:
Terry Fallis speaking on his second novel, The High Road
Farzana Doctor speaking her her second novel, Six Meters of Pavement
Book club guests can come prepared to discuss and debate or simply
observe and listen. Participation in the discussion is voluntary and
even guests who have not completed the work being discussed will still
enjoy the evening.
Cost: $5 per person (coffee/tea and cookies are served)
We look forward to seeing you in the cozy living room of Alumni House in the future.
Women's Series
Your Life...Only Better! A personal and professional development series for our alumnae in the Hamilton area which emphasizes leadership, networking, knowledge, and awareness through interactive sessions moderated by industry and
community leaders.
The sessions take place six times per year at The Hamilton Club (three times in the fall and three times in winter/spring) and attendance is limited to provide a close and personal
environment. The evening begins at 7:00 pm with delicious appetizers and networking opportunities before the speaker begins her/his presentation. The sessions run 90 minutes and the atmosphere is casual and inviting. Advertising is focused on our alumnae but friends and community members are always welcomed to attend.
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The Hamilton Club
6 Main Street East
Hamilton
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Upcoming Sessions for 2013:
Wednesday, February 20:
Food, Mood & Hormones: How Food Affects Us with Dr. Sarah Penney, N.D.
We all know food can affect our mood, but how does food affect our hormones? Join us at The Hamilton Club with Dr. Sarah Penney, ND, as we learn how diet affects us, from health and happiness to hot flashes.
Sarah Penney is a Naturopathic Doctor practicing in both Hamilton and Dundas. She has completed her Masters in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph, and currently runs a family practice with a special interest in women's health, digestive concerns, stress management and nutrition
For more information or to register please visit
here
Past topics and speakers have included:
Social Media Applications, Uses, Etiquette: Creating Your Own Strategy with Amanda Etches-Johnson of University of Guelph (formerly of McMaster University)
Positive Psychology with Nathan Cooper of McMaster University
Networking Edge: Building Relationships for Success with Audie McCarthy of Networking Edge
The Art of Accessorizing with Mirella Marsilio ’93 of Mirella’s Ladies Boutique
We Can Work It Out! Transform your Conflicts into Opportunities for Understanding & Empowerment with Katherine Popaleni ’83 of Respectful Directions
The Costs of Hidden Stress with Laura Grant '00 N.D. formerly of Naturopathic Perspectives
Get Organized with Elaine Jermy ’93 of Organized Evolution
All Paired Up: The Art of Wine & Food Pairing with Robert MacGregor of Anything Goes
Cost: $10 - bring a friend and the friend comes for free (fee includes appetizers, coffee/tea, speaker - cash bar available)
All guests of the Women's Series are able to dine at The Hamilton Club immediately prior to the event. Please call The Hamilton Club to make a reservation and mention you are an attendee of the Women’s Series. A credit card is the only acceptable method of payment for dinner.
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Family Series
McMaster University’s Alumni Association is pleased to offer events with
an emphasis on quality family time. We provide opportunities to share
meaningful experiences with our children — events that will give you a
chance to learn, share, and connect as families.
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Our family events run three to four times a year and are usually held on
the weekend. Often we will partner with community members to help
expose the great existing community programming in the city of Hamilton
and area. Our alumni events just add a little spirit of McMaster to the
community.
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Upcoming Family Events:
Family Fun - Let's Go Fishing! August 11th, 2012
Past Family Events from 2012 include:
Day at the ROM: guided tour & scavenger hunt
Let's Go Fishing!
Battlefield Park Scavenger Hunt, Storytelling & BBQ Picnic
Spring Pancake Breakfast at Westfield Heritage Village
Family Etiquette Dinner at the University Club on McMaster campus
Past events over the last few years have included:
Fun Fall Festivities at Lindley’s Farm & Market
Ghost Tour at Westfield Heritage Village
Hillbilly Halloween at
Yee Haw Adventure Farm
Hands on Art! at the McMaster Art Gallery
Theatre Aquarius
Family Fun: A Christmas Carol
Summer events are being planned currently. Please check back to discover how you and your family can have a great time with other McMaster families.
Discover Psychology Public Lecture Series
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Science You Can Use!
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If you think you can’t use the science you learn in the classroom, think again…
The Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour and the McMaster Alumni Association invite you to Discover Psychology: Science You Can Use.
Unlike traditional colloquium, this special FREE public lecture series is aimed towards students, staff, faculty, alumni, and all members of the public. The lectures feature dynamic McMaster professors discussing fascinating and practical topics related to the field of Psychology.
All talks take place in PC-155 from 3-4PM. Coffee and cookies are served at 2:30PM in the main floor lobby of the psychology building.
Discover Psychology Public Lectures 2012-13
Friday, September 21:
Joe Kim, “The science of instructional design and University 2.0”
The centuries old tradition of the university is ready for change and educators should pay attention to research on best practice, learning technology and cognitive processes underlying effective learning. Dr. Joe Kim explains how research from the science of instructional design is helping to reboot the university to serve the next generation of learners.
Dr. Joe Kim is actively involved in all aspects of the scholarship of teaching and learning. He co-ordinates the innovative McMaster Introductory Psychology program and directs the Pedagogy and Applied Cognition Lab, which focuses on teaching, learning and technology.
Wine and cheese reception to follow from 4-5PM.
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Friday, October 12:
Emily Cross, “So You Think You Can Dance? The neuroscience of dance learning and enjoyment”.
The limbs move, but it is the brain that dances. When a ballet dancer leaps into the air in a perfect split or a breakdancer effortlessly spins on his head, how do our own dance abilities (or lack thereof) influence how we perceive these performers who excite and impress us? I will explore how the neuroscience of dance research reveals what’s going on inside our heads as we watch those movements that inspire us to get up out of our chairs and dance.
Dr. Emily Cross is an assistant professor of cognitive neuroscience and dance based at Bangor University in North Wales and Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Through her research in the Social Brain in Action Laboratory (www.soba-lab.com), she uses dance, gymnastics, contortion and robots (among other things) to discover how the human brain learns and perceives complex actions.
Friday, November 16:
Rayna Friendly and Cara Tigue. “Monkey voices and voting choices: The specialization of voice processing from infancy to adulthood.”
From the sound of a voice alone, adults can easily identify the sex, emotional state and identity of the people around them. Perceptions based on voices help explain how we form relationships, avoid enemies, and make important decisions. However, young infants do not show the same specialization for human voices that adults do. In fact, 6-month-olds can process differences in monkey voices as easily as differences in human voices! Rayna Friendly will explain how our specialization for the voices heard in our native environment develops during the first year after birth. Cara Tigue will then discuss why, in adulthood, men with lower-pitched voices may have an advantage over men with higher-pitched voices in political elections.
Rayna Friendly is a developmental psychologist and PhD Candidate in the Auditory Development Laboratory at McMaster University. She studies how the brain and behaviour of infants is influenced over time by the voices they hear in their environment.
Cara Tigue is a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar and a PhD Candidate in the Voice Research Laboratory at McMaster University. She studies how humans use information from voices to guide their perceptions of people and how these perceptions influence behaviour.
Friday, January 25:
Jennifer Heisz “Step into a healthier brain: the cognitive neuroscience of exercise”
You already know that physical exercise is good for the body – but you may not realize that it strengthens your brain, too! Dr. Jennifer Heisz explains how physical exercise affects the human brain and the positive impact that exercise can has on cognitive health across the lifespan.
Dr. Jennifer Heisz is a cognitive neuroscientist and a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman Research Institute. She studies the intricate relationship between brain function, behaviour, and life experience as predictors of healthy cognitive function.
Friday, March 1:
Kathleen Martin Ginis “The exercise habit: fact or fiction?”
Everybody knows that exercise is good for them and yet only 15% of Canadians are sufficiently active for good health. Furthermore, of those who try to start an exercise program, 50% will quit within six months. Dr. Kathleen Martin Ginis questions whether it is possible for most people to establish an exercise “habit”. She proposes that exercise is an ongoing self-regulatory struggle and describes research on self-regulation and self-control that is being used to help people make lasting exercise behavioural change.
Dr. Kathleen Martin-Ginis is a Professor of Health and Exercise Psychology in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University. She studies psychosocial factors that influence physical activity and the psychological consequences of exercise.
Friday, April 5:
Scott Watter “How do video games change your brain?”
Video games that promote “brain training” and “cognitive fitness” are more popular than ever, but do they really work? Dr Scott Watter discusses recent scientific approaches to understand what improvements video games can (and can’t) make to attention and cognition, and what this tells us about human mental abilities.
Dr Scott Watter is an Associate Professor in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University. He studies how our brains organize, control and coordinate themselves to perform complex tasks.
Science in Real Life: The Insider's Guide
A new series for 2012!
Relive the excitement of being a student without having to write papers or exams. Join us for this unique opportunity to sit in class with students enrolled in the Honours Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour program and hear six intriguing guest lectures that reveal the story behind the business of science.
All lectures are FREE and are held in JHE 264 on McMaster Campus from 10:30 am - 11:20 am.
Lecture Topics 2012-13
Thursday, September 27th
Science Improv with Oriane Landry
The scientific method is easy to use to answer any question we might have, but too often we lazily make judgments and decisions on the basis of "gut", "intuition", or limited anecdotal reports. To demonstrate how easy it is to take a scientific approach to anything, we will go through the steps of designing a study to answer YOUR questions.
Come prepared with a question or two, from the mundane to the bizarre, all questions about human behaviour are welcome!
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Thursday, October 4th
The Neuroscience of Dance with Steven Brown
The talk will discuss the publication of the very first experiment to use neuroimaging to study dance as well as its dissemination as a Scientific American article.
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Thursday, October 11th
Managing Perceptions of Psychological Research in Public Outlets with Paul Andrews
People are fascinated by evolutionary research on human behaviour and psychology, so it often gets a great deal of exposure in the media and other public outlets. But this research is sometimes highly criticized, simplified, or distorted in public outlets.
This talk will discuss how to manage perceptions of psychological research in the media, but focusing on evolutionary psychology research.
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Thursday, November 1st
What Babies See: Surprises and Misconceptions with Terri Lewis
For a long time, people assumed that babies were blind at birth, seeing nothing more than vague shadows. In fact, babies can see much more than you might think. This lecture will describe how we can “ask” babies what they see and will use examples of face perception and motion perception to describe the facts and uncover the surprises surrounding the amazing visual world of babies.
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Thursday, November 8th
Drug Anticipation and Drug Addiction with Shep Siegel
To understand drug addiction, we must understand not only physiological changes induced by drugs, but also such changes induced by the anticipation of drugs. Such anticipatory drug responses importantly contribute to drug tolerance (when a drug is repeatedly administered) and drug withdrawal symptoms (when drug use is terminated).
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November 15th
Memory in Visual Search with David Shore
Many everyday activities involve visual search, and in the laboratory many theories have been built on the results from visual search experiments. In the late 90s, an influential paper (Horowitz & Wolfe, 1997) made the bold claim that the processes involved in visual search did not involve memory.
The talk will introduce this paper, and evaluate the data and logic used to support the argument. The logical flaws of the research, and the lack of support in the data are highlighted in a subsequent paper (Shore & Klein, 2000), which provides a framework for thinking about the role of memory in visual search.
Alumni Professional Development Series
For the past five years the Alumni Association has offered a full-day of networking and professional development sessions to its alumni and all members of the local community. The Professional Development Day is offered in downtown Hamilton in early May and begins at 8:30 am and includes two keynote addresses, small breakout sessions, lunch and networking breaks.
Don't miss this opportunity to network with different professionals while engaging in thought-provoking sessions with community leaders.
The most recent PD Day held on May 4, 2012 was entitled, Chart Your Own Course. Keynote speakers were Linda Spence of Healthy Futures Group and Patricia Polischuk of Knightsbridge. Concurrent sessions included topics on personal branding, strategic volunteering, social media, and public speaking.
Here is just a small sample of the comments offered by this year's participants:
Well organized - great speakers! A great day of self-reflection and taking time for "me".
I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet other alumni. Keynote speakers were engaging and obviously passionate about their topics.
All of the information provided in the presentations linked together to expand and connect the various concepts throughout the day (and the chocolate bars were a nice touch too!!)
Very motivating speakers. Each one I listened to made me want to get up and take action!
Planning and finding speakers for the spring session takes place in early fall so please stay tuned for more information on our upcoming events in our professional development series.