News in Brief for the week October 19

A gift from RBC, awards for McGill researchers, the University is recognized as a Top Employer, and the Cundill Prize Short List is announced

MUHC, CHUM to split $4 million RBC gift

The Royal Bank of Canada announced a $4 million donation to the MUHC and the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montreal earlier this week. The money will be split equally between the two institutions and will go toward the construction of new facilities, including their respective superhospitals.

McGill named among Canada’s Top 100 Employers

For the third consecutive year, McGill has been listed among Canada’s Top 100 Employers by Mediacorps Canada, Inc. McGill’s efforts in sustainability – more specifically, the transformation of McTavish Street into a pedestrian zone near campus – played a key role in this year’s selection. Among the criteria, competition officials examined the general physical workplace and specific on-site features, sustainability practices, diversity programs, benefits and compensation packages, health and well-being and the overall atmosphere of working in these organizations.

Dudek wins Acfas award

Gregory Dudek, Director of the School of Computer Science, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Prix Acfas – J. Armand Bombardier for technological innovation. Dudek does research on sensing for mobile robotics including vision, robot pose estimation (position estimation), recognition and path planning.

McGill pair among top young researchers

David Buckeridge, Faculty of Medicine, and Catherine Sabiston, Faculty of Education, are two of five young Quebec researchers who will be honoured today as part of the Rendez-vous du Savoir, a two-day initiative by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, the City of Montreal, Montreal International and CRÉPUQ. The event is aimed at highlighting how the work done every day in universities contributes to the social, economic and intellectual development of Quebec. Buckeridge holds the Canada Research Chair in Public Health Informatics. His work focuses on improving the detection and management of epidemics by using advanced computing methods. Sabiston, director of the Health Behavior and Emotion Lab, looks at how physical exercise can improve the emotional wellbeing of people suffering from illnesses, in particular women with breast cancer. The Rendez-vous du Savoir, held at the Palais des congrès, will also include a welcome event for international students and the announcement of new scholarships by the Desjardins Foundation, eight of which will go to McGill students.

Cundill Short list announced.

The jury for the Cundill Prize in History at McGill has announced the short list for this year’s award.

The three finalists are: Giancarlo Casale for “The Ottoman Age of Exploration,” Diarmaid MacCulloch for “A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years;” and Marla R. Miller for “Betsy Ross and the Making of America.”

The winner will be announced on Nov. 14.