MAKING NEWS

Film professor Bart Beaty offered his critique of this summer’s movies, telling the Calgary Herald that “this is going to be remembered as one of the worst years for summer movies. There was no My Big Fat Greek Wedding. No There’s Something About Mary. Fahrenheit 9/11 is the only film that surprised us.”

Alyson Woloshyn, acting co-ordinator of U of C 101, an orientation program that helps students enter university, offered advice to students in an article this month in the Calgary Herald. “We talk a lot about balance. If you study all the time, you may have the book smarts, but when you go to get a job you’re not going to have the social skills or the networking to succeed – and that’s what we want our students to do.”

English professor Maurice Yacowar offered a tribute to wrestling icon Stu Hart in a recent issue of Alberta Views. “So, Stu, for showing me that good guys can fight and sometimes they win, that justice can be done, and the straight can survive the crooked, thanks a million.”

Dave Paskevich, assistant professor of sport and exercise psychology at the U of C, told the Calgary Sun last month that despite their losses, the Calgary Stampeders remain an upbeat bunch. “I give this team a lot of credit. There are teams I’ve been associated with that (become negative) when they aren’t having success in terms of outcome. These guys have stayed positive and continue to look on the bright side of things. They’re saying: “What can we do to take the next step?”

Dreary weather does have an impact on people’s state of mind. Keith Dobson, professor of clinical psychology, told the Calgary Herald that people tend to stay indoors in cooler weather, are less active and eat more – all factors associated with mood swings. Dobson suggests you “don’t let the weather dictate your mood.”

Mike Wamsteeker had a summer job that was out of this world. The fourth-year biochemistry and geology student traveled around rural Alberta looking at strange rocks. Wamsteeker was actually hunting for meteorites that may have been unknowingly picked up by farmers or rock hounds across the province. “Meteorites are older than any of the oldest rocks on Earth,” Wamsteeker told the Camrose Booster, one of the many rural papers he was interviewed by this summer. “…So by looking at (a meteorite’s) composition and the different types of minerals ... we can tell a lot about the conditions present at the formation of the universe.”

U of C geology and geophysics professor Dr. Rob Stewart and his research team spent the summer in the High Arctic with NASA exploring seismic methods and technologies. Nunavut’s barren and rocky Devon Island features permafrost and geological structures similar to Mars, enabling the team to test equipment that could be used on the Red Planet. “We’re adapting or reinventing the seismic method for a completely different target (permafrost and shallow geology),” Stewart told the Business Edge. “There’s a lot of expertise in Calgary’s oil and gas industry for northern studies – it’s second to none in the world.”

Making News highlights staff and faculty featured in the media.