Mark Romer: Phytotron manager a man of many talents

Sporting a labcoat and a goofy hat, the self-dubbed "Phyto Man" herds his young guests through the research centre he manages. The giggling schoolchildren, enjoying a field trip to McGill's Phytotron, are amazed as their surroundings take on the properties of desert and Arctic climates with the flip of a switch.

A few days later, you might find the same man in action again, this time in New Delhi. He looks more presentable now in a t-shirt and khakis. Appointed by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization as an official advisor, he is playing a leading role in the development of India's first phytotron. He helped develop the blueprints for the facility and was among those who supervised its construction. Now that the Indian phytotron is in operation, he is training staff to run the facility.

Meet Mark Romer, winner of the Faculty of Science's Excellence Award for non-academic staff.

As manager of McGill's Phytotron, Romer has a wide-ranging job involving everything from high-level international projects to entertaining visitors from elementary schools. His main responsibility, though, is to oversee the day-to-day functioning of a unique research facility.

The Phytotron takes up two floors of the Stewart Biological Sciences Building. A variety of plants, insects and tissue cultures  the subjects of diverse research projects  are housed in the Phytotron's greenhouse, growth chambers and labs.

The Phytotron provides a carefully monitored environment for these living research subjects. The computer-controlled facility can alter temperature, lighting, humidity and carbon and oxygen levels  simulating on a minute-by-minute basis the native climates for plant species from all over the world.

"We can even create climates here that don't exist yet," says Romer. "We can punch in the data for what we expect the climate will be like in 100 years and find out if we're reforesting with the right species."

Romer's goal is to make life as easy as possible for the scientists who use the facility. "We take care of all the maintenance and the nitty-gritty so they can concentrate on their studies," says Romer. The only facility of its kind in Montreal, the Phytotron also serves scientists from other universities, companies and research centres (the Biodome, for instance).

As a student, Romer was torn between biology and engineering  he was accepted into programs for both. He opted for biology and his studies took him to the University of Toronto where his graduate work focused on the nutritional value of Arctic plants and their role in Inuit diet.

That led to a seven-year stint running a greenhouse on North Baffin Island  a project aimed at providing northerners with fresh produce. "A head of lettuce can cost seven dollars up there and about 80% of the people are unemployed. You can see why it's important to try to do something about it," says Romer.

But the native Montrealer missed his old city and when he heard that McGill was building its Phytotron in 1987, he- applied for the manager's position.

"It's been the perfect job for me," says Romer. "Part of me always regretted leaving engineering behind  the part that loves trouble-shooting and working with machinery. I get to do it all here."

I don't know whether I'll be banished from the country or they'll build a monument to me.


Economics professor Antal Deutsch, one of three principal architects of Hungary's new Canadian-style national pension system, speaking to the Ottawa Citizen about how Hungarians might view his contributions. They seem pleased so far  Deutsch was awarded the Knights Cross of the Order of the Republic of Hungary two years ago.

Maybe they should have consulted someone in the math department. Or the chartered accountancy program. Because at the University of Toronto, the numbers just aren't adding up.

A new deal with staff announced over the summer, which gives salary increases, merit pay and a one-time bonus payment is  not surprisingly  being hailed by those on the receiving end.

But for U of T Provost Adel Sedra, the timing could not have been worse. He says that as a consequence of the three-year deal, he has had to announce a two per cent clawback in this year's funding and a minimum two per cent reduction in divisional base budgets for the following two years.

According to a report in the University of Toronto Bulletin, heads of the various divisions are "stunned" by the announced cuts which Sedra says "will lead to staff reductions and possibly program closings." It also means that a balanced operating budget is delayed until "sometime in the next decade."

The president of the staff association counters that the deal represents "nickels and dimes" and he accuses the administration of trying to put responsibility for their financial decisions onto support staff. "But no thanks, we won't take the blame for that."

English Quebecers use French words that are related only to Quebec. I would not use these words to communicate when I travel abroad or in Canada. It is out of the question.


French language and literature student Pamela Lipson, speaking to Reuters News Service about the decision of the Oxford University Press Guide to Canadian English Usage to label Quebec English a regional dialect.

People don't really appreciate just how psychological urination is as an act. Other people will take out their stress on their heart or raise their blood pressure or get hives, but many others just won't urinate.


Urology professor Yosh Taguchi, commenting in the Montreal Gazette on the seven per cent of people who are suffering from the little-known bashful-bladder syndrome.

"I didn't bother to assess my chances," McGill cultural studies student Jennifer Parks said. "I never thought I had a shot at anything."

Parks was stunned on August 27 when her class project, a video entitled Suzanne's Dream, took the award for best experimental video at the 28th Canadian Student Film Festival, part of the recently wrapped Montreal World Film Festival.

Although Parks was more impressed by her competition, she was willing to venture a guess as to why the festival jury preferred her video.

"I think they liked how I showed the transition between sleeping and waking and between reality and the subconscious. I shot reality in black and white and the dreamscapes in colour."

Parks's video was up against the best products of Canada's film school students. "I knew that most of the movies were made by students in technical film programs. I had to teach myself most of it."

Parks compensated for her lack of schooling by consulting documentary filmmaker and McGill instructor Garry Bietel, and by pouring countless hours into her movie, which counted for 100% of the grade for a course.

"It took me four months to make; three months of shooting and 100 hours of editing. It took over everything; I became obsessed with the film."

After the film's first screening, at the McGill Film Festival, a friend suggested she buck the odds and submit it to the MWFF. "I was just hoping to get it screened again, so that more people would see it. Exposure is one thing, but this kind of recognition is quite a bonus."

Sylvain Comeau