Three McGill professors were recently added to the ranks of the august Royal Society of Canada, the scholarly organization that sort of serves as the country's academic all-star team.

Physiology professor Leon Glass, oncology professor Annette Herscovics and Professor Theo van de Ven, director of McGill's Pulp and Paper Research Centre, were made fellows of the society over the summer.

A mathematical physiologist, Glass co-wrote the widely-cited book From Clocks to Chaos: the Rhythms of Life, which demonstrated how nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory can be used in understanding physiological systems. Recently, Glass has been a key member of a research team that has drawn attention for applying nonlinear mathematics to the study of cardiac arrhythmias.

Herscovics produced pioneering research on how sugars are attached to proteins in mammalian and yeast cells -- paving the way for many subsequent studies by cell biologists and biochemists. A member of the McGill Cancer Centre, Herscovics has also done influential work in the area of gene regulation.

Van de Ven has captured widespread attention by bridging the fields of hydrodynamics and colloidal science and by building new scientific devices used for the study of particle-particle interactions. His work has had applications in areas as diverse as paper-making, the oil industry, cell adhesion and blood component interactions.

The second McGill University Treasure Hunt on the Web has come and gone. Close to 3,000 students, staff, graduates and Web surfers took part in the colourful trivia contest, and the names of some of the game's winners have just been posted on McGill's homepage (ww2.mcgill.ca).

The game was designed to be informative and fun. Contestants had to correctly answer 10 randomly generated multiple choice queries about McGill's research projects, academic programs and history. If they were stuck for an answer, they were pointed to a McGill web site containing the information they needed.

Karl Jarosiewicz, McGill's Web editor, says the game was put together with students in mind. "Young people may not be reading newspapers," Jarosiewicz argues. "The Web is a primary source of information for them." By participating in the treasure hunt, it was hoped that students considering studies at McGill would discover the wealth of knowledge and resources that are available at McGill and either apply there, or register if they had already been accepted.

Using the Internet as a marketing tool is a relatively recent move for universities, says Jarosiewicz. In fact, according to Anne Roussell, director of the Recruitment and Liaison Office, McGill is the first institution to come up with a game like the treasure hunt.

The University Relations Office and RLO organized the hunt, while the McGill Bookstore, the McGill Computer Store, the McGill Associates, the Faculty Club, ACC Telecom, the Department of Athletics, the Chateau Versailles and the Holiday Inn contributed prizes. The Computing Centre's Ron Hall and URO's Eric Smith worked on the coding and design for the game.

File from Michael Dobie

Psychology professor James Ramsay and Robyn Wiltshire (above), the executive assistant to the deans of arts and science, want to invite you to a bash on September 23. Sponsored by Development and Alumni Relations, the do aims to thank staff and faculty for their daily contributions to the University.

"Many people have had opportunities to earn better salaries elsewhere, but they've stayed put. Many people go way beyond what their job descriptions call for in the things that they do for this place. This is a chance to recognize that and say thank you," says Ramsay.

Part of the thanks will be directed to the faculty and staff who contributed over $4 million to McGill's last capital campaign.

And, yes, staff and faculty can expect to be asked to dip into their pockets once again to help out the University. A new Faculty and Staff Annual Fund Committee has been set up to coordinate the process and Ramsay and Wiltshire are the co-chairs. "We'll be setting the agenda for the fund and determining priorities for the coming year, as well as establishing objectives for the years to come," says Wiltshire.

The fund's priority areas will be unveiled at the party -- to be held from 4 pm to 6 pm between the Leacock and Arts buildings. Ramsay and Wiltshire say that two possible priorities for the fund will be improvements to the libraries and staff development programs.