Spring 2021
Health
McGill’s Moderna connection
Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is one of the planet’s best hopes for prevailing against a pandemic that has affected millions around the world. Noubar Afeyan, BEng’83 (pictured), is the company's co-founder, while Hamilton Bennett, BSc(FSc)’07, is one of the principal players leading Moderna’s vaccine efforts.
Culture
Cooking up a new plan
Claire Saffitz, MA’13, became a culinary superstar on "Gourmet Makes," a hugely popular YouTube series in which she whipped up her own home-made versions of beloved snack food staples like Twinkies. She is now starting a new chapter in her career with a new cookbook and YouTube series.
Culture
Music professors’ albums attract Grammy attention
McGill music professors Matt Haimovitz (pictured) and John Hollenbeck have something in common with Beyoncé and BTS – they were all Grammy Award finalists this year. The McGillians spoke about what it’s like to be in the running for the music industry’s most famous prize.
From Tracking the bold promise of new planned cities
“They’re so ambitious and they’re so idealistic. It’s just this sort of collective hallucination that we can design our way out of any problem.”
Sarah Moser
Head of McGill’s New Cities Lab
Discovery
“Talking” to Perseverance: A Mars veteran’s new mission
Did life exist on Mars about 3.7 billion years ago? Telecom systems engineer Peter Ilott, BSc’80, PhD’88, has been part of four successive NASA rover missions to the red planet.
On Campus
Principal’s Perspective: A Year of Reimagining
McGill, like other universities worldwide, has been navigating the disruption of the pandemic over the last year. Despite the challenges faced, there are many reasons to be positive about the future of higher education and research, according to Principal Suzanne Fortier, BSc'72, PhD'76.
People
Astrophysicist is Canada’s rising star in election forecasting
It turns out that a degree in physics and a knack for mathematics comes in handy when you are analyzing polling data. Thanks to the accuracy of his electoral projections, Philippe J. Fournier, BSc’01, has become an in-demand political analyst.
Discovery
A deep dive into racial inequality in the literary world
In his new book, McGill’s Richard Jean So brings together data science and literary history to examine how the book industry’s longstanding bias towards white authors has shaped American literary publishing.
People
Sharing a vibrant culture through dance
Margaret Grenier, BSc’97, won one of Canada’s top prizes for the performing arts for her work with the Dancers of Damelahamid, an Indigenous dance company that uses song and a unique form of masked dance to share First Nations’ cultural traditions.
Discovery
An early warning system for COVID in communities
In February, 2020, when the world changed, Newsha Ghaeli, MArch’13, and her company quickly adapted.
Alum notes
See what everyone's been up toIn Memoriam
In Memoriam: Spring 2021