Names in the News

The “smart clothing” of Joanna Berzowska (Design Art) and research colleague Barbara Layne (Studio Arts) is really hot. Their work in electronic textiles (see CTR, Jan. 27) made the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 21. Their skirts that light up when squeezed and shirts that flash when spoken to have also popped up on the e-zine Daily Planet and in local media, including The Gazette and All in a Weekend on CBC Radio.

Triant Flouris, director of the Aviation MBA program, has been quoted frequently as he follows the fortunes of Bombardier, from its rivalry with the Brazilian company Embraer to an accident involving a Bombardier jet to the CEO’s abrupt departure.

Ideas, broadcast on CBC Radio One every weeknight at 9 p.m., is planning a five-part series on left-wing political thinker Karl Polanyi. The series starts Feb. 23. The last program on March 23 will include interviews with Marguerite Mendell and others in Concordia’s Karl Polanyi Institute.

Lorne Switzer (Finance) was quoted by The Gazette about the tendency of some real estate agents to advise clients to grab the first offer. He called it “a classic agency problem,” meaning that any time you depend on someone with highly specialized knowledge, you are vulnerable.

David Douglas (Cinema) appeared in an engaging documentary on CBC TV about the history of Canadian film called Popcorn and Maple Syrup. He was commenting on the Commonwealth quota, which linked distribution in the U.K. and Canada.

Elaine Cohen, who teaches business communications in Continuing Education, was interviewed by Stephanie Whittaker for The Gazette about the importance of good English grammar.

Jim Pfaus (Psychology) was featured in November on the Discovery Channel’s online magazine The Daily Planet. The subject was fetishes, and how they work psychologically. This month, his study on PT-141, a synthetic hormone, is cited in a Châtelaine magazine article titled “Le désir sur ordonnance,” or desire by prescription.

Bala Ashtakala (Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering) is one of only two engineers in Canada who specialize in potholes. He told The Gazette recently that taxpayers could be saved a bundle if cracks were repaired as part of regular road maintenance, instead of waiting until they develop into potholes. Further, he recommended that these repairs be done in the fall and the spring.

Entertainer and alumnus John Moore, now working in Toronto, wrote a satirical piece for the National Post in response to a column by conservative writer Barbara Kay decrying left-wing professors who “brainwash” students. Moore said it was no surprise that universities were centres of liberal opinion, and described himself as “a successful brainwashing victim of the School of Community and Public Affairs.”

In a full page article in La Presse, Michel Magnan (Accountancy) said many pension plans are far too generous and in particular, highlights, the annual pension of $1.7 million that the former CEO of the Bank of Montreal receives.

Maria Peluso (Political Science) was featured in Donna Nebenzahl’s column in The Gazette on Feb. 7. She has done a study that suggests that gender equity is not as favourable to women as statistics would lead us to believe, because they tend to compare women’s and men’s jobs for the same employer rather than across the spectrum of similar work.

Harold Simpkins (Marketing) was interviewed by CBC television about the slight effect the NHL lockout has had on business in Montreal. He was also quoted in La Presse on how the profit-making strategies of Costco and Wal-mart differ, despite both being well known for their low prices.