Children with an affinity for science got to choose from two new Lancer Camps this year. BioCamp and Science Discovery camp offer mini-experiments, projects, demonstrations, and science-themed games for science lovers.

Nine-year-old Daniel Hiuser make a DNA necklace out of his own genetic material at the Science Discovery camp based in the USci Network space in Essex Hall. The camp highlights many areas of science for children ages 8 to 10.

He was quick to ask plenty of questions and happy to show off his new pendant. Over in the Biology Building, his older sisters Aubrey and Lillianelle were busy participating in hands-on activities in the areas of cell and cancer biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, and animal behaviour and ecology.

Eleven-year-old Lillianelle says she enjoys learning new things and her favourite activity is using the microscope. Aubrey is 10 years old and wants to be a marine biologist. She says she likes working on the handouts covering what they learned each day.

“Yesterday we made a cell out of playdough and we made genes out of candy,” says Aubrey.

Natalie Gosselin, a PhD student in biology, led the microbiology and immunology session, a lab which she designed specifically for kids between the ages of 11 and 14. She says the module includes a lot of microscope use, with the campers staining their own microbes and then finding them under microscopes, observing tissue samples from specific organs for the immunology lesson.

“It was challenging but I had help from undergraduates as well as staff and faculty, and so far I’ve heard good feedback, which is nice,” says Gosselin. “You want to make something that is going to challenge them, but not so far out that it is not accessible to them. I hope we’ve done that.”

Computer science’s robotics camp also returned this year with two sessions aimed at kids aged 8 to 9, with lessons centred around building and programming, as well as building skills for working on robotics projects, using the Lego MindStorm Robotics Inventions System.

Human kinetics hosts the full-day special interest camps, which include a half-day of exploring educational activities and a half-day of outdoor recreational activities and swimming at the St. Denis Centre.

Robotics and Science Discovery camps have second sessions in August; both are full.

Sara Elliott

A group of St. Clair College horticulture students toured the UWindsor campus Friday to get a close-up look at how gardeners maintain its grounds.

“Everything we have studied is here,” said instructor Wendy Trahan, a landscape designer who teaches in the college’s horticultural program. “From containers and planters to flower beds, naturalized spaces and even a greenhouse — I am just fascinated by the campus.”

The tour was led by UWindsor gardener Aaron Dickau, who had first discussed the possibility of the visit with Trahan.

“He informed me of just how broad the grounds are here,” Trahan says. “It turned out to be a great opportunity for my students to see so many skills in use.”

The group visited a number of plantings, including the Stewart Moore garden of native Carolinian species, the campus community garden, raised beds outside Dillon and Chrysler halls, trees along Turtle Island Walk, the rooftop gardens in the Centre for Engineering Innovation, and the greenhouse atop the Biology Building.

Grounds supervisor Garry Moore says that variety of venues is a valuable resource he is glad to see used.

“Many people in the city, and even here at the university, don’t appreciate what a great learning resource we have just in terms of the plants and trees across the campus,” he says. “We’re so happy to share some expertise with these college students; education is our mandate, too.”

Student Trysten Cassidy says he hopes to be able to attend the university and says he was impressed by his visit.

“I’m just overwhelmed by the size of the campus,” he says. “In the future, if I keep working, I will get here.”

Acknowledging his dedication to student success and well-being, the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) has appointed UWindsor student Zack Sephton as the Canadian representative on its member network.

A sport management major, Sephton is plays on the Lancer club baseball team and has worked as a fitness instructor and marketing supervisor for Lancer Recreation. The U.S.-based NIRSA regulates university sports at the varsity of club level for students outside the NCAA, NAIA, or other affiliates.

As Canadian Regional Student Leader, Sephton joins 18 other volunteers serving as the organization’s vehicle for communications, representation, networking, and professional development.

He says the benefits of recreational sports programs go beyond personal fitness and health.

“Intramurals allow fellow students to meet in a non-academic setting where true friendships can develop through competition and camaraderie,” says Sephton. “These are the relationships which will last beyond the university years.”

Pam Watts, NIRSA executive director, says Sephton will advance the core purpose of higher education.

“He’s helping peers from across North America prepare students to lead healthy, flourishing, and productive lives,” she says. “Zack is truly a valued leader of our association. We know that his contributions and volunteer service will make an exemplary impact.”

Lancer Recreation co-ordinator Sandra Ondracka cites Sephton’s work ethic, optimism, and charisma as three key personality traits that that allow him to be such a positive influence in the Department of Athletics and Recreation Services.

“Zack is a young man who leads by example.” says Ondracka. “But more importantly, Zack builds leadership ability in those around him.”

For more information on how to become involved in campus recreation as either a participant or a student employee, visit uwindsor.ca/lancerrecreation or contact Ondracka at ondrack@uwindsor.ca.

Ryan Donally

The exciting part of working on a project redesigning the intersection of California Avenue and Wyandotte Street is the possibility of seeing it implemented, says Emma Teskey.

A fourth-year civil engineering student, she was part of a group that suggested several changes to the pavement and traffic signalling systems that would make the crossing safer for pedestrians and smoother for vehicles.

It was one of more than 60 projects displayed by graduating engineering students during Capstone Design Demonstration Day, Friday in the Centre for Engineering Innovation.

Teskey and her teammates — Abigayle Diemer, Kailee Dickson, Curtis Lanoue, and Sarah Zaarour — suggested altering the traffic signals so that cars and trucks are stopped in all directions while pedestrians cross, a system known as the “pedestrian scramble.” They also proposed adding wide white stripes to the crosswalk pavement and relocating a transit stop so buses do not block the intersection.

“We think our proposals have a chance to be implemented,” Teskey said. “When we’re finished, we plan to submit them to the city.”

Other projects ranged from the design of supermileage vehicles to automated hydroponic growing schemes, a system able to detect drowsiness in drivers, and a robot controlled by human gestures.

Of the last, electronics and computer engineering student Craig Ruthven said it was the most fun of any project he had ever worked on.

“We started with an idea and brought it all the way to fruition,” he said as his partners Phuc (Joseph) Tran and Alexander Keys showed how they rigged a visual sensor to interpret human motions and instructed a robotic appendage to mimic the actions.

Professor Colin Novak, capstone co-ordinator in the Department of Mechanical, Automotive, and Materials Engineering, called the day an enormous success.

“The projects were fantastic,” he said.

“We have our usual team competition projects and they seem to improve every year, but the ones that stand out to me are the one-off projects where the students get together with industry and build something that is real-world and meaningful to the companies that will hopefully eventually hire our engineers.”

Twenty-two UWindsor faculty and staff earned professional certification from the National Society for Experiential Education by completing a three-day immersive academy in Windsor, July 10 to 12.

Hosted by the Office of Experiential Learning with the Centre for Teaching and Learning, it was the first of its kind in the country and attracted participants from Brock University as well as individuals from 19 departments across the University of Windsor.

The Experiential Education Academy is designed to provide a solid foundation in theory and practice of experiential education. Hosting it will benefit the campus culture, says Judy Bornais, acting executive director of the Office of Experiential Learning.

“Experiential learning can provide rich learning experiences that, along with reflection, can leave a lasting impact on our students,” she says. “Having so many faculty and staff attend the academy to further develop their pedagogical knowledge in experiential learning and exchange best practices with each other is great news for the University of Windsor and our students.”

In a 2016 report, the Premier’s Highly Skilled Workforce Expert Panel recommended that every post-secondary student in Ontario completes at least one opportunity in experiential learning before graduating.

Applications to graduate at the Fall 2018 Convocation are now open, with a deadline of August 1. Find the graduation application on my.uwindsor.

Applicants will be evaluated for eligibility and will receive an e-mail from the appropriate admissions and records officer.

Late applications to attend the ceremony will incur a non-refundable $80 fee.

The University’s 110th Convocation will take place in two sessions on Saturday, October 13. Direct questions regarding Convocation to co-ordinator Shari Turcotte at shari@uwindsor.ca.