Events every day next week promise to deepen understanding of contemporary life, says Kim Nelson.

Director of the Humanities Research Group, she notes the multidisciplinary approach it offers to Humanities Week.

“We go from history to film to sociology,” says Nelson, an associate professor in the School of Creative Arts.

The week’s schedule includes:

• Monday, March 25
  “The Origins of Fascism in the United States,” a lecture by Michael Roberto, author of the 2018 book The Coming of the American Behemoth: The Origins of Fascism in the United States, 1920-1940
  6 p.m. in the Performance Hall, SoCA Armouries, 37 University Ave. E.
• Tuesday, March 26
  “The Right to the Image,” a presentation by Jason Fox on the “emergency cinema” of the Abounaddara Collective, which films daily life on all sides of the conflict in Syria
  6 p.m. in the Multimedia Studio, Alan Wildeman Centre for Creative Arts, Freedom Way
• Wednesday, March 27
  “Pizza with the Prez,” a student dinner with UWindsor interim president Douglas Kneale, which will feature the announcement of the winner of the Why Humanities? competition
  5 p.m. in Katzman Lounge, Vanier Hall
• Thursday, March 28
  “War on Film,” a panel discussion with author Donald L. Miller, screenwriter and filmmaker Barry Stevens, and writer and lecturer Robert Burgoyne
  6 p.m. at Rock Bottom Bar and Grill, 3236 Sandwich St.
• Friday, March 29
  “Debating Sacrifice with Durkheim,” a lecture by sociology professor Ronjon Paul Datta, an HRG Fellow, exploring the legacy of David Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), one of the founders of modern social science
  6 p.m. in the Performance Hall, SoCA Armouries, 37 University Ave. E.

All the events are free and open to the public. Learn more on the website of the Humanities Research Group.

The next time someone asks if you’re feeling lucky, think of statistics professor Jeffrey Rosenthal.

Dr. Rosenthal, a University of Toronto professor giving two free lectures on UWindsor’s campus next week, has made a career out of calculating probability.

Rosenthal is best known for blowing the lid off Ontario lottery fraud, finding an impossibly disproportionate number of ticket retailers were cashing in on big prizes. He has written two bestsellers, Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities and Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance and the Meaning of Everything, bringing the study of statistical analysis into the mainstream.

“After the success of my first book… I gave lots of public talks where I spoke about everything from lotteries to opinion polls to crime statistics to medical studies,” he said.

“Every once in a while someone would ask if I believe in luck, and if the uncertainty in our lives is truly random or is governed by such concepts as fate, destiny, superstition, astrology, ESP, and divine intervention.”

He deflected the questions for years, he said, before delving into them with his second book.

Rosenthal’s latest public lecture tour is entitled “The Puzzle of Luck,” and will discuss his perspective as a statistician on various examples of the puzzle of luck.

While on campus, Rosenthal will also give a research talk on adaptive Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms, a popular method of approximately sampling from complicated probability distributions.

“If you buy lottery tickets, play games of chance, or just wonder if it is destiny or divine intervention that make some people more lucky than others, you will enjoy Dr. Rosenthal’s public presentation,” said Richard Caron, head of UWindsor’s mathematics and statistics department. “His entertaining style and easy manner makes his public presentation accessible to all.”

Rosenthal, who goes by the moniker “the Probability Prof” on social media, is an award-winning teacher and researcher elected to the Fellowship of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the Royal Society of Canada.

He got his PhD in mathematics from Harvard University at the age of 24 and is a musician, computer game programmer, and improvisational comedian.

His public talk is on Monday, March 25, from 7 to 8 p.m. in room 202 of the Toldo Health Education Centre. His research lecture, entitled “Adaptive MCMC for Everyone,” will be from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 26, in the Toldo centre’s room 204.

─Sarah Sacheli

Billed as “the Greatest Show and Tell on Earth,” Maker Faire is a gathering people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do.

The UWindsor School of Creative Arts will host 21 makers for a Windsor-Essex Mini Maker Faire on the theme “Where Tech Meets Art” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 24. Displays will occupy both the Armouries building at 37 University Ave. E. and the Alan Wildeman Centre for Creative Arts on Freedom Way.

Admission to the all-ages event is free and open to the community. Learn more on the faire’s website.

Two information sessions next week will provide prospective students with the chance to tour the state-of-the-art Mechatronics Lab while learning about the Siemens Mechatronic Systems Certification Program launching next month.

In collaboration with industrial manufacturer Siemens, the University of Windsor will offer a world-class industry certification in mechatronic systems. Instructor Shahpour Alirezaee will host two sessions to discuss the program objectives and highlight the employment prospects and career opportunities that Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) skills can provide across multiple industries.

“Many local and global firms depend on PLC and mechatronics to lead innovation in a variety of production, technician and engineering jobs in high-tech and advanced manufacturing,” Dr. Alirezaee explains. “The SMSCP certifications are internationally recognized as world-class technical qualifications.”

The program is one of many offered in partnership between the Faculty of Engineering and Continuing Education.

The information sessions, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. March 25 and 26 in the Mechatronics Lab 1115 in the Centre for Engineering Innovation, are open to students and the public.

Those interested in participating are encouraged to register with Continuing Education continue.uwindsor.ca or to visit the webpage for more information on the SMSCP, which begins April 26 and runs every Friday and Saturday over a 10-week period.

The Ontario Bar Association has named Windsor Law grads Robin Moodie (LLB 1983) and Robert Shawyer (LLB 2005) among the recipients of its 2019 awards.

Moodie is this year’s recipient of the Joel Kuchar Award for Professionalism and Civility, created to honour an OBA member who has consistently demonstrated exemplary commitment to the ideals of professionalism and civility in the practice of law.

Moodie is a partner at the Toronto firm Moodie Mair Walker LLP. He is experienced in civil trial and appeal counsel in all levels of Ontario courts and administrative tribunals, defence of class action proceedings and mediation. Moodie’s current areas of practice include professional errors and omissions; construction liability; product liability; municipal liability and public health law; class actions; insurance defence litigation; insurance coverage; and mediation.

Shawyer will receive the Linda Adlam Manning Award for Volunteerism, which recognizes the outstanding volunteer commitment to the association of a member who has advanced the interests of its membership and promoted the role of the legal profession in Ontario.

He is the founder of Shawyer Family Law & Mediation in Toronto. His practice focuses on collaborative law, mediation and litigation. He regularly speaks at continuing professional development seminars focusing on family law hosted by the various Toronto-area courthouse bench and bar committees, the Law Society of Ontario, and the Ontario Bar Association.

The University of Windsor grads are among 11 award recipients to be honoured at the association’s gala dinner, April 17 in Toronto. Find details on the event website.

—Rachelle Prince

The University of Windsor has been building on its strengths to advance its unique role in Ontario’s postsecondary education system, says a report detailing progress on its strategic mandate agreement with the provincial government.

The report, which covers the 2017-18 year, highlights investments in student retention and engagement and enhancements to experiential and work-integrated learning, as well as projects to support innovation in teaching and learning excellence; access and equity; research excellence and impact; and innovation, economic development, and community engagement.

It details key outcomes for metrics in each of the five priority areas. The Strategic Mandate Agreement Annual Report 2017-18 is posted on the president’s webpage.

The University of Windsor has placed more than 1,700 students in co-op and internship positions, says Judy Bornais, executive director of experiential learning.

A video featuring her and student Marissa Bumanlag will cap observances of National Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Week:

“Those students are working with community partners, they’re also working across the province, across the country, gaining valuable experience that ties what they’ve learned in the classroom and allows them to apply it to that work setting and gaining those valuable skills,” says prof. Bornais.

As part of National Co-op and WIL Week activities, students can win gift cards worth $20 or $50 by engaging on social media with @CCES_UWindsor.

Campus employers of co-op and internship students who complete daily challenges using the hashtag #HireStudents across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram, qualify for a chance to win $250 donated to the charity of their choice. Find more details on the co-op office website.

The University has declared a hobby lathe and a wood band saw for sale by bid as Disposal File 1008. Click here for details.

University flags will be lowered today — Friday, March 22 — in memory of the victims of the March 15 Christchurch shooting and in recognition of the nationwide reflection in New Zealand.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and survivors, and we join University of Windsor students and members of the Muslim community in Windsor in mourning this tragedy.