UWindsor research using sewage as an early warning system for the next wave of COVID-19 is getting $50,000 in federal funding.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) has awarded its maximum grant amount to a project led by Mike McKay, executive director of UWindsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research. Dr. McKay’s research team has partnered with wastewater treatment plants in Amherstburg and Lakeshore to study viral loads before and after processing.

“We know that the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can be found in the feces of infected people, so the amount of virus coming into the treatment plants could be an indicator of the true infection rate in the community,” McKay said.

“It appears many people infected with the virus are asymptomatic or experience less severe symptoms and do not seek medical care or are otherwise not tested.”

The research will also delve into how long the virus can survive in the environment should it be discharged into Lake St. Clair or the Detroit River.

Between them, the water treatment plants in Amherstburg and Lakeshore serve a population of nearly 50,000. In addition to weekly samples, staff at the water treatment plants will provide data relating to the physical and chemical makeup of the wastewater and the volume of it processed.

McKay, who is normally focused on algal blooms, has teamed up with fellow Great Lakes researchers Ken Drouillard, Daniel Heath, and Chris Weisener; UWindsor cancer researcher Lisa Porter; and UWindsor civil and environmental engineers Nihar Biswas and Rajesh Seth. They are also collaborating with University of Tennessee researcher Steven Wilhelm, a GLIER adjunct professor who studies the behaviour of viruses in nature.

“We’ve all had to pivot and apply our expertise to COVID-19,” McKay said.

The team is co-ordinating its research through the non-profit Canadian Water Network and the Canadian Coalition on Wastewater-Related COVID-19 Research. The local pilot project is one of a handful across Canada implemented to demonstrate the value of this important public health tool, McKay said.

The research project will last one year, but McKay hopes to start rolling out data by mid-summer.

NSERC deemed the research worthy of a grant under a special $15 million fund established in response to COVID-19. The federal agency began funding important projects even before the application deadline to respond rapidly to the pandemic.

McKay’s research is the second UWindsor project to receive funding under the program. More funding announcements on COVID-related research at UWindsor are expected in the coming days.

—Sarah Sacheli

Eman ElMasri’s favourite part of tutoring her peers is witnessing them achieve their academic goals.

“It is always rewarding to know that I can make a difference in the learning of others,” says ElMasri, a third-year electrical and computer engineering student who tutors in the Faculty of Engineering’s WINONE Tutorial program.

Established in 2019 by the WINONE Office for First-Year Engineering, the tutorials offer students free one-on-one help with first and second-year engineering course material.

Elmasri and fellow mentor Mahwish Khan (pictured at right) are the first recipients of the Liburdi Engineering Mentorship Award, a new $10,000 annual award that supports two senior-level undergraduate students who are excelling in math and physics and helping their first- and second-year peers with course material and questions about their undergraduate programs.

According to Jennifer Johrendt, assistant dean of student affairs for WINONE, both students hold an “astonishing” CPGA and first-year GPAs of more than 93 per cent and achieved an average in first-year physics and first- and second-year math of 96.8 and 93.8 per cent.

“The WINONE Tutorial program is more than just providing academic support to students with questions, it is also about creating connections between first-year and upper year students that promotes involvement and knowledge sharing about degree pathways, extracurricular activities, co-operative education, and senior projects,” says Dr. Johrendt.

Khan says there are two simple reasons why she applied to mentor her peers.

“For one, I believe it is meaningful and influential for people to invest their time into their communities and societies and be part of the process of improvement and overall betterment,” she says. “Secondly, it brings a smile to my face to be able to share what knowledge I can with others, and I hope it not only assists them with their studies, but also encourages them to pass it forward.” 

ElMasri says tutoring has helped her develop invaluable leadership and teaching skills in addition to motivating her to have a better understanding of engineering course content.

The scholarship was established by Liburdi Engineering Limited led by materials engineering alumnus Joseph Liburdi (BASc 1967).

The WINONE Tutorial program has moved to virtual sessions due to COVID-19 precautions. Visit the WINONE Tutorial webpage for drop-in hours or to learn more about applying to become a mentor.

—Kristie Pearce

Got two minutes to improve your digital literacy?

Tech Talk, a regular feature in DailyNews from Information Technology Services, will share how-to’s and tips for leveraging ITS-supported software in your day-to-day work. Each Tech Talk will lead with a video of 60 to 150 seconds and provide additional resources if more information is needed.

“Our software programs offer many, many options and features. Plus, they are regularly being updated with new ones,” says Ryan Kenney, executive director of ITS. “We recognize it can be hard to keep up, so want to provide digestible information that is easy to action and incorporate into daily tasks.”

A growing collection of Tech Talks is available on the IT Services’ website at www.uwindsor.ca/its/tech-talk.

Suggestions for Tech Talk topics are welcomed and can be submitted here.

—Ericka Greenham

Mitacs, a national not-for-profit that helps industry and non-profit partners solve strategic challenges by leveraging Canada’s post-secondary talent, is seeking a business development specialist to be based at the University of Windsor.

The position serves as a bridge between academia and industry, at the forefront of marketing Mitacs programs to businesses and professors.

Learn more in the job posting online.