Lee RodneyArts professor Lee Rodney received federal funding for her project to redraw maps overriding the official Canada-U.S. border.

UWindsor excels in SSHRC Insight Grant competition

Five UWindsor faculty members have been awarded more than $539,000 in federal funding to advance research and research-creation in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

This funding was awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through its most competitive funding opportunity, the Insight Grant program.

UWindsor exceeded the national success rate for the 2020 Insight Grant competition, with 45.5 per cent of all applications receiving funding. These monies will enable UWindsor researchers to provide meaningful research assistantships to students and enrich understanding of what we think, how we live, and how we interact with each other and the world.

Two Insight Grants were awarded to faculty in the School of Creative Arts.

Lee Rodney’s research-creation project will invite residents of three Ontario communities to create new maps of their regions, maps that override the official “Canadian” and “American” borders by locating the Indigenous, black, and other communities that cross them.

Sally Bick will produce an interactive digital map of the entanglements of events, publications, and recordings produced by musicians, concert organizers, critics, and educators who were part of the musical modernism movement in 1930s New York — many of whom have been lost to history because of their unpopular political views during the Cold War.

During one of two research projects funded in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, Greg Feldman will work closely with Vancouver’s community of Congolese refugees to explore why and how this community engages governmental officials, workers in non-governmental organizations, and sister communities in Canada and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Nick Harney will compare how strangers are welcomed across three different communities in Italy, encouraging policymakers, civil servants and NGO workers to reconsider their policies, actions, and attitudes toward the processes of migration and citizenship.

In addition, Todd Loughead of kinesiology will deliver and evaluate two longitudinal online leadership development programs for student-athletes. Results will be helpful for coaches and coaching associations which currently have few resources for developing leadership in their athletes.

“I am very pleased by the success our researchers have enjoyed this year, and I would like to thank SSHRC for their generous support,” said K.W. Michael Siu, UWindsor vice-president, research and innovation. “Thank you also to the research administrators in the faculties and in the Office of Research and Innovation Services who work closely with the faculty on developing their applications.”

A record number of UWindsor faculty served on Insight Grant adjudication committees in 2020.

“We are grateful to the faculty who took time from their demanding teaching and research schedules to participate along with other national experts in and contribute to assessment of the applications,” said Dr. Siu. “We thank you for your contributions to the research community and acknowledge the benefits from the experience that you bring back to us.”

ensemble of students, faculty, and alumniAn ensemble of students, faculty, and alumni produced a video of their group performance while all working separately from home.

Musical collaboration overcomes isolation

An ensemble of students, faculty, and alumni have demonstrated that isolation is no barrier to musical collaboration, producing a video of their group performance while all working separately from home.

“Turns out an iPhone can do a great deal when it comes to music production,” says Sebastian Bachmeier, a teacher candidate in the Faculty of Education.

He played clarinet and used GarageBand software to produce the audio on the recording of the jazzy theme from the film Monsters, Inc.

“We all recorded audio and video separately and remotely after I created a click track for the tune,” Bachmeier says. “Once we had the rhythm section parts down, the rest of us used that to record on top of.”

Music grad Sam Poole played the piano part and edited the video in Final Cut Pro; other musicians included teacher candidate Tom Garrick on trombone, music major Alex Aideira-Leite on bass, professor Nicholas Papador on vibraphone, and alumni Andrew Levasseur on guitar and Vanessa Harnish on drums.

Watch the final result on YouTube.

Civil engineering professor Rajeev RuparathnaCivil engineering professor Rajeev Ruparathna is leading a research team exploring the social and environmental impacts of masonry construction.

Engineering prof to explore social and environmental impacts of masonry construction

From energy use to construction waste, there is a lot to consider when designing a building.

How effectively can the materials regulate temperature fluctuations and what’s their effect on the people utilizing the facility? Can the building withstand extreme weather? A University of Windsor engineering professor is examining how masonry construction adds up.

Funded by Mitacs in partnership with Masonry Works, Rajeev Ruparathna is leading a three-year project that will investigate the resiliency, economic feasibility, and social and environmental impacts of masonry construction.

“The aim is to develop much-needed knowledge on the life-cycle performance of masonry construction in Canada,” Dr. Ruparathna says.

To holistically address environmental issues associated with the building environment, the civil engineering professor says it’s essential to consider all phases of a building’s life cycle.

“This includes everything from raw material extraction and conversion to manufacturing and distribution through use, re-use, recycling and disposal.”

The $105,000 project will support seven graduate students who will collect a substantial amount of performance data from low and mid-rise Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional building construction in Canada by visiting sites and documenting the condition and deterioration of interior and exterior masonry walls. The team will create a data set for industry and use mathematical modeling to offer advice on maintenance and replacement schedules.

Globally, building construction is responsible for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, and one-third of landfill waste comes from their demolition, Ruparathna adds.

“Achieving healthy and resilient buildings through lifecycle thinking is a new paradigm in the building industry,” he says. “People are getting more information about what they are consuming, which helps them make more informed decisions.”

Doing so can reduce hazards created by extreme weather events, improve indoor air quality, and provide social, environmental and health benefits, says Ruparathna.

He expects the research to lead to breakthroughs in the next generation of building construction techniques, policies, new industry standards, and operational management strategies.

“Such progress can enhance Canada’s position as a global leader in healthy and resilient building construction.”

Mark Hagel, director of engineering for the Alberta Masonry Council, is contributing to the project by providing data to Ruparathna’s team.

—Kristie Pearce

Jane McArthurJane McArthur, a doctoral candidate in sociology, has co-authored a chapter in a new e-book about COVID-19.

Doctoral candidate pens chapter for e-book about COVID-19

Government failings are putting healthcare workers at risk during the current pandemic, argues UWindsor doctoral student Jane McArthur in the chapter of a new e-book about COVID-19.

McArthur, a doctoral candidate in sociology, has co-authored a chapter with her parents, Margaret Keith and Jim Brophy, environmental and occupational health advocates and both adjunct professors at the University of Windsor.

In their chapter for the book, Sick of the System, they argue the province displayed many shortcomings, including dragging its feet on addressing the pandemic and not having enough personal protective equipment available for healthcare workers ignoring the recommendations of the royal commission following the 2003 SARS outbreak.

“If we look through the lens of worker protection, the COVID-19 pandemic is neither novel nor unforeseen,” write McArthur and her co-authors.

“In many ways, it is an escalation of the ongoing failure of health and safety regulatory oversight. It also underscores the chronic underfunding and increasing privatization of the health-care sector. These problems are aptly illustrated in Ontario, where bed shortages, wait times, and understaffing plague the system.”

McArthur says the Ontario government, like others across the globe, failed to implement protections and policies in a timely fashion, especially where healthcare workers are involved.

“If they had been systematically abiding by the precautionary principle, governments would more likely have foreseen the vulnerabilities in our systems. They could have taken definitive measures to mitigate risks.”

—Sarah Sacheli

Mount KilimanjaroTeamo Supremo topped Mount Kilimanjaro to win the Let’s Get Moving Virtual Team Challenge.

Team proves supreme in Let’s Get Moving challenge

A team of employees in the Office of Enrolment Management bested Mount Kilimanjaro to claim top honours in the Let’s Get Moving Virtual Team Challenge.

Through four weeks, Teamo Supremo — Bradd Bezaire, Ann Elliott, Alisa Giroux-Souilliere, Angela Kojok, Zora Savic, and Sarah Smitherman — managed more than 37,500 minutes of activity, equating to a climb of 7,519 metres, well over Kilimanjaro’s 5,895 m height.

Members will receive a lunch catered by Food Services when they are once again working in their campus offices.

“We really enjoyed the challenge,” says Savic, the team captain. “We made sure everyone tracked everything they did.”

UWindsor president Rob Gordon notes that the total of all 330 participants reached into outer space, with more than 136 km credited.

“Congratulations to all involved,” he told a virtual gathering Wednesday for the announcement of prize winners. “This was a wonderful opportunity for us to connect across the institution at this time when we are separated.”

Claiming the prize for best team name was “Going the Social Distance,” captained by Elisa Mitton; each member will receive a $25 UwinCASH card. The judges also awarded an honourable mention to “Oh, the Places We Won’t Go!” captained by Denice Shuker. Its members each won a reusable water bottle.

Sara Santarossa with text "body satisfaction"Sara Santarossa is a finalist in the SSHRC Storytellers contest.

Researcher wins plaudits for explanation of moms’ social media influence

Sara Santarossa, a recent PhD candidate in the Department of Kinesiology, is one of three UWindsor students on the list of 25 finalists in this year’s SSHRC Storytellers contest.

The competition is an opportunity for Canadian post-secondary students to share their research in a compelling, creative, and clear way, through a three-minute presentation. The goal is to illustrate how social sciences and humanities research is impacting our lives, communities, and future. Santarossa’s presentation centred around her doctoral research on mother-daughter influence on appearance, behaviour, and body image in social media settings.

At the encouragement of her supervisor, professor Sarah Woodruff, Santarossa decided to enter the competition amidst her preparations for her final doctoral defense. She enlisted the help of her brother to create a video highlighting points of her research in a simple and understandable fashion.

“I watched several Storyteller videos from other competitions and decided to do take a new approach to my video,” Santarossa says. “The biggest challenge of this project was to condense 250 pages of research into a form any layperson could understand. I thought that creating a video in the role of a YouTuber would really be an effective way to do that.”

She notes that one of the challenges of this project was to bridge the research and academics with community application.

“This project really forced me to sharpen my knowledge transmission skills and understand how to communicate these concepts in a way that would be received and clearly understood by anyone watching.”

Watch her entry here.

This recognition is a welcome addition to Santarossa’s 2020 accolades, which include the recent successful defense of her doctoral thesis, and its adaptation by the Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa Association to help with podcasts and programming.

DailyNews will profile the other UWindsor finalists — psychology students Renée Taylor and Kathleen Wilson — later this month.

The winners were originally to be announced at the 2020 Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences, which has been cancelled this year due to social distancing protocols. All finalists will be recognized next May at the 2021 Congress held at the University of Alberta.

—Martin Vaughan

person working at desk, laptop, coffee mugWindsor Law has launched a suite of additional student supports in response to COVID-19.

Law student support suite developed amid COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, Windsor Law has launched a suite of additional student supports including enhanced career service resources, a pandemic-specific emergency bursary program, and 30 new summer opportunities for law students who either lost their summer placements or were unable to secure positions due to the global pandemic.

“We wanted to make every effort to assist our student body during these challenging times,” says Laverne Jacobs, associate dean, research and graduate studies. “This pandemic affects us all and it’s important that we respond as a compassionate community.”

The 30 new summer opportunities are comprised of four Law Commission of Ontario Student Scholar Fellowships, nine Ianni Student Fellowships, and 17 additional research assistantships, offered through Windsor Law’s Office of the Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies.

The Expanded Research Assistant Program offers law students hands-on experience in legal areas ranging from Indigenous Legal Orders to Class Action Lawsuits, working under 17 different Windsor Law professors or clinics.

Visit the Associate Dean (Research & Graduate Studies) Resources webpage for more information about the program.

—Rachelle Prince