Marcus Drover and team are working towards creating sustainable fuel products from greenhouse gas-containing waste streams.

Typically, when a fuel is burned, it produces carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a by-product. Dr. Drover, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and his team intend to turn this waste product into a fuel source.

The three-year $150,000 project is a part of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Alliance Grant that will partner Drover and his lab with Imperial Oil Limited.

“Alliance grants link academic research expertise to the interests of an industry partner,” says Drover. “Imperial oil is interested in methods of decarbonization. Together, we will develop new means to ‘close’ a carbon cycle: it’s about sustainability with a lens to the future.”

Drover says his lab is perfectly positioned to collaborate in this work.

“Our group is fundamentally interested in developing new molecules and materials that can be used to convert carbon dioxide into reduced carbon-based products,” he says.

“If you think about carbon dioxide as a by-product of combustion, the pipe dream would be to take carbon dioxide at its point of exhaust and transform it into valuable fuel products instead of launching it back into the atmosphere.”

The team will develop net carbon neutral cycles by taking exhausted carbon and returning it back into the energy landscape.

“As a potential reduction product, an alcohol such as methanol could be accessed. Methanol has a high-octane rating, encouraging the development of selective catalysts for fuel generation that could be later combusted to provide energy for consumer use,” says Drover.

In the long term, his project seeks to translate technology designed in his lab to pilot testing.

“While much of the initial development and research will occur in our laboratory in Essex Hall, we require a partner to test our product,” he says. “Imperial Oil has a vast resource base that is inaccessible to a standard academic research laboratory, cementing a strong basis for partnership.”

This project builds upon former grants obtained by Drover’s research group that target the UN’s sustainable development goals in the areas of sustainability and clean and affordable energy.

“The City of Windsor and University of Windsor are building a massive leadership base in this area,” says Drover. “We are excited to contribute to this growing space.”

—Sara Elliott

Looking to add some spooky decorations to your space this Halloween? The EPICentre MakerSpace has created 100 custom 3D-printed light-up ghosts, available for purchase: buy one spooky friend for $4 or 3 for $10. Order here.

MakerSpace staff will have orders ready for pick from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Friday, Oct. 26 to 28 in room 1100, Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation, next to the Tim Hortons.

The campus community is invited to join in a celebration of Diwali, the festival of lights, at noon Monday, Oct. 24, in the student centre Commons.

The campus event is organized by the Belonging, Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity (BIDE) Institute, a student-led platform for underrepresented and marginalized groups.

The holiday is a major festival for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Newar Buddhists around the world, commemorating different historical events and stories for each faith.

“It celebrates the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil, and spiritual enlightenment,” says organizer Anumita Jain, a third-year student of behaviour, cognition, and neuroscience. “I am excited that we are actively embracing and celebrating our diversity.”

Following remarks, attendees will have a chance to light a symbolic diya, or small clay oil lamp.

A dinner and dance will continue the celebrations on Friday, Oct. 28. The event will feature a traditional feast, Bollywood music, dancing, and henna. All UWindsor students, staff, and faculty are welcome. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased through eventbrite.

Jain encourages attendees of both events to dress up in cultural clothing of their choice: “It’s optional but welcomed.”

Lancer women’s hockey will open its 2022-23 campaign this weekend with contests against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks on Friday and the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, both at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex. Game time both nights is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.goLancers.ca/tickets.

Head coach Deanna Iwanicka says her roster of returning veterans and new recruits is ready to play its first full season since 2020 after earning a home playoff berth last year but having it cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols.

“We’ve got a fairly young back end, but I am confident in the players who have come in and as well as those returning,” she says. “The hope is that some of these players will grow into these significant on- and off-ice team roles.”

Read a full preview of the season by Mia Ines at goLancers.ca.

Men’s hockey split last weekend’s openers against the Lakehead Thunderwolves and will continue the young season with a doubleheader Friday and Saturday against the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo.

The Lancer softball club will compete in the provincial championship tournament this weekend in Waterloo, with an initial match-up against the Toronto Varsity Blues at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22.

Football will close out its regular season Saturday, hosting the Waterloo Warriors at Alumni Field. Kick-off is at 1 p.m.

Soccer will also come to the end of the regular season, heading to Guelph for a pair of games Friday against the Gryphons. The women will play at 6 p.m. and the men at 8:15 p.m.

Cross-country runners will compete in the Eastern Michigan University Fall Classic meet Friday as a warm-up for the Ontario University Athletics championships in London Oct. 29.

Lancer women’s basketball will play in the pre-season Darcel Wright Memorial Tournament in Toronto, opening with a Friday tilt against the Saskatchewan Huskies.

The University of Windsor’s Self-Service Client Portal recently received an update. Visitors can now find new categories within the Service Catalog to guide them in opening a ticket.

“After reviewing the service request analytics and feedback from our clients, we determined the best approach would be for campus users to select a category — Information Technology, Finance, Registrar & Academic Inquiries, Teaching & Learning, Facilities, or Media Production & Special Events — upon entry to the service catalogue to help narrow down the topics,” says Susan Holiga, assistant director, client services, Information Technology Services.

The sub-category structure for information technology has also been refined from 13 sub-categories to eight, and the most popular services are now found at the top of the menu.

“We want to help our users find their IT services as quickly as possible as there has been an increased reliance on support from the IT Service Desk since the pandemic started,” says Ericka Greenham, manager, client services, IT Services. “To that end, in addition to the structural changes, we also re-named some of the sub-categories to reflect more commonly used words for each subject.”

The IT categories are now:

• Accounts & Sign-In
• Administrative Apps
• AV, Classrooms, & Computer Labs
• Messaging & Collaboration
• Hardware, Software, & Printing
• Network & Internet Connectivity
• Web Services
• Telecom & Mobile

In addition to requesting assistance by opening a service ticket, campus users can find knowledge-base articles providing solutions to common issues. Users can also access the questions forum for general “How do I …?” inquiries.

As always, the IT Service Desk is available to help navigate the new layout in the Self-Service Client Portal by calling 519-253-3000, ext. 4440, or using the chat icon on the bottom corner of uwindsor.ca/its or uwindsor.ca/itshelp.

Mastery of subject matter has much less impact if it can’t be successfully relayed to non-experts in a way that compels engagement. An online workshop hosted by the Office of Research and Innovation Services on Thursday, Nov. 17, promises to help researchers develop skills to engage audiences beyond the academy.

Presenter Shari Graydon will provide practical tools and research-supported communication strategies aimed at increasing the capacity of participants to make clear the value of their research and ideas.

The two-hour session will walk attendees through exercises that help them to think differently about their research, and to identify ways to share its potential impact more effectively.

They will learn:

1. How relying on academic journals and conferences limits their opportunity for impact.
2. Why people stop listening to or trusting experts.
3. How to translate what they know and care about into content that engages others.

Graydon is the director of Informed Opinions and has spent more than 30 years engaging media to draw attention to issues she knows and cares about. Now she motivates and trains others to do the same.

The “Communicating Beyond the Academy” webinar will run 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 17 via Zoom videoconference. Register here to attend.

Direct questions to oris@uwindsor.ca.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone, opening Friday, Oct. 21, in Essex Hall Theatre, heralds a return to live performances for University Players after two and half years of virtual shows.

The play considers the value of real connection and the need to unravel our complicated lives.

Performances run through Oct. 30. Tickets are available at the online box office at www.universityplayers.com.