News and Events

​UWindsor researchers and their partners have received more than $1 million to deploy real-time continuous monitoring instruments into Lake Erie to better understand and predict development of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and to protect and secure drinking water in southern Ontario.  

 The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance grant, along with industry partner funds, were awarded to the cross-disciplinary team which includes researchers from UWindsor’s Faculties of Science and Engineering, as well as partner universities and collaborators from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada.  

“These real-time sensors are a game changer because we might be able to identify what is causing algal blooms and use that information to predict when and where they are going to happen,” says Jill Crossman, co-PI and assistant professor in the School of the Environment at UWindsor.  

HABs have serious implications for drinking water treatment. Once in the system, they can cause processes to break down and lead to service interruptions, making blooms an increasing societal concern.

Dr. Frank A. DeMarco, his son Dan and daughter Terry react to a speech during a lab naming ceremony in Frank’s honour on May 28, 2016 in the Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation. Former colleagues and students, friends, UWindsor staff and members of his family donated $100,000 to the university’s engineering and science faculties in honour of Dr. DeMarco’s illustrious career.

Dr. Frank A. DeMarco has a lot to celebrate.

His illustrious career at the University of Windsor spans four decades and boasts notable roles — professor, researcher, coach, athletic director, first dean of engineering, and inaugural vice-president — that have earned him a legacy that few will ever be able to match.

He and his wife, Mary, have been married for nearly 73 years, raised 12 children and dote on 39 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He even has his own Wikipedia page.

And on Feb. 14, 2021, DeMarco will become a centenarian. 

“Your long and productive life is an inspiration to us all,” the university’s first graduating class of engineering wrote in a letter to DeMarco, congratulating their former mentor on the milestone.

“Our numbers were very small, only 25 in total, but we are impressed at how the Engineering Faculty has grown into a world class organization during the past 60 years and we recognize that this is due in large part to your efforts in the initial years. We can say for certain as we look back over the many years working in our profession, that we were well-prepared for this work by our engineering studies.”

An engineering alumnus has been featured among Canada’s top 100 professionals in a publication that highlights top tier business leaders.

Md Mizanur Rahman (MASc 2003) was recognized for nearly two decades of diverse experience as a professional engineer in Redwood Media’s Top 100 Magazine.

Rahman not only serves as president and chief executive officer of MR Engineering Limited, he is the senior structural engineer for the company headquartered in Edmonton.

“The University of Windsor played a vital role in my engineering career in Canada,” says Rahman, a civil engineering grad. “I will never forget the extraordinary guidance, mentorship, and support of Dr. Faouzi Ghrib, Dr. Nihar Biswas and Dr. Tirupati Bolisetti.”

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A life-changing experience wasn’t exactly what Dustin Rivard was expecting when he embarked upon a co-op placement as a test engineer in a bearing department.

The mechanical engineering student jumped at the chance to work in Germany for a year with the Schaeffler Group, a global automotive and industrial supplier, figuring it would be a great opportunity to work and travel.

“I rave about this opportunity to every engineering student I know,” says Rivard BASc ’17. “First, I tell everyone they need to do co-op; It provides you with the connections that help you get the career you want, not to mention just giving you experience. Second, the chance to live and work in another country for a year turned into an incredible, life-changing experience.”

The Schaeffler Group co-op partnership with the University of Windsor, established in 1998 by the Faculty of Engineering’s Dr. Peter Frise, is one of many unique industrial relationships at UWindsor that offers students education that goes beyond the traditional classroom. Since its inception, more than 200 engineering, business and computer science students have ventured to the company’s German headquarters in the small town of Herzogenaurach in central Bavaria to gain 12 months of real-word experience.