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Movement, pressure, temperature, humidity, sound frequency — sensors that are now integrated into our daily lives collect an endless stream of data about the way we interact with products and their environments.

From autonomous vehicles to health monitoring devices, the ever-growing amount of smart devices and information generated is becoming challenging to manage and more expensive to process.

“This massive amount of data needs to be stored and analyzed, and as a result, real-time processing is critical,” says Afshin Rahimi, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “We are examining new techniques to accelerate the process.”

One of which is using gateway devices to analyze the data with deep learning models. This is called edge computing, and 90 per cent of industrial enterprises will be using it by 2022, according to a report by business consultants Frost & Sullivan.

The name edge is in reference to applying a deep learning model to analyze the data at the edge of a framework — where data is acquired — differing from cloud computing, which conducts the analysis on a remote server — where data is usually warehoused.

Cay-Yen Ang, Jordan Goddard and Fabianna Palacios (L-R) will compete against schools from across North America at the Water Environment Federation's annual conference (WEFTEC) Oct. 16 to 20, 2021 in Chicago.

A group of UWindsor environmental engineering students came to understand the importance of wastewater treatment — and gained experience working as a team with professionals — in winning a student design competition of the Water Environment Association of Ontario.

Cay-Yen Ang, Jordan Goddard, and Fabianna Palacios took top honours against schools from across the province to address a real-world challenge: reducing overflow of wastewater from the treatment and collection system in Port Dalhousie.

The Windsor team developed a design to eliminate overflow with minimal cost, taking into consideration the effects of climate change. The submission recommended adding chemicals to improve the settling of solids during storm events, implementing fine bubble diffusers to increase the capacity of biological treatment, and use tanks existing on the site to disinfect water with chlorine.

Mike McKay, executive director of UWindsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, is leading a multidisciplinary team that has been collecting and testing weekly samples of wastewater.

Researchers at the University of Windsor using sewage as an early warning system for COVID-19 outbreaks are receiving $540,000 in funding as part of a new provincial wastewater surveillance system co-ordinated by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks.

Mike McKay, executive director of UWindsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, is leading a team that has been collecting and testing weekly samples of wastewater from Windsor, Leamington, Amherstburg, Lakeshore, London, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, and Thunder Bay. Dr. McKay’s project, launched early in the pandemic, was among the first in the province and is now part of a network of Ontario labs monitoring sewage for SARS-CoV-2.

The Ontario government has announced it is investing more than $12 million to support and expand the network. The province is partnering with 13 academic and research institutions across Ontario to enhance the ability of local public health units to identify, monitor, and manage potential COVID-19 outbreaks.

UWindsor engineering professors are contributing to a national momentum that’s mapping out the future of hydrogen in Canada.

Hydrogen has the potential to become a major fuel of the future since it can be produced from clean sources such as water, says Ofelia Jianu, a mechanical engineering professor and director of the Intelligent Fuels and Energy Laboratory (I-FuELs).

Dr. Jianu is leading a UWindsor team developing new predictive models for hydrogen generation to advance its integration in sustainable energy systems.

“Hydrogen is an energy carrier that can be produced from local, zero-carbon sources and consumed by non-emitting devices such as fuel cells,” Jianu says. “Therefore, transitioning to a hydrogen-based economy would alleviate concerns related to climate, air quality, and energy security as well as create new economic opportunities for Canadians.”

The most common method of hydrogen production utilizes steam in a chemical process that converts methane to hydrogen and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“In order to achieve a future hydrogen economy and zero emissions, more sustainable methods of hydrogen production are needed,” she adds.