Science News

A Windsor family was so inspired by an Alzheimer’s disease research project, they donated $30,000 to a UWindsor lab.

In memory of Omkarnath Dhar, who lost his battle to Alzheimer’s disease in 2013, the Dhar family attended the Alzheimer’s Society of Windsor and Essex Research Day in April 2024. There they saw chemistry and biochemistry’s Siyaram Pandey give a talk about his Alzheimer’s disease research.

This talk spurred the family to donate. Dhar’s wife, Raj Dulari Dhar, says she just wants to help people. Her son, Anil Dhar, adds that the family wanted to support Dr. Pandey.

“We wanted to find some meaningful way to honour my father, and I think this is a great project ­— it is so promising,” says Anil Dhar.

The research project explores feeding mice natural extracts to slow down the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Based in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, it also involved Pandey’s long-time collaborator, psychology professor Jerome Cohen, who passed away in the spring. Dr. Cohen observed the behaviour of the mice.

“We were finding out if our treatment can halt the progression of the disease,” says Pandey.

Pandey held a memorial for Omkarnath Dhar on Aug. 30. Three generations of Dhar family members gathered on campus for a cheque presentation and lab tour.

“This is very heart-touching generosity to have the family donate funds to support our doctoral student as well our research project,” says Pandey.

Karim Malik, an assistant professor in the School of Environment, uses advanced technology to address key ecological challenges. His work combines environmental science with cutting-edge tools to tackle pressing issues facing our planet.

In his research, Dr. Malik employs remote sensing, artificial intelligence (AI), and geospatial tools to uncover and address environmental changes. His innovative approaches include forecasting land use shifts and developing algorithms to monitor snow, aiming to deepen our understanding of human impacts and climate change effects.

Malik’s goal is to advance environmental monitoring capabilities and formulate strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change. His work is geared towards creating actionable insights that inform policy and promote sustainable environmental practices.

DailyNews will showcase the contributions and insights of members of the Black Scholars Institute leading up to its official launch on Sept. 26 and connected with Malik to discuss his research goals and experience.

Q: Tell us about your research interests and what projects you’d like to pursue at UWindsor.

A: My research interests include:

• Remote sensing of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to detect anomalous changes in environmental quality parameters due to human-induced disturbances.

• Landscape similarity analysis to understand human impacts (spatial processes) on landscape structure and function.

• Developing artificial intelligence, computer vision, and deep/machine learning models to model, detect, quantify, and forecast land use and land cover change.

• Integrating geospatial tools, remote sensing, and AI methods to develop robust Earth monitoring tools.

Research projects:

• Land-use and land cover modelling and forecasting.

• Ecosystem restoration assessment using geospatial tools and AI and machine learning.

• Global warming and climate change impacts on snow.

• AI-based super-resolution of coarse-resolution Earth observation data.

• Harmful algal bloom quantification via remote sensing and AI/machine learning.

Q: Can you share a bit about your academic journey and what inspired you to pursue a career in education?

A: My journey to pursue a career in geography began at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, where I completed my MSc degree. I took Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as one of the courses toward completing my degree. This inspired me to pursue a PhD in geography, specializing in geomatics at Wilfrid Laurier University. After my PhD, I joined the University of Toronto and taught GIS and GIS programming courses for three years.

Q: What led you to become a part of the University of Windsor’s Black Scholars Institute?

A: My quest to play an instrumental role in strengthening the network of Black scholars and to inspire and mentor future generations of Black scholars.

Q: Could you explain the significance of your work and research interests?

A: My work integrates geospatial tools, computer vision, and deep/machine learning to model, quantify, and forecast the impacts of natural and human-induced disturbances. By deploying these new technologies, we can monitor human disturbances (e.g., land degradation, deforestation), understand climate change impacts, and formulate better mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies.

Q: What do you believe are some of the most pressing challenges in your field today?

A:

• Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are regarded as black boxes; therefore, they are not fully trusted. Pursuing explainable AI has been my only option.

• Detecting significant change from spurious change remains a fundamental challenge.

• Testing for the statistical significance of change has been a daunting task.

Q: In what ways do you hope your research will influence environmental planning?

A: My work will provide tools to help policymakers devise effective land use and land cover change strategies and understand the future trajectory of resources that support livelihoods. My research in AI, computer vision, machine learning, and remote sensing will help develop tools for water quality assessment and ecosystem restoration evaluation. The algorithms I develop for snow monitoring will deepen our understanding of climate change impacts and provide impetus for policymakers to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Overall, my research will enhance public awareness of human impacts and climate implications for sustainable development on Earth.

The University of Windsor Alumni Association is welcoming back three standout Lancers, each with a book to their name, to discuss their works and leadership experiences.

Lancers for Literacy on Monday, Sept. 23, will feature authors and alumni Jim Weese (BHK 1980, MHK 1983), Richard Peddie (BComm 1970, honorary LLD 2001), and Dwania McLarty-Peele (BA 2011, BSc 2011).

Dr. Weese, former dean of UWindsor’s Faculty of Human Kinetics, will speak at 8:30 a.m. in room 140 of the Human Kinetics Building. An academic leader known for his global research and public speaking, Weese has authored several books, including The 5C Leader: Exceptional Leadership Practices for Extraordinary Times, The Leadership Lifecycle: How to Prepare, How to Excel, and How (and When) to Effectively Exit, and the children’s book The Grandpa Rules: Essential Lessons for Success in Life and Leadership, which is published in six languages.

Dr. Peddie, former CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, now co-owns the River Bookshop in Amherstburg. He will speak at 11:30 a.m. in room 123 of the Odette Building. After a diverse 41-year career in packaged goods, venue management, television, and sports management, Peddie retired in 2012 and has since become a community champion, philanthropist, and author. His best-selling book Dream Job chronicles his journey from aspiring to manage a basketball team to becoming president of the Toronto Raptors. Peddie has also written 21 Leadership Lessons and Great Small Towns of Ontario.

Dwania McLarty-Peele (BA 2011, BSc 2011), founder of Canadian Small Business Women, will host her book talk at 3 p.m. in the lobby of the Essex CoRE building. She will discuss her latest publication, Tomorrow is Another Day, which chronicles her journey through breast cancer amid a global pandemic. A proud graduate of the University of Windsor and St. Clair College, McLarty-Peele utilized her chemistry degree as a lab manager at Greenfield Global’s beverage and distilled spirits facility. She has written several books, including The Power Within: Inspiring Stories of Female Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Voices of Strength: Inspiring Stories of Female Entrepreneurs.

Learn more about this and other Alumni Week events at uwindsor.ca/alumni/.

Two summer workshops offered participants an artistic outlet to explore local ecosystems and ecological interactions. Fifty people, including students and community members, took part in the Creative Ecologies Masterclasses.

The first Creative Ecologies Masterclass was delivered in creative partnership with Art Windsor-Essex (AWE). It was taught by bioartist and Master of Fine Arts student Garvin Chinnia. Participants used handheld microscopes and found objects to create original artwork.

The second offering sent participants on an adventure to Essex County to visit Gem Farms, a Leamington greenhouse. Tom Schnekenburger, UWindsor director of research partnerships, led a tour of the facility and spoke about Agriculture UWindsor, a Centre of Excellence partnership that supports research, community, and collaboration in the agriculture sector.

“Windsor-Essex is North America’s largest cluster of greenhouses growing fruits and vegetables and these highly complex and technologically advanced environments are supported by a huge ecosystem of growers, specialists, and scientists,” says Schnekenburger.

“The work with the Creative Ecologies group is an important reminder of the role agriculture plays in our lives and need for secure food systems that support a growing population.”

Chinnia brought the creative side into the workshop by creating an outdoor scavenger hunt that tied together agriculture, landscape, and drawing. Gem Farms encouraged everyone to load up on free produce from its bountiful crops.

Jaclyn Meloche is the project lead as well as an instructor in the School of Creative Arts.

“These classes are community partnerships in different ways that we didn’t anticipate and really they are pilot projects for what we could offer next,” says Dr. Meloche.

“It’s nice to see the social scientists and the scientists work so seamlessly together on the faculty side and the student side.”

The Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science collaborate on the Masterclasses series. The next courses will be offered in music and film in Fall 2024.

The series is funded by a one-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) program grant and it is sponsored by UWindsor’s Science Meets Art (SMArt) Communications initiative.

As a culmination of the entire series, the School of Creative Arts will host a SMArt Communications exhibition — curated by graduate students Grace Dycha and Robyn-Jean Susko — featuring content generated by participants.

Material chemists and engineers were in full networking swing at the Masters in Material Chemistry and Engineering (MMCE) program’s first annual MCEcon event on Aug. 13.

The UWindsor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry hosted around 50 students, scientists, and industry professionals.

“This unique networking event aimed to introduce the high-quality research projects carried out by the MMCE students enrolled in the project-based stream of the program to the industry professionals,” says conference founder Zareen Amtul, co-ordinator of the MMCE program in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

John Hunter, a retired senior consulting scientist at Novelis, says he thoroughly enjoyed the event.

“All of the students were fantastic, a real credit to the U of W. It was a real pleasure interacting with them all,” Dr. Hunter says. “The event was extremely well organized — a very nice balance between informality and a well-structured-schedule.”

A jury of experts from the industry and academia chose best student project and best student presenter awards founded by Dr. Amtul with industry funders.

Graduate student Saif Ur Rehman, supervised by professor Simon Rondeau-Gagné of chemistry and Mohammed Jalal Ahamed of engineering, earned both the Ethos Engineering & Testing Best Project and Novelis Best Presentation awards for his project, “Analysis of PDMS-Based Self-Healing Capacitive Pressure Sensors.”

In addition to networking sessions, panel discussions, and mixers to connect academics, potential future employees, and students, the event featured a workshop offering advice on careers, resumé writing, job applications, and first-hand experience by experts from industry and the Career Development and Experiential Learning office.

Twenty research projects aimed at tackling local health challenges have been awarded a total of $412,714 from the WE-Spark Health Institute and its partners.

Lead investigators received their grants Wednesday at the University of Windsor’s Centre of Research Excellence (CORe).

“We absolutely need research to keep us moving forward, to make advances in our society and to better the lives of the people around us,” Dora Cavallo-Medved, interim director of WE-Spark, said.

The grants are designed to support early-stage health research and education projects in Windsor-Essex. The initiatives aim to address healthcare gaps and spark new ideas across the sector, involving more than 140 researchers, trainees, and thousands of participants.

Collaborators include WE-Spark’s five supporting institutions: the University of Windsor, St. Clair College, Windsor Regional Hospital, Erie Shores HealthCare, and Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, along with community members, students, and volunteers.

“People are seeing the impact of the investment and are eager to make use of this opportunity,” Dr. Cavallo-Medved said. “These grants not only create jobs, but also address pressing issues and position Windsor-Essex as a strong competitor in national funding competitions. The growing number of applications reflects the community’s recognition of the importance of these grants in driving meaningful change.”

The grants are funded by contributions from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation, ChildCan, Katelyn Bedard Bone Marrow Association, Tayfour-Emara Excellence in Research and Education Fund, Connecting for a Cause, the University of Windsor’s Office of Research and Innovation Services, and the faculties of business, science, nursing, and human kinetics.

Since the grant program’s launch in April 2020, WE-Spark says, more than $1.8 million has been awarded for local projects.

For more information on the 20 new projects, visit wesparkhealth.com/projects.

Physics student Nathan Drouillard (BSc 2021, MSc 2024) will compete for Team Canada in the World University Triathlon Championships.

The competition, held by the International University Sports Federation, known by its French acronym FISU, is set for Aug. 30 and 31 in Gdansk, Poland. The individual course will include a 750 m swim, followed by a 20 km bike ride and finally a five km run.

Drouillard will begin doctoral studies in physics next month.

He will be joined in donning the maple leaf by Daniel Damian and Hayden Woodrow of the University of Victoria and Nicolas Bolouri of McGill, and on the women’s side Juliette Chenail-Lafond of Université de Montréal, Saoirse Kealey of Carleton University, Jordyn Bandastra of the Canadian Academy of Osteopathy, and Isla Britton of the University of Edinburgh.

Leading the contingent is Lauren Nutt of Triathlon Canada, who served as manager of the Canadian team at the Paris Summer Olympic Games.

Read more at goLancers.ca.

Prof. Dan Mennill has received national recognition for his contributions to mentoring young scientists. The Jamie Smith Memorial Mentoring Award was presented to Dr. Mennill at the annual meeting of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists in Peoria, Illinois.

“Jamie Smith was a huge figure in ornithology in Canada, mentoring a generation of outstanding young ornithologists,” explained the professor in the Department of Integrative Biology. “To win this mentoring award in his name is a great honour for me.”

The Jamie Smith Memorial Mentoring Award honours established ornithologists in recognition of displayed excellence in mentoring a new generation of professional or amateur biologists. It is conferred annually by the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, Canada’s national organization for the study of birds.

Danielle Ethier, president of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, presented the award. Dr. Ethier says Mennill’s willingness to guide and involve undergraduate students in the publication process is a testament to his unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of researchers.

“As a mentor, Dr. Mennill’s commitment is truly exceptional, going beyond the typical expectations of a research supervisor.

“An example of this commitment is Dr. Mennill’s ongoing collaboration on a research paper with a group of undergraduate students who participated in a field course under his leadership. This initiative not only highlights his dedication to fostering a collaborative research environment but also underscores his tireless efforts to engage and empower aspiring researchers at an early stage in their academic journey.”

Fourteen of Mennill’s peers and students nominated him for this award.

“I am deeply thankful to the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, and to members of my research team for nominating me for this award. Like so many academic activities, the research efforts in our lab are a team effort,” said Mennill.

“It is such a pleasure to be able to work with an outstanding team of undergraduates, graduates, and postdocs at University of Windsor.”

More than 150 enthusiastic young students from across Windsor-Essex gathered at the University of Windsor’s Erie and Dillon halls for the annual Let’s Talk Science Challenge. The event was filled with competitions and hands-on activities designed to ignite a passion for science among young learners.

The day began with the “Ultimate Quiz Challenge,” testing students’ science knowledge. In the afternoon, the Design Challenge allowed participants to showcase their problem-solving and teamwork skills. Throughout the day, students engaged in various interactive science activities, further enriching their experience.

Hadia Malik (BSc 2024), an organizer and recent graduate in medical physics, participated in the challenge herself during Grades 6 and 7. She noted that her early involvement sparked a lasting passion for science, leading her to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Windsor.

“Making science exciting for youth, as it was for me years ago, felt like a full-circle moment,” she said. “Being on the organizing side of this amazing event gave me a new appreciation for Let’s Talk Science's message and goals.

“The most gratifying aspect was contributing to the planning of the challenge and witnessing the genuine enjoyment of both students and teachers throughout the day. It was truly inspiring to observe the students collaborating within their teams, cheering on their successes, and offering support to one another.”

Fellow organizer Tim Igbokwe (BSc 2024), who just graduated from biological sciences, highlighted the crucial role of volunteers.

“We needed more than 20 Let’s Talk Science volunteers to effectively host the students at the event. Volunteers were involved in important tasks such as scorekeeping, judging, and ensuring that all students participated in the activities throughout the day.”

Awards were given for the top three finishers, as well as honourable mentions in both the Design Challenge and Ultimate Quiz Challenge. The Lorna Collins Spirit Award recognized the team with the most enthusiasm and teamwork.

The Let’s Talk Science Challenge continues to inspire young students, promoting a love for science and teamwork through interactive and engaging learning experiences.

From July 8 to 12, the University of Windsor welcomed 45 top-achieving high school students for the 11th annual Science Academy. The event aimed to provide students with opportunities to explore the Faculty of Science’s diverse programs, expand their interests, and connect with faculty, staff, and peers.

Throughout the week, students participated in interactive presentations from various departments, enjoyed a campus tour, took part in an alumni question-and-answer panel, competed in the “Amazing Science Race,” and explored different clubs and programs at the University of Windsor. Over 30 student volunteers, alongside staff and faculty from all nine science departments, played a key role in organizing and supervising the activities.

Adam Bakos, a third-year biochemistry and biomedical Sciences student who attended Science Academy as a high school student, took on a leading role this year as student co-ordinator, working alongside experiential learning specialist Michelle Bondy and Dora Cavallo-Medved, associate dean of science, faculty and student engagement.

Reflecting on his own experience, Bakos says, “I attended Science Academy when I was in high school, and I really appreciated exploring all the different forms and fields of science, especially before choosing what programs to apply for in university. So, I jumped at the opportunity to get involved once I entered university, and I’m grateful and eager to help high school students who are in the same position as I once was.”

Bakos also highlighted the Amazing Science Race as the standout event: “The students were extremely passionate about completing each science-related challenge, travelling from each station by deciphering obscure clues, and working with team members, most of whom they had just met that week!”

Students who participated every day were awarded a $1,000 entrance award to any Faculty of Science program. Additionally, two students were awarded sponsorships to attend the Ontario Nature Youth Summit, thanks to a collaboration with Friends of Ojibway Prairie.

As an environmental science undergraduate student, Sarika Sharma (BSc 2024) honed advanced mapping skills. She then used them to become first author on a paper published in the latest edition of Ornithology.

Integrative biology professor Dan Mennill recognized Sharma’s talents and encouraged her to participate in a new project analyzing historic maps of savannah sparrow territories collected by his research team of Kent Island in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick.

Using data collected by Dr. Mennill’s team from 2011 through 2022, Sharma digitized and analyzed maps of the sparrows’ breeding territories and used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to explore which factors influence the size and shape of the birds’ territories.

“I joined this project in the winter of my second year, and I was just so taken by Dr. Mennill’s passion. I applied and received an NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award to digitize maps and territories,” she says.

“We explored the effect of age, breeding strategy, population density, and number of neighbours on the size and shape of breeding territories.”

Their dataset consisted of 407 breeding territories belonging to 225 male savannah sparrows sampled over 11 years. They found that several factors contributed to variation in territory size. Older sparrows had larger territories. Males that mated with multiple females had larger territories. And territories were larger when the population was smaller. Furthermore, territories were less circular in shape when males had many neighbours.

“Visually when I was digitizing the territory maps, you could see such a dynamic change between the years,” says Sharma. “Now that we analyzed the territories with GIS, it is clear that the territories are changing for a reason, it is not just random. There is something going on because of social interactions between males.”

She started her mapping training by pursuing the GISc Certificate created by the School of the Environment. The Geographic Information Science (GISc) Certificate teaches how to use spatial technologies through nine courses.

“Through the courses I became more curious. They were tougher courses but at the end of it, I was proud of the work I was producing — GIS has changed my brain and how I think. These courses really paid off and I’m glad I decided to stick with them,” she says.

“Now that I know about the capabilities of GIS, I feel prepared to tackle the big questions, questions that are multi-faceted and would be otherwise impossible or demanding with time.”

Sharma is part of the first cohort to graduate with a GISc certificate. From analyzing maps to working with birds in person, Sharma spent a month on Kent Island this past spring.

“I read about all the methods in previous papers, but this was my first time experiencing them in person. It was so peaceful to be on the island and to know the birds on a personal level. I got to experience the study site beyond the maps and I could watch the territories take shape in real time.”

In Fall 2024, Sharma will begin master’s studies at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, co-supervised by professors Catherine Febria of integrative biology and Karim Malik of the School of the Environment.

Visiting scholar Xuexiu Chang and professor Hugh MacIsaac of the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research convened 24 of the world’s top scientists for a workshop addressing freshwater harmful algal blooms.

Held in Kunming, China, from July 6 to 11, the workshop represented collaboration among the University of Windsor, Kunming University, and Yunnan University. Researchers from 12 countries gathered to identify key knowledge gaps and research directions over the coming five years.

The University of Windsor was represented by Drs. Chang and MacIsaac along with GLIER director Mike McKay and adjunct faculty members George Bullerjahn, Steven Wilhelm, and Lewis Sitoki.

As part of the event, participants visited the International Joint Innovation Team for Yunnan Plateau Lakes and Laurentian Great Lakes funded by the Yunnan Provincial Department of Education. Other tours included an algae harvesting facility and a wetland restoration project on the shores of Lake Dianchi.

Dr. Chang reports that workshop participants narrowed a list of nominated knowledge gaps to prioritize four research themes that will form the basis of an article to help guide funding agencies as countries around the world continue to deal with this global concern.

Chemistry professor Tricia Carmichael has been elected director of equity, diversity, and inclusion for the board of the Canadian Society for Chemistry.

A national, not-for-profit professional organization under the umbrella of the Chemical Institute of Canada, the society is the technical organization for Canadian chemists, bringing together professionals and students from across the country. It plays an important role in the careers of Canadian chemists by providing access to career, educational, and networking opportunities; celebrating the achievements of the membership; and advocating on behalf of the membership to the federal and provincial governments.

As director of EDI, Dr. Carmichael will chair the Working for Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (WIDE) committee, on which she has served since 2021.

“We work on embedding EDI principles into CSC policies, and providing education, videos and other forms of outreach to the membership,” Carmichael says. “I have an amazing team of people, students and faculty from across Canada, who are all volunteering their time for this because we are passionate about it.”

Along with bringing in inclusive policies, her role will ensure EDI is a consideration throughout the society, especially focusing on the annual national conference to ensure it is accessible and inclusive to allow everyone to participate, she says.

As a member of WIDE, Carmichael chaired a subcommittee which produced documents that embed EDI principals into different policies.

She says she will continue to champion collecting self-identification information as a method to ensure a science-based approach to EDI.

“We really need data, so we know who makes up our community,” says Carmichael. “Then we can use a research-based approach to advocate for different changes to ensure the chemistry community is reflected in different activities.

“It is needed, especially for students, to show them that they belong and so that they can see representation at all levels of the chemistry community.”

When Lara Watanabe (PhD 2022) was an undergraduate at a small Canadian university, she dreamed of getting access to high quality equipment like X-ray diffractometers for crystallography. Pursuing her doctoral degree in the UWindsor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry not only turned that dream into reality but quickly led to a fulfilling role in a highly specialized field.

In May of 2024, Dr. Watanabe started her position as crystallographer and teaching lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Guelph.

“It is Because of Science at UWindsor that I’m prepared for this role,” she says.

“Without being at Windsor and without having that exposure to using the X-ray crystallography instrument, I wouldn’t know half of what I need to know for this role. It was super instrumental in what they were able to provide.”

The inorganic chemist says it all started when she began her degree in the Faculty of Science. Along with her co-supervisors Jeremy Rawson and Chuck Macdonald she used materials chemistry to explore applications for specific compounds.

“It was great to be given the freedom to explore what I wanted,” she says.

“Depending on the molecule, they could be used as sensors, for lubricants, or non-linear optic molecules, which are good for solar cells. There were a variety of different applications because I looked at a variety of different molecules.”

Early in her time at the University of Windsor, she asked both supervisors for training on the single crystal X-Ray diffractometer.

“They were very supportive and sent me to a workshop as part of a major chemistry conference,” she said.

“They provided hands-on-training to collect the data and showed me how to process the data through from solving and refining of crystals and that support was invaluable.”

She says the faculty’s former technician, Joe Lichaa, also helped her learn the maintenance aspects of caring for the instrument, aspects that students normally do not get to learn. The instrument takes a focused beam of X-rays and shoots it at a single crystal or powder sample. It produces a piece of data where you can get the connectivity of atoms based on the electron density in the molecule.

“It is one of the most powerful tools to a chemist when making new molecules in synthesis because it tells you definitively the connectivity of the atoms of the molecule you’re actually making — it tells you what it looks like,” says Watanabe.

“For example, it is used by the pharmaceutical industry to test their products because drugs can have specific forms of the active ingredient and this instrument will definitively tell you what form you have.”

While completing her degree, Watanabe was involved in the Women in Chemistry group. She helped organize the annual chemistry conference ChemiConn and led WinChem, a group that conducts tours and hands on experiments for visiting high school students to promote the chemistry and biochemistry department.

“I think that UWindsor had a lot of opportunities to showcase my love of chemistry and to try and be a role model for women in STEM, which has always been important to me. I like to be an advocate and show that there are women in these fields, and you can be successful at it.”

After graduating, Watanabe started a post-doctoral position at Carleton University. The industrial collaboration opened her eyes to a different view of research.

“It solidified my love of academia and the freedom it affords you to explore and publish.”

The School of Computer Science is about to expand its ability to crunch big data. Its acquisition of highly specialized computing equipment will allow researchers to better tackle problems revolving around information retrieval, social network analysis, and drug design.

Hossein Fani and co-applicants Ziad Kobti and Alioune Ngom received $150,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI-JELF) and the Ontario Research Fund, along with $51,000 from the School of Computer Science, for their project, “Computing Infrastructure for Deep Learning on Graph-Structured Data.”

The three researchers will help establish a Graph Neural Network Lab (GNN-Lab), the first deep learning laboratory at the University of Windsor with a special interest in applying neural networks on graph-structured data.

Graphs are the cornerstone of modelling mutual relationships between discrete entities. Dr. Fani will focus on information retrieval, Dr. Ngom investigates drug design, and Dr. Kobti and Fani perform social network analysis.

Fani says information retrieval, search engine, and recommender systems currently do not take into consideration the person doing the search or making the request.

“When you use Google or Amazon and they are recommending products or bringing up web pages, they just look at the content of the query, but they don’t look at the user info in social networks.”

For example, Ngom says, by finding similarities between the protein networks of two drugs, researchers might find that an existing drug could possibly be repurposed to treat a new disease.

“This way we can avoid designing a new drug which can take a lot of time and is extremely expensive,” says Ngom.

“For instance, in COVID when they wanted to design a new treatment drug, instead of designing one from scratch, they just looked at the similarities of COVID to other diseases and then tried to re-use the drugs for those diseases — it is cost effective and fast.”

Fani says that because disparate problems are based on graph-structured data, it allows for them to be explored in the same computer science lab.

“If we find an algorithm that can find similarities between drugs, we can find similar algorithm that could find similarities between people or users,” he says.

Previously, the researchers worked independently in their own labs. Now, as a team, they can work together to find the best algorithms.

“This will provide the first steps towards realizing new cross-discipline linkages that come with new machine learning methods or AI,” says Kobti.

“With the GNN-Lab, UWindsor will serve as a hub for developing advanced techniques for all types of graph-structured data — from social and collaborative networks of people to protein-protein networks.”

The GNN-Lab will consist of a Graphics Processing Unit server that provides fast and flexible computing. In addition, a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Research Tools and Instruments grant of $32,010 rounded out the lab with nine small-scale GPU-enabled computers.

“On the new computers, students can prototype their artificial neural network models to see if they’re viable. Normal computers don’t have this capability,” says Fani.

“Once they want to run these models with huge data, they’ll need the GPU server as the central computation server of the proposed lab.”

The GNN-Lab will provide opportunities for new interdisciplinary collaborations, both nationally and internationally, ultimately increasing the capacity and quality of student training opportunities.

“With a significant increase in research partnerships, with the proposed equipment, we will meet the growing industry demand for GNN expertise,” Fani says.

He adds the team is grateful to Nicole Noel, research funding officer in the Office of Research and Innovation Services, for her supplying helpful comments on their application and assisting in the submission process.

For more info, visit https://fani-lab.github.io/.

The student whose design will help prevent birds from flying into a student centre window is excited to see the mural completed.

Titled The Feathery Friends of Windsor, the illustration by integrative biology major Manpreet Bhachu incorporates various species including butterflies, fish, indigenous plants, and a variety of birds. Seven bird species are depicted in the panels in letters that spell “Windsor.”

“I am truly honoured to hear that my design will contribute to help birds through bird safety,” Bhachu says. “I’m genuinely really excited about this project.”

The UWindsor Sustainability Office had launched a contest soliciting designs for a window overlooking the balcony on the second floor of the CAW Student Centre to discourage birds from injury flying into the glass. The project is part of campus bird friendly efforts, BirdSafeUWin. Learn more on the University’s environmental sustainability website.

“We received several wonderful and creative design proposals,” says sustainability officer Nadia Harduar. “The evaluation committee had a difficult time deciding on a winner.”

Bhachu’s design will be printed as a large decal to be applied by summer’s end. She will receive $250 in UWinCASH sponsored by the K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation, which also contributed to the cost of creating and installing the decal.

“I’m glad everyone found my design creative, as that is exactly what I was going for,” Bhachu says.

Harduar notes that other designs may yet find use.

“We are hoping to leverage some of these on other large window spaces across campus in an effort to prevent future collisions resulting in bird trauma,” she says.

She encourages members of the campus community to report bird-window collisions and expresses thanks to the Pelee Island Bird Observatory for its assistance with the project and ongoing partnership.

Integrative biology’s Isabelle H. Barrette-Ng has been awarded the 2024 Faculty of Science Roger Thibert Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of her exceptional contributions towards engaging students and educational leadership.

Since joining the Faculty of Science as head of integrative biology in 2020, Dr. Barrette-Ng has excelled as an educator. A highlight being bringing the SAGES program to the University of Windsor. Designed for graduate students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), the program combines a theory course as well as a teaching practicum.

“It was a great honour and privilege to be recognized through the Roger Thibert Teaching Excellence Award and to join an amazing group of awardees who have all made positive contributions to teaching and learning in the Faculty of Science at UWindsor,” says Barrette-Ng.

“Professor Thibert’s dedication to teaching and learning provides lasting inspiration for the great community of scholars, educators and learners, who co-create rich and meaningful teaching and learning experiences throughout the Faculty of Science.”

Since its inception in 2011, the Roger Thibert Teaching Excellence Award has recognized the stellar quality of teaching in the Faculty of Science, as well as commemorating its namesake.

Eighteen recipients have received the award in the past 13 years.

Named in honour of the late Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry professor Roger Thibert, the award is presented to science faculty who develop a positive, learning-centred environment.

During his time a UWindsor from 1957 until 1994, Thibert is credited with establishing the graduate program in clinical chemistry, the only pre-doctoral program of its kind in Canada at the time. He is also credited with the development of the chemistry and biochemistry undergraduate and graduate programs that exist today.

Thibert has received numerous awards in recognition of his teaching excellence. Among them are the University of Windsor Alumni Award for Distinguished Contributions to University Teaching, the University Alumni Award of Merit, the Education Excellence Award of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists, and the SmithKline Clinical Laboratories of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry Award for Outstanding Efforts in Education and Training.

In 2003 he received the Alumni Excellence in Mentoring award in recognition of his continued commitment to his students well after graduation. Thibert died on May 30, 2024.

“Dr. Thibert served as a tremendous leader in his field and a great educator and mentor to many students and faculty”, says Dora Cavallo-Medved, interim dean of science and a previous recipient of the Roger Thibert award.

“Through this award, we continue to recognize Dr. Thibert’s contributions to teaching and mentorship each year. We are honoured to preserve his legacy through this award and to celebrate our excellent faculty recipients.”

Thibert’s son, Robert Thibert, recalls his father’s dedication to his students and the University.

“He treasured his students as though they were part of his own family. He treated them with respect and admiration for their own accomplishments. His nurturing methods of teaching were never overbearing, and he enjoyed standing back and watching his students succeed while providing the necessary input for them to do so.”

Even in his own experiences, Robert remembers his father wanting him to learn how to solve problems on his own.

“I was never one of his chemistry students, but I was one of his life students, which gave me the same drive and dedication in my career and life as he had in his. Congratulations to all of the winners of the Roger J. Thibert Teaching Excellence Award past, present, and future. You are being chosen because you have that same indescribable drive to help others.”

Award recipients receive a $2,000 research grant, a certificate, and are highlighted at the Annual Celebration of Teaching Excellence hosted by the Centre for Teaching and Learning as well as the Faculty of Science’s annual awards reception.

UWindsor students captured a number of awards at the 2024 Canadian Society for Chemistry conference in Winnipeg.

Two undergraduates won prizes for their research posters: Jonathan Houser in the Bio-organic and Medicinal Chemistry Division and Liz Sylvestre in the Organic Chemistry Division.

This coincided seamlessly with professor John Trant’s talk at the conference on getting undergraduate students involved in research. The Trant team lab comprises around 80 post-graduate and undergraduate researchers.

“This makes us, to my knowledge, the home of the largest number of concurrent undergraduate researchers of any group in Canada,” Dr. Trant said. “Despite this, we don’t do undergraduate research; instead, our undergraduates do research. This distinction is essential.

“In an increasingly globalized competitive environment, it is essential that we provide value-added education. Centering research does this, and it can be scaled to provide students with an unmatched educational opportunity.”

Four graduate students excelled as well:

• Pavel Shelyganov received the Inorganic Division Graduate Student Poster Award
• Azam Mohammadzadeh won a Bio-organic and Medicinal Chemistry Division graduate poster prize
• Will Hosie won a Materials Chemistry Division oral presentation prize
• Samra Khan won the Entrepreneurship Hack-a-thon

A PhD candidate, Khan says the Hack-a-thon was a great experience where she could see first-hand the power of teamwork and leadership, and how entrepreneurship is at core of science and advancement.

“It was a like being in real-world think tank, where small groups of chemists were challenged with addressing a real-world problem and pitching solutions,” says Khan.

“Our team decided to concentrate on a specific aspect of the global issue: the microbial contamination of water after treatment plants, which affects 20 per cent of Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba.”

She says the problem was outside her field of medicinal chemistry cancer research, but entrepreneurship brings creative solutions and solving problems is chemistry’s second nature — “so they really go nicely together!”

In contrast to traditional natural resource management that fosters autocratic decision-making, an ecosystem approach champions collaboration and empowering stakeholders, says a UWindsor researcher.

John Hartig, a visiting scholar at the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, writes in an online column that once isolated pollution sources came under control, the focus has shifted to a more comprehensive ecosystem approach that accounts for all sources of pollution and targets the health and resilience of ecosystems overall.

He cites a recent study by the Healthy Headwaters Lab, “An Ecosystem Approach: Strengthening the Interface of Science, Policy, Practice, and Management.” The authors: Dr. Hartig, research associate Fani Tsaroucha, post-doctoral fellow Ali Mokdad, professor emeritus Doug Haffner, and director Catherine Febria, reviewed 12 ecosystem frameworks and recommended several actions, including:

• establishing a community of practice that includes resource managers, researchers, educators, and practitioners;
• breaking down the “silo mentality” to improve communication and foster co-production of knowledge and co-innovation of solutions;
• building trustful relationships and capacity-strengthening efforts that enable the incorporation of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into every step of ecosystem-based management; and
• including watershed education in the curriculum of K-12 students and educator training for all Great Lakes states and provinces.

“There are many boundaries and barriers to ecosystem-based management, including institutional, geographic, political, disciplinary, cultural, socio-economic, and more,” Hartig concludes. “An ecosystem approach requires spanning such boundaries and overcoming barriers in support of science-based decision-making.”

The column is part of Great Lakes Moment, a monthly series he publishes in conjunction with the magazine-style television program Great Lakes Now, housed at Detroit Public TV.

Read the entire piece, “Great Lakes Moment: An ecosystem approach,” at GreatLakesNow.org.

Recalling his own challenges as a student grappling with the complexities of X-ray diffraction, Anton Dmitrienko was determined to make the field more accessible as one of the organizers of the 17th Canadian Powder Diffraction Workshop, May 3 to 6 on the UWindsor campus.

The event attracted academic and industrial participants and featured instructors from Canada, the United States, and Europe to provide both theoretical knowledge and practical skills in crystallography — the study of the arrangement of atoms in solids — through scientific discussions, hands-on demonstrations, tutorials, and networking opportunities.

“Many acknowledged that the workshop was extremely useful, and it ignited an interest in powder X-ray diffraction that will not be quenched any time soon,” said Dr. Dmitrienko, a research fellow working in the group of chemistry and biochemistry professor Nick Vukotic.

Interaction of X-ray beams with crystalline powders results in diffraction patterns used to study crystalline structures and other physical properties of solids.

Dmitrienko hopes that teaching these concepts in a more intuitive manner will help dispel the misconception that the field is reserved for a select few. He said the inspiring sight of participants — some with no prior knowledge — quickly grasping advanced techniques is a testament to the professionalism and expertise of the instructors and lecturers.

By facilitating connections between academia and industry, workshops like this have the potential to cultivate fruitful collaborations and drive scientific breakthroughs in the future, Dmitrienko said.