Science Matters Fall 2020
Dean's Message
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2020 is definitely an unprecedented year. It started with the unimaginable tragedy of the Ukrainian International Airlines’ Flight PS752s crash, which took the lives of biology research assistant Samira Bashiri, along with members of UWindsor’s Engineering family, and then abruptly changed all of our lives with the arrival of COVID-19. But we are resilient in the face of difficult situations and were quick to meet the challenge together as a Faculty. 

Early in the pandemic our faculty and staff donated much-needed supplies to local hospitals, helped formulate hand-sanitizer for distribution in Windsor-Essex, designed and started mask production, contributed to the search for a vaccine, developed strategies for the early detection of local outbreaks, and assessed risk factors for those infected with COVID-19.  
 
The year ahead will be no less challenging. But the Faculty has come together to ensure we are ready for online teaching and are able to get back to research in the lab and out in the field. We were proactive in taking the lead on campus in safely resuming research and readying our facilities for the limited return of faculty and staff this fall.  
 
We are on track for another record year of undergraduate enrolment, although the pandemic led to many international students deferring their acceptance until next year. The enrolment strategy we adopted several years ago assured our resilience in the face of current global disruptions to student mobility. Not only do we see strength in enrolment, we are on target for another successful research year with an unprecedented $15 million-plus in external funding.   
 
I have never been prouder of our faculty, staff and students and I would like to thank each and every one of them for their support, engagement and dedication to Science @ UWindsor in this challenging time.
COVID-19 Research
Tackling the virus with science
ScienceUWindsor did not miss a beat as COVID-19 sent most of us home to work remotely. Our departments stepped up quickly to donate much needed medical supplies to local front-line workers and instructors and staff acted quickly to continue the semester virtually, and safely.

Through community partnerships and special grants, our researchers began contributing scientific research early on, and continue to be a part of the solution. These are just some of our #WindsorResearchMatters stories.
COVID-19 virus illustration, created by Zeena Biro from Science Meets Art (SMArt) for the 2020 Science Society T-shirts.
Science sewing
Dr. Ken Drouillard, a professor in UWindsor’s School of the Environment, is heading a research project to help the Windsor-Essex Sewing Force. The group of volunteers is sewing masks for healthcare workers.
Glass half full
Early Warning Detection
Biomedical Sciences professor Dr. Munir Rahim is leading a research team to look for early warning of severe respiratory complications.


Community Swab
Destroying the virus
Improving testing
UWindsor professor Dr. Yufeng Tong is researching a new COVID-19 testing kit and engineering simulated genetic material to test the accuracy of diagnostic kits already on the market.
Lab-on-a-Chip
Professors Jalal Ahamed, Mitra Mirhassani, Simon Rondeau-Gagné, and Yufeng Tong are designing a portable device to test for COVID-19, replacing the need for samples to be sent to a laboratory for analysis.



Vaping risks
Dr. Drew Marquardt, together with fellow UWindsor researchers, is exploring possible complications of vapes and e-cigarettes for those infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.
WE-SPARK Health Institute Igniting Discovery Grants offered $180,000 for funding to stimulate the development of early-stage, novel, and innovative health research and education projects in Windsor-Essex.
ScienceUWindsor@Home series
Finding joy in the little things
It is important to continue pursuing activities we are passionate about, especially during these strange and sometimes stressful times. That is why we created the
This gives a chance to share what brings us joy – whether baking, exercising or reconnecting with family – and inspire others to do the same.

Get to know us, and let us get to know you, by sharing a short video highlighting what brings you joy.
Submit your story of joy to Communications Coordinator Sara Elliott: selliott@uwindsor.ca
Changes to the Science family
The Department of Integrative Biology (iBio) welcomes a new head.
Dr. Isabelle Barrette-Ng, Head of Integrative Biology.
Dr. Isabelle Barrette-Ng is a 3M National Teaching Fellow and an expert in online learning, as well as University of Calgary Teaching Scholar.

“I am a very collaborative person and when I visited UWindsor in December I was impressed with the dynamic atmosphere on campus created by a collegial community that I’m thrilled to join and to help grow,” says Dr. Barrette-Ng.
Changes in Faculty and Staff

New Faculty
Zareen Amtul – Chemistry & Biochemistry
Isabelle Barrette-Ng – Integrative Biology
Curtis Bright – Computer Science
Martin Crozier – Biomedical Sciences 
Hossein Fani – School of Computer Science
Shaoquan Jiang School of Computer Science
Saja Al Mamoori – School of Computer Science
Kenneth Ng – Chemistry & Biochemistry 
Ikjot Saini – School of Computer Science 
Kalyani Selvarajah – School of Computer Science
Aznam Yacoub – School of Computer Science

Faculty Retirements
Vladimir Bajic, – Economics (36 years)
Robert Kent – School of Computer Science (38 years)
Alan Trenhaile – School of the Environment (51 years)

Faculty Departures
Phil Graniero – School of the Environment (20 years)
Andrea Craig - Economics (3 years)

Staff Retirements
Margaret Mayer McKnight (October 1, 2020)– School of the Environment (14 years)
Rose Spence (January 1, 2021) - Mathematics and Statistics (12 years)

New Staff
Asad Mohammed - Faculty of Science
Connie Iaquinta - School of the Environment
Rana Chan - Faculty of Science
Danielle Lenarduzzi - Faculty of Science

Staff Moves
Nancy Barkley - Integrative Biology & Biomedical Sciences (25 years) transfers to the Department of History
Gemma Grey-Hall - Acting Director, Advancement
Students that shine
Cross-border hackathon to foster international digital collaboration
With the pandemic shutting in-person events down, School of Computer Science student Noah Campbell helped make WinHacks and BorderHacks go fully digital.


WinHacks hackathon was quickly moved to an online platform in March. International hackathon BorderHacks will be fully digital to focus on cross-border mobility issues, such as smart infrastructure, healthcare, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship.
Quantum mechanics
Doctoral student Aaron Bondy.
Doctoral student Aaron Bondy won plaudits for best student oral presentation at the Canadian Association of Physicists annual congress.
Entomology Excellence
Madison Laprise and Theresa Tran won awards for their presentations at the annual conference of the North American Forensic Entomology Association.
Master's students Madison Laprise and Theresa Tran
Using Artificial Intelligence to identify social isolation risk
Master’s student Saghi Khani is working to identify people at risk of social isolation.
Khani is a Master’s student in computer science at the University of Windsor. She began working with professors Pooya Moradian Zadeh and Saeed Samet on the artificial intelligence project in January. She looks at networks of people and converts a given community into a social graph, the isolated individuals represented as “outlier nodes.”
Science in Sport
The University of Windsor will host what may be the first official university-level competitive intercollegiate esports team in Canada this September

Paul Meister, a PhD candidate in chemistry, is leading the project.
UWindsor’s Lancer Gaming may be the first official university-level competitive esports team in Canada.
Science in the News
Gold-coated fabric that emits own light could be ultimate safety gear
“Self-illuminating clothing will always be visible from every angle and in any lighting condition,” she says. “This could be important for safety apparel,” says Dr. Tricia Carmichael.
Light-emitting fabric samples -
The Carmichael Lab
STEM grant money
Mitacs

UWindsor celebrates successful year of Mitacs research and training
Tagging to help conservation of Greenland sharks
Liber Ero post-doctoral fellow Brynn Devine and Nigel Hussey, professor in Integrative Biology, received an Ocean Stewardship Fund from the Marine Stewardship Council for nearly $90,000 to tag Greenland sharks in the Eastern Canadian Arctic in order to quantify bycatch survival and mortality rates.

Daily News story
Researchers from the University of Windsor plan to tag Greenland sharks to better understand how to protect them.

In Memoriam
Samira Bashiri, died in the Ukrainian International Airlines’ Flight PS752s crash on January 8, 2020.
Samira Bashiri and her husband Hamidreza Setareh Kokab were among those who passed away in the crash of Flight 752 in January. Bashiri was a researcher in Biomedical Sciences.

UWindsor research associate Sara Jamieson, who died July 28, 2020.
Dr. Sara Jamieson, research associate in GEN-FISH, passed away suddenly on July 28th, 2020. Friends and colleagues of Dr. Jamieson established a memorial fund to support her husband and children.
Jamieson commenced her employment with the University in 2009 as a research assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences and held various roles there and in the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, culminating in her latest appointment in March 2020 to the position of Genome Canada Research Associate.

Campus flags were lowered in her memory on July 31. To learn more about the memorial fund or make a contribution, visit the fund website.

Science Class Spring 2020 Convocation Video
Our YouTube channel brings to life the stories from #WindsorScience - from student student opportunities to innovative research.
Online events
It may not be possible to host in-person events, but Science forged ahead. The following events were hosted virtually – full of activities and dynamic interaction.
Place of Promise logo
The Faculty of Science has helped students achieve their promise since the founding of the University in 1963. The Place of Promise campaign will help us attract and empower the finest faculty, staff, and, students through new capital projects, multidisciplinary research and the student experience.

Investments in our strategic funding priorities will help us achieve our goals to advance the Faculty of Science to a new unprecedented level.

For more information, contact Dean Chris Houser at deanscience@uwindsor.ca
Faculty of Science
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Ave.
Windsor, ON  N9B 3P4
519-253-3000 Extension: 3009