When people are going through the physical and emotional stresses of treatment for cancer, the last thing they need is to add financial strain to their loads, says Samantha Hann.

The first-year kinesiology student hopes she has lightened some loads after a $2,000 donation to the Windsor and Essex County Cancer Centre Foundation’s patient assistance fund. The fund helps patients and their families by providing monies for everything from purchasing groceries, to paying utility bills, or covering travel or medications not insured.

“I know some of the costs that can arise,” says Hann, whose father recently received treatment in London for cancer that had been in remission for 14 years.

She had resolved in June 2011 to grow her thick brown hair and donate it to the Wigs for Kids program, which provides hair replacement solutions for children affected by chemotherapy and other medical conditions. Hann’s mother suggested she might also use the occasion to solicit pledges in support.

“We just talked to family, friends and some co-workers,” says Hann. “To raise $2,000—it was quite a bit more than we had expected.”

She presented a cheque along with her 12-inch ponytail to the Windsor Regional Cancer Centre on September 28. It was not her first foray into charity fundraising work. A Type 1 diabetic, Hann has helped to raise $15,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

With Saturday’s Fall Convocation coming up, finding an appropriate gift for a graduate can be a chore—but it’s a chore the staff of the University Bookstore are eager to help with.

“We have a lot of great, useful products that are equally timeless,” says Shirley Bott, general merchandise buyer. “Students and their parents can keep wonderful memories of their time here at the university.”

The go-to place for UWindsor apparel, school supplies and much more, the bookstore suggests these five best-sellers:

• The Grad Bear ($24.95): A warm, cuddly congratulations to all graduates! Whether it is on display or in your arms, this furry friend will last a lifetime.
• Diploma frame ($93.95): You’ve done the hard work, now protect it! This professional-quality diploma frame will guard against damage and will maintain your document's appearance.
• UWindsor Breast Cancer Awareness USB drive ($6.99): Convenient, handy and for a good cause! Store your pictures and support breast cancer research with this portable 4 GB USB drive.
• Lancer zip-up hoodie ($89.95): Keep warm this winter! Made from quality material, this Lancer Under Armour zip-up hoodie is convenient for the icy fall and winter temperatures.
• My Kid and My Money go to the University of Windsor mug ($6.25): And a reminder that family support is appreciated, graduates and students can show gratitude to theirr parents with this ceramic mug, perfect for a warm drink or a good laugh over memories.

To purchase these items and more, visit the UWindsor Bookstore in the Odette Building, at the intersection of Sunset Avenue and Wyandotte Street or browse online. The bookstore will also maintain a sales table in the St. Denis Centre during Saturday’s Convocation, and is now accepting orders for class rings.

— article and photo by Chantelle Myers

Embracing technology that relies on high-pressure water injection to make auto parts while other institutions are abandoning their research on it will place the university’s engineering department in the good graces of car companies that need to make components from difficult to form lightweight materials, according to Daniel Green.

Daniel Green.

A key component to solidifying that relationship arrived this week, when Dr. Green took delivery of a 750-ton Macrodyne hydroforming press, which was installed Wednesday in the new Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation. The press – which stands about 19 feet tall and weighs 75,000 pounds – will inject water into steel and aluminum tubes and allow Green to conduct research that will assist manufacturers in forming such automotive parts as engine cradles, side rails, roof rails, radiator support frames and B-pillars.

“It will be wonderful to have,” said Green, a Canada Research Chair in Development and Optimization of Metal Forming Processes. ““Hydroforming is one of the manufacturing processes around which my CRC program was developed. This press will give us new experimental capability to hydroform tubular specimens under semi-industrial conditions. It will more than meet our needs in regards to experimental hydroforming.”

Green said hydroforming enjoyed a great deal of attention about 10 or 15 years ago, but fell out of favour with the research community as it became a mature manufacturing technology. However, in recent years, with increased pressure to reduce vehicle weight, companies like Ford are looking to hydroforming lightweight alloys and ultra-high-strength steels and will rely on university partners to research the best ways of incorporating those materials into their vehicles, Green said.

Andy Jenner, an engineering department technician who has helped coordinate the move of equipment from Essex Hall to the CEI, said the size and weight of the press clearly made it the most challenging piece of equipment to get in to the new building.

After the press was delivered it was disassembled and sections of doors still had to be removed to get it in to the building. Workers from Lalonde Machinery Movers of Toronto had to chain two 50,000 pound capacity forklifts together, back to back, in order to counter balance the weight of the press as it was lowered into the space it occupies. Workers also had to install 15 steel jack posts in the basement below to support the floor it sits on, Jenner said.

Jenner said it still may take a while before the press is operational. A control cabinet still needs to be installed, and the press needs to be commissioned by the company to ensure that it meets all safety specifications before it can be used.

Once operational, users will be able to install metal tubing into various hydroforming dies. These tubes are then sealed at both ends and injected with water up to a pressure of about 30,000 pounds per square inch so that they take the shape of the die.

“There are a lot of advantages to hydroforming automotive parts because tubular structures typically achieve superior strength and stiffness while offering great potential for weight reduction,” Green said.

The Lancer men’s hockey team will open its 2012-13 campaign with a pair of home games against the Ridgebacks of UOIT this weekend. Windsor defeated UOIT 6-1 during a pre-season exhibition game September 22 in Oshawa.

The squads will face off at Windsor Arena on Saturday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 14, at 2 p.m. Windsor Arena is located at 224 Wyandotte Street East. Read “Lancer men’s hockey set to open season against Ridgebacks” on goLancers.ca.

The women’s hockey team, currently 1-1 on the year, will host the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday and the Brock Badgers Sunday. Both games start at 4:10 p.m. at South Windsor Arena, 2555 Pulford Street.

Admission to any of these games is $5 general admission, $3 for youths and seniors. UWindsor students admitted free with valid student ID.

Lancer football to hit air Saturday

The Lancer football team will play for a national audience for the first time this season when they meet the defending Vanier Cup champions McMaster Marauders, in Hamilton on Saturday, October 13.

University Rush will feature the game, which is also McMaster’s homecoming. Windsor gave the Marauders trouble the last time these two teams met and the maroon squad was lucky to come away with a two-point win.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m. The Score will televise the game cross-Canada; the network is available locally as channel 68 on Cogeco Cable. Read a full preview by Ontario University Athletics.

UWindsor students will be educated on responsible drinking and treated to giveaways on Monday, October 15, in the CAW Student Centre Commons during the Beats Over Buzz event, part of a year-round alcohol education campaign.

The Alcohol Education Team will host the event to promote awareness about the issue of drunk driving and how it can be avoided, says student alcohol education coordinator Nevin MacLeod.

“Ultimately, drinking and driving is all too common,” MacLeod says. “Despite the heartwrenching stories you hear and the commercials you watch involving drunk driving, it still happens and people are paying the price in so many ways.”

The team will run an information booth and encourage sensible drinking with alcohol-free drinks at the mocktail bar.

“The mocktail bar is a safer alternative for people, including designated drivers, who want to have fun without alcoholic drinks,” MacLeod explains. “Those individuals deserve to have an enjoyable drink rather than feel ostracized.”

For a better understanding of how alcohol works in the body, the team will be joined by a representative from the Ministry of Transportation who will demonstrate the use of an intoxiclock.

“Each person’s reaction to alcohol depends on his or her sex, height, weight, alcohol consumption and other factors,” says MacLeod. “The intoxiclock will help determine this by calculating the amount of time it takes for alcohol to be processed and fully out of the body.”

Students who visit the booth will get to complete the e-CHUG challenge—an online self-assessment tool that provides feedback on a participant’s alcohol consumption—to earn a ballot in a draw for a pair of Dr. Dre Beats Solo headphones.

— by Chantelle Myers

A graduate of the School of Visual Arts and former sessional instructor in the Faculty of Education will open an exhibit of his most recent mixed media drawings and paintings at Windsor’s Artspeak Gallery this weekend.

Signs, Symbols & Silhouettes will feature works by Jim Mroczkowski (BFA 1975) in his first solo exhibition in Windsor since 1977, when he exhibited his work in the former Leddy Library Gallery.

“All of my work is essentially a continuous exercise in self-portraiture since all of my imagery emanates from my biography and life experiences,” says Mroczkowski. “Even if you fail to discern my personal and direct intentions or message, I hope that you are sufficiently intrigued with my work to look long enough to be somewhat engaged.”

Read a brief essay on his work and its meaning.

The show runs October 13 to 20; a free public reception will celebrate the opening at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 15. The Artspeak Gallery is located at 1942 Wyandotte Street East.

The University’s central safety committee, an advisory group of worker and management representatives, meets regularly to identify workplace health and safety hazards and recommend strategies to eliminate or minimize such hazards.

The October issue of Safety in Mind, the UWindsor health and safety newsletter, outlines the committee’s structure and its powers under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Safety in Mind is distributed online but formatted for printing and posting in work areas and on bulletin boards. Read the entire newsletter on the health and safety Web site.

Therese Papineau may be getting a little old for the childhood game of show-and-tell, but she said it made her Thanksgiving a richer celebration.

She expanded her guest list by three international students through the Host for the Holidays program. Anvesh Sai Polari, Gurdeep Singh Boparai and Mandeep Singh Sidhu enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings at her home on Sunday, October.

“It was an awesome experience to show and explain our Canadian traditions,” Papineau said. “I was proud to host these three students, all from India. It was an evening of shared stories and exchange of cultures.”

The program matches international students with local families willing to open their homes for a holiday meal. As Papineau drove her guests to dinner, she stopped by a farmer’s stand and asked them to pick some vegetables new to them.

“They had never seen asparagus or zucchini,” she said. “And they weren’t familiar with corn on the cob.”

She added some of each to her menu. For Sai Polari, who had only been in Canada for three weeks, it was a quick introduction to Canadian customs as he tried pumpkin pie and turkey for the first time. All the students left with a new awareness of Canadian culture, said Papineau, and plenty of leftovers to get them through the next week.

Host for the Holidays will begin accepting applications to host students for Christmas on December 3.

The Senate Bylaw Review Committee is seeking input for its pending review of three key bylaws:

• Bylaw 22, Committees and Procedures for Renewal, Promotion and Tenure
• Bylaw 23a, Criteria for Promotion
• Bylaw 23b, Criteria for Tenure

The committee invites feedback on general issues, concerns or clarifications to help inform a draft of proposed changes. Send any comments to university secretary Renée Wintermute no later than December 14, at reneew@uwindsor.ca.

The committee will circulate its proposals once they are ready, and will bring them to Senate for discussion. Given the complexity of these bylaws, members anticipate that the revision process will be lengthy.

Approximately every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood. The good news is that in just one hour, you can help.

Hospital patients require treatment regardless of the weather, as they undergo treatment for cancer, surgery, for car accidents and other traumas, and for hundreds of other medical situations that require life-saving blood.

UWindsor students, faculty and staff will have an opportunity to meet that need as Canadian Blood Services holds a full blood donor clinic in the CAW Student Centre’s Ambassador Auditorium on Monday, October 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For this clinic, Canadian Blood Services will use its appointment system. It encourages donors to book appointments by calling 1-888-2DONATE (1-888-236-6283). Walk-in donors are still welcome but appointments will better accommodate donors' working schedules.

As with previous clinics, the Department of Human Resources encourages all eligible employees to participate in this worthwhile process and asks any employees who wish to donate to make the necessary arrangements with their supervisors regarding the possibility of extended lunch or break periods.