It’s the best of all possible worlds Saturday, as UWindsor choir director Bruce Kotowich adds the voices of the University Singers and Chamber Choir to the Windsor Symphony Orchestra’s chorus for “Candide Suite.”

The concert program features works from Leonard Bernstein’s operetta based on the novella by satirist Voltaire, and additional pieces inspired by playwright William Shakespeare and poet Dylan Thomas.

Music alumna Erin Armstrong Dickau (BMus 2007) will solo in the role of the Old Lady, and Jeremy Worth, a professor of French Studies, will join conductor Robert Franz in a discussion of Voltaire’s works preceding the performance.

The concert begins at 8 p.m. April 1 at the Capitol Theatre, 121 University Avenue West. The pre-concert talk opens at 7 p.m.

The orchestra is offering a special deal to the UWindsor community: faculty, staff, students and alumni can receive a 25 per cent discount on reserved seating by using the code wsonightout when they purchase tickets online at windsorsymphony.com or by phone at 519-973-1238.

Coloratura soprano Tracy Dahl will sing the part of Cunegonde and will lead a masterclass in voice Sunday, April 2, on the UWindsor campus. The session is open for the public to listen in; it begins at 1 p.m. in the Heritage Auditorium, Assumption Hall. Learn more on the event website.

A collaboration between the University of Windsor’s Entrepreneurship, Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre) and the Genesis Centre at St. Clair College will create opportunities to connect the varying skill sets of students at both institutions.

EPICentre encourages entrepreneurship on campus and supports students and graduates interested in launching their own businesses. It will take over the Genesis Centre’s offices to create a location at the college — EPIC Genesis — which will provide co-working and event space.

UWindsor president Alan Wildeman said the new relationship will further opportunities for entrepreneurship in the region.

“St. Clair College faculty, students and alumni will add a new dimension to the innovative activities taking place in EPICentre,” he said.

The collaboration will reduce duplication of efforts by the two schools, said Patti France, president of St. Clair College.

“The opportunity for our students to work with the students and staff of the university — and their students and staff to work with the college’s — means that entrepreneurs will have access to the cutting-edge expertise of both institutions,” she said. “The university was well-positioned to be the lead agency in this particular partnership, and we’ll continue to explore other opportunities to jointly assist the students of both institutions.”

The addition is the third EPICentre location: EPIC Innovation in the Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre provides incubation and co-working space; the EPIC Industrial Hub in the Centre for Engineering Innovation provides equipment and incubation space for startups and collaboration space for industry.

Facilities and programs are available to students and recent alumni of either institution. For more information, visit the EPICentre website, http://www.epicentreuwindsor.ca/.

A Windsor tooling company announced Wednesday a new scholarship that will support graduate research in mechanical, automotive and materials engineering at the University of Windsor.

Patti Weir, UWindsor’s dean of graduate studies, said a $5,000 donation from Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ltd. will be matched by the provincial government’s Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program and leveraged to a total of $15,000.

“This award will allow us to train future generations of engineers who will continue to make contributions in manufacturing,” said Dr. Weir.

The Cavalier Tool and Manufacturing Ontario Graduate Scholarship will be awarded based on academic excellence, research and professional potential, and communication and leadership skills.

“We’re extremely excited to announce the contribution to the University of Windsor and the establishment of a Cavalier Tool Ontario Graduate Scholarship,” said Brian Bendig, the company’s president. “The scholarship will provide financial support for a Master’s or PhD level student as he or she learns the research and development process in the area of mechanical, automotive and materials engineering.”

The donation was announced at a ribbon-cutting event to celebrate a multi-million-dollar expansion at Cavalier’s 50,000 square-foot facility in Windsor. For 35 years, the firm has produced medium-to-large plastic injection molds for the automotive, agricultural and commercial sectors.

“This is the beginning of hopefully a long and lasting relationship between us and Cavalier,” said dean of engineering Mehrdad Saif. “We appreciate the support and look forward to working with them.”

Since 1975, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program has been providing merit-based scholarships to Ontario’s best graduate students in all disciplines of academic study.

Letting the shower run for one minute to warm up before you step in wastes almost 10 litres of water, say engineering students Eric Parker and Stephen Passador. They estimate their solution — to heat the water in the pipes — has the potential to save as much as a trillion litres of water a year, at a cost of less than $10 per shower to install.

Their entry claimed top honours in the third annual EPIC Blue Sky Competition, March 23 at the Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre. The competition saw students from 18 different academic disciplines pitch their ideas through two-minute videos.

That cross-disciplinary approach was no accident. Organizers required each team of two to four members to span at least two programs of study.

The three top teams earned Sushil Jain UWin Triple I Awards cash prizes as well as a free trip to Toronto to attend the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Discovery Conference in May. Parker, Passador and partner Sean Santarossa will share $1,000 for finishing first overall. Runners-up Aron Coccimiglio and Sonia Coccimiglio won $750, and the third-place team of David Collins and Noah Leschyna split $500.

Watch the winning video presentation:

See photos from the event on the EPICentre Facebook page.

A collaborative session slated for April 7 will provide an opportunity for researchers, clinicians and community members to brainstorm on cancer research projects.

It is the latest in a series of “Think Tanks” hosted by the Windsor Cancer Research Group to identify collaborative teams who could work together and bring projects forward for funding, says biology professor Lisa Porter, the group’s scientific director.

“It is about enhancing collaborations, building teams through networking, and stimulating ideas with the goal of submitting grant proposals that will result in real research,” she says.

Dr. Porter says one unexpected partnering resulted in two professors collaborating on a cross-disciplinary study. Psychology professor Josée Jarry and kinesiology professor Cheri McGowan received a $70,000 Seeds4Hope grant from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation to test how survivors of breast cancer will respond — physically and psychologically — to Ashtanga yoga.

“Dr. Jarry and Dr. McGowan met at a Think Tank and both were previously hesitant about having anything to contribute, but these are relatable sessions open to anyone: students, researchers, clinicians, community members,” Porter says. “We don’t just want to connect the usual suspects because you never know what creative spark will get the next unique funding opportunity off the ground.”

The April 7 event runs 1 to 3 p.m. in EPIC Innovation, on the second floor of the Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre. Find more information on the group's website. Register by April 3 by e-mailing co-ordinator Karen Metcalfe at karenmet@uwindsor.ca.

The UWill Discover conference Friday, March 31, will showcase research, ideas, invention, and creative activity from every department and faculty on campus.

With presentations running the gamut from the role of the circadian clock in colorectal cancer to the importance of legal protections against revenge porn, the day-long event encourages undergraduate students to develop connections between teaching and research, learning and the community, the classroom and the working world.

All events are located in the CAW Student Centre and Dillon Hall; they are free and open to all. Find a full schedule on the conference website.

Tickets are now on sale for the annual 25 Years of Service luncheon, to be held April 28 in Ambassador Auditorium, CAW Student Centre.

At this event, the University will recognize and celebrate the dedication, commitment and contributions of 29 faculty and staff who in 2016 reached the 25 years of service milestone. The list of individuals being honoured can be found on the Department of Human Resources website.

Tickets are $27 per person, available on the Department of Human Resources website at www.uwindosr.ca/hr/tickets. For more information, contact Oliga Tserakhava at oligat@uwindsor.ca or 519-253-3000, ext. 2044.

Patrons of the campus farmers’ market Thursday will see — and taste — what students help bring to the table.

Clients of the Enactus program CookStart, which assists entrepreneurs to open their own food-based businesses, will be selling their products at the final market of the winter semester. The 12-week program provides free one-on-one consultation with student volunteers.

“Our consultants work with their individual clients to create a business plan, logo and business card, website, social media platforms as well as attain their food handler certificate,” says project manager Brunilda Gjini, a third-year business student.

The farmers’ market runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 30 in the CAW Student Centre Commons.

The Faculty of Science invites applications for the position of Associate Dean of Science – Graduate Studies and Research for a term of three to five years, commencing July 1.

Candidates must hold a tenured position at the University of Windsor and submit an application by April 4. Find full details of the internal search on the faculty recruitment website.

The University of Windsor invites applications until April 15 for the position for the Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering for an initial period of five years commencing September 1. Find details in the internal posting.

The University of Windsor invites applications until April 30 for the position for the Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for an initial period of five years commencing July 1. Details are available on the faculty recruitment website.