While COVID restrictions have made scientific fieldwork in the Great Lakes difficult, researchers at the University of Windsor have continued to gather vital data using an underwater robot.

Researchers at the Real-Time Aquatic Ecosystem Observation Network (RAEON) have worked with partner institutions in the United States to deploy an AUV— an autonomous underwater vehicle. The AUV, which they’ve named the Cormorant, is being used to study harmful algal blooms and low oxygen levels in Lake Erie.

“The Cormorant has been a vital alternative to scientific cruises, surveys, and other fieldwork,” said Katelynn Johnson, director of RAEON. “It can be deployed for weeks and months at a time, providing continuous data that can’t be collected with normal sampling methods by scientists aboard ships.”

The Cormorant is a Slocum glider, a bright yellow, torpedo-shaped vehicle. Scientists have used gliders to collect data from deep ocean waters, but RAEON Is using the Cormorant in shallow areas of Lake Erie. Its mission has already identified areas of low oxygen called hypoxia which can negatively affect fish and compromise treatment processes for drinking water.

“2020 was to be a big rollout year for RAEON to support multiple research programs across the Great Lakes, but then the pandemic hit,” said RAEON science director Aaron Fisk, a UWindsor professor who holds a Canada Research Chair in trophic ecology, the study of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.

“We are fortunate to be able to carry out a glider mission to provide needed data for research and models in Lake Erie.”

Dr. Fisk said RAEON will expand the Cormorant’s use, using it and other gliders for research across the Great Lakes.

RAEON, headquartered at the University of Windsor, is funded by a $15.9 million grant from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. Its cutting-edge research positions Canada as a global leader in the conservation of freshwater ecosystems.

—Sarah Sacheli

The success of any tech company depends not just on innovation, but also on seamless communication, says computer science student Ashley Newton.

“That extends not just between you and your team, but between your company and your users as well,” she says. “Good documentation is key to transferring crucial knowledge to make sure no one gets left behind.”

Newton, a technical writer for the software company SaltStack, will share some of her successes and challenges in scaling software documentation in a presentation entitled “Open-minded collaboration at scale” at the Great North DevFest on Saturday, Oct. 17. Hosted by the Google Developer Groups of Windsor, Detroit, and Ann Arbor, the conference for software developers will feature a full day of online talks on technology.

“I feel passionately that open-sourcing knowledge, tools, and best practices is the best way to work smarter and get results,” says Newton.

That passion has led her to start a local chapter of Write the Docs, a global community working together to improve the art and science of documentation: programmers, tech writers, developer advocates, customer support, marketers, and anyone else who wants people to have great experiences with software.

To learn more, contact Newton at newto115@uwindsor.ca.

Windsor can leverage its advantage as the automotive capital of Canada to become the “Automobility Capital of Canada,” say the partners in a new venture to make the region a hub for innovation in emerging transportation technologies — connected, autonomous, cybersecure, and electric.

The University of Windsor is teaming up with St. Clair College and the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation with funding support from FedDev Southwestern Ontario in the Windsor-Essex Automobility Academic Partnership Initiative.

Project manager Tom Schnekenburger describes automobility as the secure, zero-carbon movement of people, goods, and services using advanced information technologies. 

“The University of Windsor and St. Clair College play a critical role by providing pathways for our students to an emerging marketplace,” he says. “By creating strong partnerships with innovative companies, investing in research facilities, and designing curriculum to match technological trends, the academic institutions will define and develop tomorrow’s leaders.”

He will introduce the concept at a forum bringing together researchers, students, and local stakeholders on the morning of Friday, Oct. 16, to discuss, challenge, and execute a strategy to embrace automobility.

The event will be conducted over the videoconferencing platform Microsoft Teams. Find details including a registration link on the forum website.

Taking part in dialogues with universities across Canada will help inform the University of Windsor’s initiatives in equity, diversity, and inclusion, says provost Douglas Kneale.

Organized by the University of Toronto Scarborough, the National Dialogues and Action for Inclusive Higher Education and Communities, held on Oct. 1 and 2, were intended to foster concrete change on campuses and across society.

Along with several colleagues from the University of Windsor, Dr. Kneale attended the virtual forum focused on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion, with breakout group dialogues ranging from inclusive teaching, learning, and curricula to institutional decision-making structures.

Remarks by University of Toronto Scarborough principal and host Wisdom Tettey highlighted the historical normalization of racial exclusion and the need to redefine “equity-seeking” as “equity-deserving.”

“The two days of dialogue represent an important preliminary step on the road toward inclusiveness in higher education,” said Kneale. “While we don’t have all the answers, we do have the desire and the commitment as an institution to ask the right questions about ourselves, to identify both what’s standing in the way and what’s missing from our goal of greater diversity in our student body, our faculty and staff members, and our Board of Governors.”

One of the outcomes of the National Dialogues will be an accountability agreement based on principles that participating institutions can endorse.

Kneale says: “The commitments we make as a signatory to the emerging Scarborough National Charter will confirm the progressive actions we are taking as an institution to create meaningful, lasting change at the individual, organizational, and systemic levels.”

The Supply Chain Advancement Network in Health (SCAN Health) has opened registration in a competition that provides students from around the world an opportunity to showcase their knowledge and skills to create innovative solutions that address a real-world health system challenge.

This year’s SCAN Health Virtual Business Case Competition focuses on the supply chain challenges of sourcing personal protective equipment to protect patients and health workers during COVID-19.

Participating students will play the role of a consulting team advising the Government of Canada on the development of a co-ordinated healthcare supply chain.

Teams will have the opportunity to win cash prizes, gain international expert input on their solutions, and present at a conference hosted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society — slated for Las Vegas, Aug 9 to 13, 2021.

Round 1 submissions are due by Nov. 27. Find details, including eligibility, rules, prizes, judging criteria, and registration, on the competition website.

Teaching a course and using your course team in Teams? Requested a team in Teams for your work group or a special project? You’re the team owner.

The team owner role is important. You manage the team by adding and removing members, setting up member permissions, and creating channels to keep conversations and work organized.

Watch Information Technology Services team member Carl Amlin as he walks through team owner basics in this two-part Tech Talk mini-series: Volume 1 (107 seconds) and Volume 2 (106 seconds).

Tech Talk is a presentation of IT Services. More Tech Talks are available at www.uwindsor.ca/its/tech-talk.