UWindsor professor Marcus Drover has been awarded the 2020 John Charles Polanyi Prize in Chemistry in recognition of his work in developing cleaner energy sources as an early-career researcher in the province of Ontario. The award, valued at $20,000, is given to five Ontario researchers in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Economic Science.

Annually since 1987, the Council of Ontario Universities has recognized five researchers in the early stages of their careers, in honour of Dr. Polanyi, the 1986 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This is only the second time a UWindsor researcher has received this award; in 1996, Sang-Chul Suh from the Department of Economics won.

“It is an incredible honour to win such a prestigious prize in a highly competitive pool of early-career researchers — and moreover, to be the first to win in the natural sciences in the history of UWindsor,” says Dr. Drover. “It’s an incredible feeling.”

Drover, hired in 2019, is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

As a synthetic chemist, Drover says he likes to make “molecules with a purpose, molecules with the potential to combat the global energy crisis as rates of fossil fuel consumption continue to skyrocket.

“To ensure the well-being of future generations, it is imperative that we work to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, invest in alternative energy sources, and discover superior and more efficient routes for the synthesis of speciality chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals for health, agrochemicals to enhance crop yield, and advanced chemicals such as those found in organic light emitting polymers for display technologies.”

In spring 2020, he received an NSERC Discovery grant and early-career supplement for his research program, “New Technologies for Sustainable Chemistry: An Organometallic Future in Clean Energy.” Drover says his research team believes in an “organometallic future” to clean energy, employing chemical synthesis and metal-based reactivity to target these goals.

“My group’s interests comprise concepts broadly related to catalysis using novel constructs having structure and/or bonding properties that can be leveraged for the development of new reactions with creative design elements inspired by nature,” he says.

“We are looking at alternative fuels, and energy-based research by revamping and reusing waste products and turning them into value-added molecules and sources of energy.”

In March 2020, as the academic conference season shut down in response to the pandemic, Drover co-founded an online chemistry discussion group that allowed chemists to share research and forge new collaborative partnerships. The Global Inorganic Discussion Weekend continues to draw a crowd and has now hosted more than more than 80 speakers from around the world.

Drover says starting his career at UWindsor has been incredible — phenomenal facilities and openness of others to collaboration really makes the University a fantastic training ground for young inorganic chemists.

“At the end of the day, students need to gain a certain skill-set, and they will most certainly get that opportunity here,” he says. “It is inspiring and satisfying to apply transformations that could be applied to actual real-life problems, and most importantly, we’re having a lot of fun doing it!”

—Sara Elliott

Dean of law Christopher Waters announced Monday that general contractors have been selected for the Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law Building transformation.

The joint venture of EllisDon Corporation and Fortis Construction Group will lead the construction of the Transforming Windsor Law building project. The contractors are no strangers to the University of Windsor campus and are currently the general contractor for the Lancer Centre.

“We look forward to working with them,” says Dr. Waters. “They are mobilizing this month for a January 2021 start to construction.”

Law’s temporary quarters across campus were completed this fall to host faculty, staff, and students once it is safe to return. The University’s Board of Governors has approved an increase in the project budget of roughly 15 per cent, due primarily to the impact of COVID-19.

With fundraising already at $5.3 million of its $6 million target, Waters is confident the goal remains achievable despite the pandemic.

“The generosity and investments of alumni and friends will see us break through that target before the project is completed roughly two years from now,” he says.

To learn more about Transforming Windsor Law, visit the project website.

The current global COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 is poised to create a humanitarian crisis in terms of the loss of human life, long term health impacts, and socio-economic upheaval. However, the severity of such impacts varies widely by country, by region, and even city and by city.

A column written by civil engineering professor Edwin Tam for the latest issue of WE, the Faculty of Engineering’s annual magazine, notes that months in, there are still widely varying incidents of COVID-19 within the same region as the world faces ongoing waves of the pandemic.

A team of UWindsor scholars — Anneke Smit from law, Tirupati Bolisetti from civil engineering, and Myron Hlynka and Mohamed Belalia from mathematics and statistics, as well as Dr. Tam — is researching what are preferred characteristics and actions for municipalities to improve their resiliency to respond to and recover from pandemic scenarios.

“The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted how critical the medical services, transportation of goods and services, information technologies, and municipal utilities are to maintaining a functioning community. What differs by location is the resiliency to sustainably deliver goods and services, and the disruption to work, education, and social activities,” writes Tam.

“Our communities face calls to be bold and to emerge with a better, more sustainable, more resilient and fairer society out of the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. This ongoing research will help us to rethink our urban settlements to ensure they are equitable and resilient as we confront the challenges facing us in an uncertain 21st century.”

Read the full article in the latest issue of WE, the Faculty of Engineering’s annual magazine.

Members of the MBA Class of 1970 celebrated the 50th anniversary of their graduation by toasting each other over Zoom on Dec. 9.

Mitch Fields, dean of the Odette School of Business, hosted alumni, their spouses, and one of the class’s favourite teachers, professor emeritus David A. Wilson.

Although it had been many years since some of the members had last seen each other, it didn’t take long for them to reconnect and start to share their fond memories of their time together.

Tom Knowlton (MBA 1970), noted that a planned reunion had been cancelled due to COVID-19, but the video link still brought the former classmates together.

“A lively and enthusiastic recollection of our time at the university and tracing our lives since graduation resulted, highlighted by an appreciation of our education at the university and how Dave Wilson actually touched all our individual lives in an impactful and sustained way,” he said.

Dr. Fields called the event a resounding success.

“While these challenging times prevent us from being together to celebrate these types of milestones with our fellow alumni, I was thrilled that we could share in this moment,” he said.

Also celebrating a milestone anniversary this year is the Bachelor of Commerce class of 1970, which plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary in person in 2021.

Share your favourite holiday moments on the main UWindsor social media channels.

The Office of Public Affairs and Communications invites the University community to submit seasonal photos or videos for use on UWindsor's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn channels. Send in material through this online form.

Appropriate themes include:

• UWindsor families;
• seasonal décor (lights, trees, presents, and more);
• wishes from your hometown (let's get as many hometown shots as possible);
• holiday pets (dress ’em up!);
• COVID-19 safe activity recommendations; and
• short video clips spreading cheer and why you are thankful for the holidays.

“Let’s work together to spread some midwinter cheer,” says social media co-ordinator Tim Brunet.

He suggests users add that hashtag #UWindsorHolidays2020 when sharing content celebrating the season on their own channels.

It’s hard to be Canadian without valuing maple syrup, says executive chef Paolo Vasapolli — the country produces 85 per cent of the world’s supply.

He is sharing a recipe with DailyNews readers that will allow them to observe National Maple Syrup Day in style on Thursday, Dec. 17. His maple banana oatmeal pancakes are gluten-free and simple to prepare: just mix up the batter in a blender.

Maple Banana Oatmeal Blender Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 2 large ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon of Canadian maple syrup
• 1 large egg
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• ½ ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• Coconut oil

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in the blender and blend on high until completely mixed together and oats have broken down, about 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Heat a griddle or pan over medium-low heat and melt a teaspoon or two of coconut oil. Once the pan or griddle is hot, pour or scoop ¼ cup of the batter onto a pan.
3. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side and serve hot, garnish with sliced bananas or other fresh fruit. A sprinkle of icing sugar is optional!

Share your pictures and smiling faces on social media by tagging #NationalMapleSyropDay and #UWindsor.

Health-care workers are at risk of COVID-19 exposure, yet are left without adequate protections, says a study by occupational health researchers at the University of Windsor.

In Canada, health-care workers have been disproportionately infected by COVID-19, making up nearly 20 per cent of cases, write the authors — doctoral student Jane McArthur, instructors James Brophy and Margaret Keith, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions — in an article published Monday in the Conversation, which shares news and views from the academic and research community.

“Health-care workers are not allowed to talk publicly about their working conditions,” the article states. “They are systematically silenced — disciplined or fired — for speaking out about unsafe working conditions.”

For their study, the researchers conducted anonymous interviews with health-care workers.

“The risk of being infected with COVID-19, the lack of preparedness by governments, little success in arguing for better protection, and being barred from speaking publicly have left health-care workers feeling angry, fearful, and sacrificed,” they found. “The vulnerability and physical and mental health impact on health-care workers also affects health-care delivery to the public.”

The study concludes with recommendations that include:

• Increased staffing levels in Ontario’s hospitals and in long-term care.
• Changes to the workplace culture so health-care workers are heard.
• Strong management support to mitigate mental distress.
• Improved working conditions and personal protective equipment.
• Legislated protection to allow staff to speak without reprisal.

Read the entire piece, “Silenced and sacrificed: COVID-19 health-care workers’ secret suffering unveiled” in the Conversation.

The agreement between the three UWindsor student unions and Transit Windsor that provided all students a bus pass, known as the U-Pass, will be suspended for the Winter 2021 semester.

Students will not be charged for the fall bus pass and do not need to opt out. Those who require a bus pass will be able to purchase one valid from Jan. 1 to Apr. 30 at the post-secondary rate of $269.20 plus a $5.10 photo fee for new activations.

Bus passes will be available for purchase by appointment only in the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance office in room 209 on the second floor of the Student Centre. Appointments may be booked by phone at 519-971-3600. No walk-ins are being permitted at this time.

These passes can be purchased, as well as a 15-day pass and a 30-day pass, at the following Transit Windsor facilities:

• Windsor International Transit Terminal, 300 Chatham St. W., 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
• Transit Centre, 3700 North Service Rd. E., 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday

More information can be found at www.uwsa.ca/services/buspass/.

Focusing on what we have rather than what we lack can boost mental health, the Department of Human Resources says in a message shared with UWindsor faculty and staff Monday.

Its wellness tip suggests ways to foster gratitude over the holidays, including counting your blessings, donating time or goods, and prayer or meditation.

See the full list, drawn from MindWise Innovations.

The Chaplaincy Network has organized an online gathering to pray for students and faculty of the University of Windsor as the Fall 2020 semester comes to an end.

The Campus Community Prayer Night will take place on the Zoom videoconferencing platform on Friday, Dec. 18, at 8 p.m. Registration is required to join. Find details on the event website.