View Current Research Descriptions (with examples of student projects)
View Student Research Presentations
Summer 2024
A HUGE contingent of Rehse group students attended the Canadian Association of Physics annual congress in London, Ontario, Canada this summer. Below is a photo of the students at there presentations (retrievable by clicking on the link above.).
From left to right are: Jasmine Saad (3rd Year, Medical Physics); Mila Vasquez (1st Year, Medical Physics); Abdullah Mustafa (1st Year, Medical Physics); Lauren Dmytrow (1st Year, Medical Physics); Caroline Alionte (4th year, Medical Physics); Hadia Malik (4th year, Medical Physics); Nick Bolton (4th Year, Physics & Computer Science, Combined Honours); Rachel Chevalier (3rd Year, Biology and Biochemistry); Isabella Arthur (4th year, Biomedical Science).
Members of the rehse group relaxing at the conference banquet with other UWindsor students.
Working in the lab this summer are Abdullah Mustafa and Lauren Dmytrow.
Fall / Winter 2023-24
A very large group of students is working in the Rehse Biomedical Physics Research Laboratory this year.
From left to right are: Simona Brezeanu (1st year, Biomedical Science); Jasmine Saad (3rd Year, Medical Physics); Jasmine Fric (1st year, Biomedical Science); August Baughan (4thYear, Medical Physics); Isabella Arthur (4th year, Biomedical Science); Caroline Alionte (4th year, Medical Physics); Hadia Malik (4th year, Medical Physics); Lauren Dmytrow (1st Year, Medical Physics); Rachel Chevalier (3rd Year, Biology and Biochemistry); Mila Vasquez (1st Year, Medical Physics); Abdullah Mustafa (1st Year, Medical Physics); Nick Bolton (4th Year, Physics & Computer Science, Combined Honours.)
May, 2023
Congratulations to the 2023 Physics Board of Governors Medal Recipient: Ms. Emily Tracey, B.Sc. (Honours, Medical Physics)
Emily was the recipient of this medal for being the Physics graduate with the highest GPA in her graduating class. Along with her academic excellence, Emily was active in research in the Rehse lab for 3 years, was an executive and active volunteer in the Physics Club, and was a recipient of the prestigious Dr. Lucjan Krause Undergraduate Scholarship in Physics. Congratulations, Emily!
December, 2022
Congratulations to our newest Master's recipient: Ms. Emma Blanchette, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Emma defended her thesis, "Detection and Diagnosis of Bacterial Pathogens in Blood and Urine Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy," on Tuesday, December 13th, 2022. Emma's committee consisted of Dr. Rehse (advisor), Professor Andrew Hubberstey (Biomedical Science), and Professor TJ Hammond (Physics). Way to go, Emma!
Master's Student Emma Blanchette Receives Honourable Mention in Student Poster Competition at SciX
Emma attended the “Great Scientific Exchange” SciX 2022 conference in Covington, Kentucky, along the banks of the Ohio river across from downtown Cincinnati. She presented her poster, “Developments in the Rapid Diagnosis of Bacterial Pathogens Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy,” on Sunday, October 2nd 2022 at the SAS student poster competition and on Tuesday, October 4th during the NASLIBS poster session. Emma’s poster was selected from among many participants to receive an “Honorable Mention” distinction. Shown below are Emma presenting her poster and receiving her award.
4th Year Honours Medical Physics Student Emily Tracey Receives SAS Student Travel Award at SciX2022
Emily attended the “Great Scientific Exchange” SciX 2022 conference in Covington, Kentucky, along the banks of the Ohio river across from downtown Cincinnati. She presented her poster, “Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Emission Enhancement from Bacteria on a Silver Thin Film,” on Sunday, October 2nd 2022 at the SAS student poster competition. After the poster session, Emily was awarded one of only four Society for Applied Spectroscopy “Undergraduate Student Travel Awards” valued at $300USD to support her travel to the conference. Emily was also given the opportunity to present her work in an oral presentation entitled, “Pulsed Laser Deposition of a Silver Film For Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Emission Enhancement of Bacteria,” on Tuesday, October 4th. Shown below are Emily presenting her poster, giving her talk, and receiving her award.
Fall, 2022
The Fall of 2022 sees two non-physics majors join the research group to assist us in the microbiological preparation work.
From left to right are: Caroline Alionte (3rd year, Medical Physics); Isabella Arthur (3rd year, Biomedical Science); Hadia Malik (3rd year, Medical Physics); Emily Tracey (4th year, Medical Physics); MSc student Emma Blanchette; August Baughan (3rd Year, Medical Physics). Rachel Chevalier (2nd Year, Biology and Biochemistry); Jasmine Saad (2nd Year, Medical Physics.)
Summer, 2022
This summer, three physics undergraduate students and one M.Sc. student are performing research in the Rehse lab. All three undergraduates are supported by prestigious and competetive NSERC USRA summer scholarships (thank you, NSERC!) which provides them with financial support over the summer. Graduate students are supported through Dr. Rehse's NSERC Discovery Grant.
All the students attended the 2022 Canadian Association of Physicists Congress (McMaster University) from June 5th to 9th, 2022, where they were treated to, among other things, a talk by Canadian Nobel Prize winning Physicist Dr. Donna Strickland, only the third woman in history to ever receive a Nobel Prize in Physics. Shown from the left: 4rd year student Emily Tracey (Honours Medical Physics), 3rd year student Grace Johnson (Honours Physics), 3rd year student August Baughan (Honours Medical Physics), MSc student Emma Blanchette (Physics), Professor Rehse. All the students presented their research and links to that work can be found above.
Fall, 2021
The Fall of 2021 sees a record number of student working in and with the Research group.
M.Sc. student Emma Blanchette continues her research into the use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, but extending it into the analysis of clinical samples obtained in collaboration with the Windsor Regional Hospital. Emma is joined in the lab by: 4th year students Alayna Tieu (Honours Physics and Computer Science) and Haiqa Arain (Honours Physics); 3rd year students Emily Tracey (Honours Medical Physics), Chloe Clement (Honours Physics), and Caroline Alionte (Honours Medical Physics); and 2nd year students August Baughan (Honours Medical Physics), Grace Johnson (Honours Physics with co-op), Hadia Malik (Honours Medical Physics), and Isabella Arthur (Honours Biology and Biochemistry). We are thrilled to be working with a Biology/Biochemistry student who we all hope will quickly become our resident expert in all issues microbiological.
Physics student Emma Blanchette selected for Best Student Paper Award at international conference!
UWindsor physics MSc student Emma Blanchette (BSc Honours Physics, 2021) recently won the Best Student Paper Award at the 48th IEEE International Conference on Plasma Science. This conference was held virtually September 12 to 16.
Emma’s talk entitled, “The use of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for bacterial detection, quantification, and identification,” was chosen from amongst all student submissions to compete in a special live virtual student competition session with 11 other students from all over the world. Her paper and presentation were selected to be one of two winners out of this group of finalists, earning her the award, which comes with a certificate and a $500 USD cash prize. She was also recognized publically at a special award presentation ceremony on Wednesday, September 15th.
Emma describes her work this way: “I am investigating a laser-based technique to detect and diagnose bacterial infections, potentially in minutes. Because this technique is so fast, it has a lot of potential for improving patient outcomes, reducing death rates, and stopping the antibiotic resistance crisis. Our advancements in this field could make laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy a very important medical diagnostic tool in the future.”
Blanchette, who also recently took second place in the Best Student Poster Presentation competition at the Canadian Association of Physicists annual congress, works in the lab of Steve Rehse, and is a former recipient of the 2020 Lucjan Krause Scholarship in the Department of Physics.
A video of Emma presenting her talk is provided here. A link to a PDF copy of the presentation slides is provided here.
Summer, 2021
The Rehse Lab has Returned to WORK!
This summer, four physics undergraduate students are performing research in the Rehse lab. From the left: 3rd year student Griffin Howson (Combined Honours Physics and Mathematics), Professor Rehse, 4th year student Haiqa Arain (Honours Physics), Emma Blanchette (BSc Physics, 2021), and 3rd year student Emily Tracey (Honours Medical Physics). Haiqa, Emma, and Emily are supported by NSERC USRA summer scholarships. Thank you, NSERC!
Haiqa Arain presented a paper at the 2021 Canadian Association of Physicists Congress entitled, “The Use of Silver Microparticles for Spectrum Emission Enhancement During Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy of Bacterial Specimens.” This paper was authored by Haiqa Arain, Emma J. Blanchette, Sydney C. Sleiman, Alayna Tieu, Chloe Clement, Griffin Howson, Emily Tracey, Jeremy Marvin, and Steven J. Rehse. Haiqa presented this talk virtually on Thursday June 10, 2021 by submitting a pre-recorded video of the presentation. A video of this presentation may be viewed by clicking on the image.
Emma Blanchette of the University of Windsor Department of Physics presented a poster at the 2021 Canadian Association of Physicists Congress entitled, “Quantification of Sensitivity and Specificity in a Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Diagnostic Assay for Pathogenic Bacteria Detection and Classification.” This poster was authored by Emma J. Blanchette, Sydney C. Sleiman, Haiqa Arain, Alayna Tieu, Chloe Clement, Griffin Howson, Emily Tracey, Jeremy Marvin, and Steven J. Rehse. Emma presented this poster virtually on Wednesday June 9, 2021. A video of Emma describing her research is provided here.
Fall, 2020
Congratulations to our newest Master's recipient: Mr. Jeremy Marvin, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Jeremy (shown with Professor Rehse at left attending a lecture at the 2019 CAP Congress) defended his thesis, "Signal Optimization and Enhancement of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Discrimination of Bacterial Organisms " on Thursday, December 10th, 2020. Jeremy's committee consisted of Professor Drew Marquardt (Chemistry/Biochemistry), Dr. Rehse (advisor), and Professor Elena Maeva (Physics). Way to go, Jeremy!
The Great COVID-shutdown of 2020 has not stopped the Rehse Lab. Research is resuming, albeit slowly, on the campus of the University of Windsor.
The Rehse Research Group has received authorization to resume research on campus following University-approved safety protocols. Along with that on campus work, the research continues at home, inlcuding plenty of Microsoft Teams meetings. Shown below is the first research meeting of the Fall.
Top row, L to R. Emma Blanchette (4th Year, Physics); Haiqa Arain (3rd Year, Physics); Chloe Clement (2nd Year, Physics).
Second row, L to R. Emily Tracey (2nd Year, Medical Physics); Hadia Malik (1st Year, Medical Physics).
Third row, L to R. Jeremy Marvin (graduate student); Alayna Tieu (3rd Year, Physics & Computer Science); Sydney Sleiman (4th Year, Medical Physics).
Fourth Row. Griffin Howson (2nd Year, Physics.)
Summer, 2020
The Great COVID-shutdown of 2020 has not stopped the Rehse Lab.
NSERC USRA summer student Emma Blanchette presented her poster, "Signal Optimization and Chemometric Analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Bacterial Spectra to Quantify Detection Limits and Improve Classification Accuracy" by Emma J. Blanchette, Sydney C. Sleiman, Jeremy C. Marvin, Haiqa Arain, Archie M. Martinez, Alayna Tieu, Steven J. Rehse. This poster was presented virtually at the Canadian Association of Physicists annual Congress, June 2020. While the face to face poster session was cancelled, Emma presented our group's research to develop a nearly real-time medical test for the diagnosis of pathogenic bacteria by taking the virtual audience through this poster. The presentation has been posted on YouTube and can be viewed by clicking here or on the picture of Emma. A PDF copy of the poster may be viewed by clicking here or on the picture of the poster.
Graduate student Jeremy Marvin (working toward his M.Sc.) gave an oral presentation entitled "Signal Optimization and Chemometric Analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Bacterial Spectra to Quantify Detection Limits and Improve Classification Accuracy" at the 1st International Online Meeting on LIBS, a virtual conference held from July th to July 8th, 2020. Jeremy's talk was presented in a session entitled, "Bio applications - Detection of COVID-19". The presentation can be viewed by clicking here or on the picture of the slide at the left.
Haiqa Arain will be performing work this summer thanks to a grant received from the Univeristy of Windsor (UWindsor Research Internship). This will allow her to continue her investigation of chemometric strategies to differentiate pathogenic bacteria based on their LIBS spectra.
Second year students Griffin Howson (right) and Abbey Richer (unpictured) applied for Mitacs Research Training Internships and will be starting research investigations into the spectrometer and laser systems utilized in the Rehse lab.
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Academic Year, 2019-2020
Six students are doing placements in the Rehse lab during the 2019-2020 term. Shown below in the lab in the picture on the left are (from left): Second year student Haiqa Arain, graduate student Jeremy Marvin, third year student Sydney Sleiman, thrid year student Emma Blanchette, second year student Alayna Tieu. Shown below in the picture on the right at the annual Holiday party are (from left): second year student Haiqa Arain, third year student Emma Blanchette, second year studnet Archie Martinez (graduate student Jeremy Marvin is partially cropped.)
Summer 2019
Five students are doing placements in the Rehse lab during the Summer 2019 term. Shown below at left: third year Sydney Sleiman and third year Emma Blanchette. Right: recent graduate (B.Sc., Physics) Paul Dubovan.
M.Sc. student Jeremy Marvin. Second year student Archie Martinez is unpictured.
Congratulations to the undergraduate degree recipients from the Rehse lab!
Three students from the Rehse lab graduated this Spring (May 2019) and all three received great recognition.
Shown at the left are Robert Valente (B.Sc., Honours Physics and Mathematics) Graduating with Great Distinction and Christopher Heath (B.Sc., Honours Physics and Computer Science.) Graduating with Great Distinction.
Both Robert and Chris were recipients of the University's very prestigious "Board of Governors Medals". These medals are awarded to that student who achieved the highest grade point average in his or her department or unit. Robert Valente received this medal from both the Department of Physics and the Department of Mathematics & Statistics. Chris Heath received this medal from the School of Computer Science.
Shown at right is Paul Dubovan (B.Sc. Honours Physics (Honours Medical Physics)) Graduating with Great Distinction. Paul is wearing a LEAD Medallion Scholars medalllion. This medallion is awarded to students who have demonstrated Leadership in on-campus and off-campus organizations, Engagement through Service Learning or Study Abroad, Application through an internship or co-op program, and Discovery through undergraduate research.
Congratulations to our newest Master's recipient: Ms. Allie Paulick, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Allie (shown second from right) defended her thesis, "Development of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy as a Rapid Diagnostic Tool for Bacterial Infection" on Thursday, December 13th, 2018. Allie's committee consisted of Professor Andrew Hubberstey (Biological Sciences), Dr. Rehse (advisor), and Professor Dan Xiao (Physics). Way to go, Allie!
Fall 2018
Seven students are doing placements in the Rehse lab during the 2018/2019 academic year. Far left: (L to R) are second year Outstanding Scholar Sydney Sleiman, fourth year Outstanding Scholar Chris Heath, M.Sc. student Jeremy Marvin, second year Outstanding Scholar Emma Blanchette, M.Sc. student Allie Paulick, fourth year Outstanding Scholar Paul Dubovan, and fourth year Right: Outstanding Scholar Robert Valente.
Their projects are:
- Dubovan: Investigation of laser-induced fluorescence in singly-ionized zinc in a rarified argon environment.
- Valente: Emission enhancement in dual-pulse and resonance-enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.
- Paulick: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy as a rapid diagnostic tool for bacterial detection and discrimination (finishing her M.Sc.).
- Heath: Spectroscopic techniques in determining the elemental composition of fish otoliths and design/coding of spectra analysis software.
- Sleiman/Blanchett: Determining the efficacy of LIBS when applied to the analysis of specimens collected with clinical swabs.
- Marvin: (starting his M.Sc.) Continuation of efforts to make LIBS a practical clinical diagnostic technology.
Summer 2018
Five students are doing placements in the Rehse lab during the Summer 2018 term. From left to right are fourth year Paul Dubovan, fourth year NSERC USRA recipient Robert Valente , M.Sc. student Allie Paulick, fourth year NSERC USRA recipient Christopher Heath, and third year NSERC USRA recipient Doris Rusu.
Their projects are:
- Dubovan: Investigation of laser-induced fluorescence in singly-ionized zinc in a rarified argon environment.
- Valente: Emission enhancement in dual-pulse and resonance-enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.
- Paulick: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy as a rapid diagnostic tool for bacterial detection and discrimination.
- Heath: Spectroscopic techniques in determining the elemental composition of fish otoliths.
- Rusu: Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for rapid bacterial classification.
Fall 2017
Six students are currently working in the Rehse lab for the 2017-20187 academic year. From left: Second year Outstanding Scholar Kevin Beaugrand, third year Outstanding Scholar Paul Dubovan, M.Sc. student Allie Paulick, third year Outstanding Scholar Christopher Heath, third year Outstanding Scholar Robert Valente, second year Outstanding Scholar Mark Armstrong.
Summer 2017
Congratulations to Beau Greaves
Congratulations to the latest graduate of the Rehse group. Beau Greaves received his Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Honours Physics (Medical Physics) with Thesis. Beau performed his undergraduate thesis work in the Rehse Lab, and his thesis entitled, "Optical Emission Enhancement of a Laser Induced Plasma with a Tuneable Optical Parametric Oscillator Pulsed Laser," can be obtained by clicking on the link below. Beau is off to the University of Guelph to continue his physics studies. We wish Beau all the best in the future and thank him for the great time he put in working in the Rehse Lab.
2016-2017
Six students are currently working in the Rehse lab for the 2016-2017 academic year. From left: M.Sc. student Allie Paulick, second year Outstanding Scholar Paul Dubovan, second year Outstanding Scholar Christopher Heath, fourth year thesis student Beau Greaves, third year Outstandig Scholar Erica Rustico, second year Outstanding Scholar Courtney Jones.
Summer 2016
Congratulations to Dylan Malenfant, our newest M.Sc.
Congratulations to the latest graduate of the Rehse Group, Mr. Dylan Malenfant who successfully defended his Master's Thesis, "Influences on the Emissions of Bacterial Plasmas Generated through Nanosecond Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy." A copy of Dylan's thesis may be obtained by clicking on the link below. Dylan is on his way to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics at McMaster University. Shown above is Dylan with Dr. Rehse after the Fall 2016 Convocation.
Four students are working in the Rehse Laboratory during the summer of 2016. From Left: Chris Heath is a second-year NSERC USRA scholarship winner. Dylan Malenfant is a Master's student who will be defending this summer. Beau Greaves is a fourth-year thesis student (medical physics). Allie Paulick is a Master's student starting in the Fall of 2016. All four are shown in the specimen preparation laboratory.
Congratulations to 2016 Graduates
Numerous students who have passed through the Rehse lab in recent years celebrated graduation at the 2016 Spring Convocations. Shown are Cyrus Cercauskas, Alexandra Paulick, Justine Cunningham, Anthony Piazza, and Vlora Riberdy.
2015-2016
The weekly lunch group meeting. Counter-clockwise, from the right: Outstanding Scholar (2rd Year) Alex Leigh; Outstanding Scholar (2nd Year) Jake Burling; Outstanding Scholar (4th Year) Vlora Riberdy; Outstanding Scholar (4th Year) Allie Paulick; (4th year) Alex Chesnick; graduate student Dylan Malenfant; Outstanding Scholar (4th Year) Anthony Piazza.
Summer 2015
Welcome to Siddharth Doshi, a MITACS GlobalLink scholar from the Vellore Institute of Technology in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. Siddharth is a 4th Year Biotechnology student who is working on a 12-week project to better understand the inorganic composition of bacterial cells, as determined in our biomedical LIBS measurements.
For the summer of 2015, M.Sc. student Dylan Malenfant (right) continues his graduate studies, while 4th Year undergraduates Vlora Riberdy (left) and Anthony Piazza (center) are both supported by NSERC USRA scholarships to continue their Outstanding Scholars projects. The three are shown around the poster of Piazza and Malenfant at the 2015 CAP Congress in Edmonton.
2014-2015
The weekly lunch group meeting. From left to right, Outstanding Scholar (3rd Year) Vlora Riberdy; Outstanding Scholar (2nd Year) Allie Paulick; graduate student Dylan Malenfant; Outstanding Scholar (3rd Year) Anthony Piazza; Outstanding Scholar (4th Year) Derek Gillies.
Congratulations to Russell Putnam for defending his M.Sc. thesis, "Recent Advances in the Measurement of Rare-Earth Metal Transition Probabilities Using Laser-Induced Plasmas," in December of 2014! A copy of Russell's thesis may be obtained by clicking on the link below. Shown here is Russell after the defense with his girlfriend and family.
Students (from left) Anthony Piazza, Vlora Riberdy, and Derek Gillies are shown here investigating a Halloween "Murder at the Juice Joint" Party on October 30th, 2014.
The "tough as nails" private-eye Detective Pinkerton (Piazza), standing literally over a murder victim, is shown here taking command of a very shocking situation while Professor Drake and Professor Rangan look on. (Note: all the alcohol and tobacco products shown are fake-props only!)
Everyone is a suspect!
Through diligent sleuthing and clever deduction (all valuable physics skills!) the students were able to uncover the murderer: their very own advisor, Dr. Rehse!
The students are also involved with the Physics Club "Welcome Week" activities. Here they are entertaining incoming students at the Science Society Barbecue. Shown are Derek, Vlora, and Master's student Dylan Malenfant.
Summer 2014
M.Sc. student Dylan Malenfant (B.Sc. UWindsor, 2014) joins the Rehse group in May of 2014 and will carry on the group's work on LIBS-based pathogen identification.
Helping Dylan come up to speed on this project is UWindsor co-op student Derek Gillies (4th year UWindsor) who is continuing some of the studies he initiated during his 2013-2014 Outstanding Scholars placement.
M.Sc. student Russell Putnam is finishing up his studies on the use of laser-induced plasmas to make laboratory astrophysics measurements and plans to defends his thesis in the Fall of 2014. Russell has won numerous awards at a variety of conferences both Canadian and international.
Russell Putnam is shown explaining a poster and delivering an award-winning lecture.