Armin Smailhodzic (smile-HO'-chih-itch) developed a smartphone app that uses Twitter data to track the virus. Western says the app could predict the spread of the virus.
Smailhodzic began working on the app as part of his master's thesis in the homeland security program at Western.
Initially, he wanted to track Twitter data to gather information about political unrest in the Middle East. Then, Western chemistry professor Cathleen Webb suggested using the idea to track Ebola.
Smailhodzic, a Bosnia native, says they were surprised to find so much information being shared on Twitter.
The Ebola Project app is available in the App Store for iOS and the Google Store for Android devices.
