Engineering

Meet U of T's Inventors of the Year

Author: 
Jenny Hall
Picture: 
photo of Inventor of the Year winners and U of T administrators

Dietary advice tailored to your DNA and a “bio-printer” that prints skin-like tissue that can be used to dress wounds are two inventions that might change your life in coming years.

They’re also two of 10 inventions whose creators were celebrated May 15 at the University of Toronto’s 2013 Inventors of the Year ceremony.

Posted Friday, May 17, 2013

U of T researchers identify 10 dangerous cardiac 'hot spots' in Toronto

Sub-title: 
U of T researchers determine where best to place defibrillators, identify under-serviced areas
Author: 
Terry Lavender
Picture: 
close-up of an AED defibrillator

Those with a history of heart disease should stay clear of the Queen and Bay Street area.

It's one of the public places in Toronto where most heart attacks occur, yet it's out of reach from life-saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs), according to new research from U of T.

Posted Friday, May 3, 2013

From the pitcher's mound to the world of medicine

Sub-title: 
Meet alumnus Ron Taylor
Author: 
Angela Pirisi
Picture: 
photo of Ron Taylor's baseball card

For Blue Jays fans, images of the back-to-back World Series championships are still vivid.

There was the near triple play in the ’92 Atlanta Braves series, denied by a call. Roberto Alomar’s golden glove. The lightning speed of Devon White. Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to clinch the ’93 title.

As the team’s physician, University of Toronto alumnus Ron Taylor saw them all — from the bench.

Posted Tuesday, April 30, 2013

U of T’s robots crawl, swim and fly across the MarsDome

Author: 
Deb Hazlewood
Picture: 
photo of robots inside U of T's MarsDome testing facility

The robots came in all shapes and sizes to crawl, swim and fly at University of Toronto’s Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) and York University.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council held its Canadian Field Robotics Network (NCFRN) field trials at U of T and York April 17–23. The event featured talks and presentations, workshops, networking events and opportunities for collaborative fieldwork and demonstrations.

Posted Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship selects architect

Sub-title: 
New building targeted to open in 2016
Author: 
Terry Lavender
Picture: 
photo of students in the Engineering Hatchery

The University of Toronto Engineering's new Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CEIE) has moved one step closer with the selection of Toronto-based Montgomery Sisam Architects (MSA) and U.K.-based Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios as architects for the new building.

Posted Thursday, April 25, 2013

Like Rosey from the Jetsons but better dressed

Sub-title: 
Celebrating the Institute for Robotics and Mechatronics
Picture: 
photo of robot serving snack

The appetizers may have been organic, but the server was mechanical at a reception held April 15 to celebrate the University of Toronto Engineering's Institute for Robotics & Mechatronics.

The robot serving appetizers was just the latest example of creativity from the Institute, established in 2010 to bring focus on research and education in the fields of robotics and mechatronics. 

Posted Wednesday, April 24, 2013

U of T spinoff company raises 873% of funding for tiny, smarter keyboard

Sub-title: 
Whirlscape closes Indiegogo campaign
Picture: 
Photo of a smartphone showing the tiny keyboard

The Indiegogo campaign for Minuum, “the little keyboard for big fingers,” created by the University of Toronto startup Whirlscape Inc., has closed after raising $87,369 in one month.

Whirlscape reached its initial goal — $10,000 to fund the launch of an Android keyboard app — within 14 hours of launching the campaign on March 18. Its video has now been viewed more than 1.1 million times.

Posted Friday, April 19, 2013

Steve Mann hosts Intelligent Community Forum

Author: 
Marit Mitchell
Picture: 
Three men playing a musical instrument that is a tube with water shooting out.

Delegates from the Intelligent Community Forum were treated to a water show when they visited the lab of University of Toronto professor Steve Mann in a greenhouse atop the Faculty of Forestry building April 17.

The group was led by Robert Bell, co-founder of the New York-based forum, and included members from Waterfront Toronto, Cisco, IBM, Beanfield Metroconnect, Element Blue and Telus. Bell was in Toronto conducting two days of site visits to evaluate Toronto’s place as a leading 21st century community.

Posted Thursday, April 18, 2013

Tiny U of T vehicle returns from Eco-marathon

Sub-title: 
'Supermileage' team determined to make an impact in 2014
Author: 
Terry Lavender
Picture: 
The supermileage team in Houston

High expectations. That’s what Mengqi Wang has for the University of Toronto Supermileage Team in 2014.

“I'm very proud of this team. We faced a multitude of challenges over the last year or so, and there were times we were worried about the future of the project," said Wang. "But despite all that every member put in their utmost, and helped the team pull through to the end."

Posted Friday, April 12, 2013

Accidental discovery by U of T researchers may lead to improved polymers

Sub-title: 
Possible implications for products including toys, adhesives, medical implants
Author: 
Terry Lavender
Picture: 
Headshot of Professor Tim Bender

An accidental discovery by U of T chemical engineering professor Tim Bender and post-doctoral fellow Benoit Lessard could result in a new way of manufacturing products ranging from sealants and adhesives to toys and medical implants.

The team discovered an unexpected side product of polymer synthesis that could have implications for the manufacture of commercial polymers:

Posted Friday, April 5, 2013
Syndicate content