Research

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

University of Toronto-led study provides new insight into photosynthesis

Author: 
Sean Bettam
Picture: 

Pigments found in plants and purple bacteria employed to provide protection from sun damage do more than just that. Researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Glasgow have found that they also help to harvest light energy during photosynthesis.

Posted Thursday, April 4, 2013

Pioneering physicist Richard Peltier wins Killam Prize

Sub-title: 
Director of Centre for Global Change Science
Author: 
Jenny Hall
Picture: 
photo of University Professor Dick Peltier

University of Toronto physicist Dick Peltier is the winner of one of five 2013 Killam Prizes, given in honour of his career achievement in science.

The $100,000 prize from the Canada Council for the Arts recognizes his pioneering scholarship, which has shaped our understanding of Earth’s interconnected systems—and of the threat we face due to global warming.

Peltier has been a leader in the establishment of the interdisciplinary field of Earth System Science.

Posted Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Scientists find government justification for new environmental policy unfounded

Sub-title: 
No evidence environmental reviews are slow or inefficient, study finds
Author: 
Sean Bettam
Picture: 
photo of a pipeline running over a stream in the countryside

The Canadian government's efforts to curb the time allowed for environmental reviews over fears of adverse impact on economic development are misguided and unnecessary, says new research from the University of Toronto.

Instead, the federal government’s changes will only weaken environmental protection and not expedite economic growth, the scientists said.

Posted Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A Practitioner's Guide to Nudging

Sub-title: 
Rotman School offers some tips
Author: 
Ken McGuffin
Picture: 
photo of Professor Dilip Soman

A new guide from a team of behaviour economists at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management aims to help practitioners develop effective "nudges".

Drawing on research on this area of behaviour economics, the guide demonstrates how nudging influences behaviour by changing the way choices are presented in the environment.

Posted Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Nick Eyles explores "the country of our defeat"

Sub-title: 
Geologist offers tour of The Land Between
Author: 
Don Campbell
Picture: 
photo of Nick Eyles in the desert

University of Toronto Scarborough Professor Nick Eyles enjoys taking viewers on a geologic journey. As host of the five-part CBC documentary Geologic Journey II he explored some of the most breathtaking and geologically significant sites in the world.

You can now watch him on a new documentary airing on TVO called The Land Between where he explores a unique stretch of land separating the Canadian Shield from the St. Lawrence Lowlands. 

Posted Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The grooviest words of medieval times

Sub-title: 
Software uses popular words to date documents
Author: 
Jessica Lewis
Picture: 
photo of Gelila Tilahun

From hepcat to slacks, from right on to whassup, words and phrases have helped novelists and filmmakers evoke a particular time or place.

Now, researchers at the University of Toronto have developed software that can carefully and reliably determine the dates of medieval British documents based on the appearance of popular words or phrases.

Posted Monday, April 1, 2013

How to build a really, really big star

Sub-title: 
It takes a village, say researchers
Author: 
Johannes Hirn
Picture: 
photo of

Stars 10 times as massive as the Sun, or more, should not exist: as they grow, they tend to push away the gas they feed on, starving their own growth.

Scientists have been struggling to figure out how some stars overcome this hurdle.

Now, a group of researchers led by two astronomers at the University of Toronto suggests that baby stars may grow to great mass if they happen to be born within a corral of older stars –with these surrounding stars favorably arranged to confine and feed gas to the younger ones in their midst.

Posted Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Mats Sundin surprises local elementary school kids with a visit

Sub-title: 
Hockey star helps U of T raise awareness of childhood obesity
Author: 
Suniya Kukaswadia and April Kemick
Picture: 
photo of Mats Sundin playing ball hockey with kids

Hockey legend Mats Sundin surprised students at a Toronto elementary school this week, serving them a wholesome breakfast and playing ball hockey.

The visit to the Duke of Connaught Junior and Senior Public School was part of a campaign to help raise awareness about childhood obesity, a problem Sundin is fighting by working with the University of Toronto’s Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development.

Posted Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Go ahead, lean in if you like but it still helps to be male

Sub-title: 
Study finds men benefit more than women from authority on the job
Author: 
Kim Luke
Picture: 
photo of men in business suits walking down the street

Having more authority in the workplace comes with many rewards – including greater forms of job control and higher earnings – but University of Toronto research says those benefits are not evenly distributed for women and men.

Posted Tuesday, March 26, 2013
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