Research & Ideas

Tainted Air

We pull bad food from the shelves as soon as possible, so why aren't we more concerned about poor air quality?

The Paperwork Burden

Helping high schoolers fill out financial aid forms could boost post-secondary enrolment

Professor Ron Deibert (centre) is speaking with a colleague, who is sitting in front of a laptop in the Citizen Lab. Another colleague is looking at notes on the wall behind him.

The New Freedom Fighters

Will the Internet help bring democracy to Iran? Professor Ron Deibert and the Citizen Lab champion free speech and human rights online

Denise Chong has written what she calls “the biography of a gesture” to explore just what drove Lu Decheng to jeopardize his life for a cause he believes in.

Act of Defiance

In her new book, Denise Chong profiles one of the men who, 20 years ago, dared to lob eggs at a portrait of Mao. As Western businesses vie for access to Chinese markets, do such political gestures still matter?

Photo of arabic script on an antique document

Revelations from Qumran

Ancient peoples may have viewed the Dead Sea scrolls much as we see the web – fluid, social and open to change

Illustration of Big Ben split between three photo frames

Computer Vision

Want to know where an unidentified picture was taken? A computer program being developed at U of T can help

Photo of a black child

Africentric Schools

Professor George Dei says parents of black children have been concerned for 30 years that the Toronto school system is not serving their children. “It was time to try a new approach.”

Photo of men on the beach with the aquabot

Aquabot

Engineering students build a robotic "submarine"

Exit Strategy

This fall, the City of Toronto will test a U of T program that offers youths alternatives to gang life

The beginning of the gay rights movement in North America: Christopher Street Liberation Day, New York City, June 28, 1970

Out and Proud

How students, faculty, staff and alumni brought queer activism to the University of Toronto and changed the campus forever

Illustration by James Joyce

Why Smart People Do Stupid Things

Intelligence by itself doesn’t make you rational. Thinking rationally demands mental skills that some of us don’t have and many of us don’t use

Maureen Walter is participating in the Women in Transition program at the Faculty of Law

Women in Law

Some women leave the legal profession to raise a family. A new Faculty of Law program helps them return

Connecting Communities

Investing in high-speed rail and clean electricity could help lift Toronto out of the recession – and set the stage for a sustainable future

Man in a business suit midair trying to catch a football

What’s a CEO Worth?

Rotman dean Roger Martin says executive pay shouldn’t be tied to a company’s stock price, after all

Undermining Staying Power

If a business wants to enjoy the benefits of long-term staying power, it must reject theories built on shareholder value theory and replace them with a theory embedded firmly in the real market

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Alliance Films

Mind Reader

An infrared ray may help caregivers decode the wishes of people with severe paralysis

Photo of an elderly couple smiling

Care for the Aged

Canada faces a shortage of geriatricians for a rapidly greying population, says Dr. Barry Goldlist

Illustration of people sleeping in test tubes

The Science of Sleep

Research is pointing to new treatments for the millions of North Americans who suffer from sleep disorders.

Children sit at a table at the Institute for Child Study

Head of the Class

U of T’s Institute of Child Study has influenced education in Canada for more than 80 years. A visit to the lab school reveals why.

Thirsty Lands

Rod Tennyson’s dream of a trans-African pipeline would bring clean water to millions.

A Healing Spark

A tiny electrode implanted in the brain may help patients with Alzheimer’s disease, depression and other disorders

Image of a cigarette

Third-hand smoke

Toronto Star reported in January that the alarm is sounding over "third-hand smoke"

Illustration of Intelligent Paper

Intelligent Paper

Chemical engineer Ramin Farnood is developing “smart” packaging that could warn consumers if a food product is tainted

Black and white photo of men in hats and trench coats standing in line

The D-Word

Q&A with Walid Hejazi, professor of business economics and international competitiveness at the Rotman School of Management.

An Animated History

Read about the creators of Superman, Betty Boop, Popeye and other animated characters at rarebit.org

Julie Payette

Ms. Universe

Astronaut Julie Payette prepares for her second journey into space

Jack Mandel

A New Era in Public Health

For decades, the medical profession has favoured treatment over prevention. U of T's Dalla Lana School of Public Health is setting out to change that thinking

Illustration of a computer with A+ written on a sheet on it

Stolen Words

The Internet has made plagiarizing easier than ever. But detection methods have gone high-tech, too.

Healing the Heart

Specially engineered tissue patches could help heart attack patients fully recover

Finch and Weston apartments

Tower Power

Toronto mayor picks up U of T plan to green, preserve and beautify the city's highrises

Up Against Google

With BlogScope, a U of T computer science group is taking on the search titan in the realm of public opinion

Illustration of a baton pass in a relay, where the baton is a test tube

Wiki Science

Faster and more open collaboration among scientists could yield a wealth of discoveries

Photo of a building with solar panels on the roof

Sunnier Days

High energy prices are giving solar cells a new-found lustre

Wii controller

Wii-hab

Jo-Anne Marcuz is using Nintendo’s Wii video game system to help kids in recovery

portable blood device

Blood Work

Portable device would offer hospitals a quicker way to test patients for infectious diseases

Big Blue

U of T and IBM are assembling Canada's most powerful supercomputer

Home Smart Home

Professor Alex Mihailidis is designing an "intelligent" house that will help dementia sufferers