Research & Ideas | U of T Magazine - Part 5

Natalie Enright Jerger, a professor of electrical and computer engineering is one of the first recipients of the Percy Edward Hart Professorship, worth $225,000 over three years.

Giving Younger Academics a Boost

The Hart Professorships support the next generation of engineering research pioneers Read More

Photo of lock and credit card to indicate security

Forensic Accountants Fight Back Against Fraud

U of T Mississauga aims to create global champions in the battle against white-collar crime Read More

Blue J Legal co-founders (from left) Brett Jansen, Anthony Niblett and Benjamin Alarie got a head start for their machine-learning legal software at the Rotman School’s Creative Destruction Lab

Helping Machine-Learning Startups Succeed

Artificial intelligence could soon transform almost everything. The Rotman School’s Creative Destruction Lab will place U of T entrepreneurs at the forefront Read More

As the founding director of U of T’s Centre for South Asian Civilizations, Shafique Virani wants to help people learn about a variety of cultures and religions

Overcoming Bias with Teaching

Professor Shafique Virani says the key to countering Islamophobia is education Read More

The Beauty of Language

Reading Canadian fiction and poetry helps us understand our own experience and that of others Read More

The English of a Millennium Ago

Now at “H,” the Dictionary of Old English aims to define every word from the language’s earliest days Read More

Lowering Barriers to Higher Ed

Helping high school students apply to college and university leads to higher enrolment, study finds Read More

Illustration of a boy's head with an extra long nose (Pinocchio) and a speech bubble with an

Post-Truth Politics

When lying becomes an acceptable political strategy Read More

Can Artificial Intelligence Solve the Mystery of Genetic Disease?

Prof. Brendan Frey and his team are harnessing machine learning to figure out what makes us sick Read More

Illustration of an open box with a bikini set, sunscreen lotion bottle and

Making Money Out of Thin Air

U of T startup Exact Media finds a way to turn excess space into a business Read More

Photo of a group of protesters, one speaking through a loudspeaker and one holding a sign (

Black and Blue

How do we restore trust between minority communities and police? Read More

Photo of a woman in a yoga pose on a mat

Let’s Get Physical

U of T professor Peter Donnelly is tracking the physical activities multicultural Torontonians enjoy Read More

Photo of a child playing in front of a cooking fire

Of Hearth and Home – and Health

A simple U of T innovation could help prevent burns among millions of children in the Global South Read More

Exploring Northern Communities

U of T alumni connect with First Nations people in northern Ontario Read More

Looking for a Good Wine and Cheese Pairing?

A U of T scientist uses data to find the perfect match Read More

Does your name predestine who you will become? Alumna Mavis Himes offers an answer to this and many other name-related questions. Photo by Pierre Gautreau Photography.

What Does Your Name Say about You?

Alumna Mavis Himes delves into the hidden meanings and social weight of what we call ourselves Read More

Engineering PhD student Justin Kim has built nine robots not much larger than your thumb that exhibit

The Wisdom of Crowds

PhD student Justin Kim is working on intelligent “swarming” robots that could one day help rescue earthquake survivors and explore other planets Read More

Tomi Poutanen (MASc 1998, MBA 1999), is a fellow at the Rotman School's Creative Destruction Lab.

Getting to Know You

How Tomi Poutanen is using artificial intelligence to help companies learn more about their customers’ preferences Read More

A collaboration between U of T and community group Cabbagetown Releaf hopes to inspire people across Toronto care for their neighbourhood's trees.

An Army of Tree Lovers

U of T’s Faculty of Forestry is teaching Torontonians how to care for one of the city’s most valuable resources – its trees Read More

Illustration of a man with the shadow of a boy in a hospital room

The Hidden Epidemic

Prof. Esme Fuller-Thomson researches the devastating effects of child abuse on health. Now she wants to ensure all survivors get the help they need Read More

Child Abuse Might Be Linked to Cancer

Chances of developing health problems are greater for childhood abuse survivors Read More

Photo of Chris Primerano and Heather Shanahan sitting in front of a computer screen displaying the game

A Mystery Intruder at UTM?

A new mobile game helps orient first-year students to the Mississauga campus Read More

Helping Undergrads Refine Their Skills

New feedback tools from engineering will help students home in on weaknesses – and strengths Read More

Illustration of a metal can with a poison symbol sitting on its side on top of a field of flowers

Hungry for Hazardous Waste

How pollution-eating microbes could help clean up toxic sites Read More

Photo of a stack of newspapers with the headline

Investigating Media Bias

Visible minority political candidates get short shrift from newspapers, study finds Read More

Photo of the Bosco Verticale displaying different levels of balconies with trees and plants growing

Vertical Forest

Can skyscraper condos be turned into lush green spaces? Read More

Illustration of a woman running ahead of another with the ground in front broken apart

The Risk of Innovating First

How should companies respond to technological disruption? Read More

Brewed to a T

Using robotic technology, an engineering student lets tea drinkers create their perfect cuppa Read More

When Memory Fails

Understanding how we learn and make memories will lead to better treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, says Brain Prize winner Graham Collingridge Read More

Selfie photo of a woman holding a coffee cup in the middle of a street

Know Thy Selfie

Think you take great pics of yourself? Think again Read More

Photo of a hand holding a cell phone over a portable card machine

The Cost of “Painless” Payment

Making purchases by card and smartphone instead of cash changes our perception of value – and that could spell trouble Read More

Two photos shot in a studio against a light grey background: Kinnon MacKinnon (left), in a white and grey-polka-dotted short-sleeved, button-up shirt and black-framed glasses with a tattoo on his left bicep, and Cassandra Williams, in a black T-shirt with a white print illustration, wearing a lip ring and her long brown hair draped over one shoulder.

Generation T

For trans students at U of T, the fight for rights and equality is about much more than just washrooms Read More

Redefining Gender

These days, talking about sex and gender can involve a lot of specialized terms. Here’s a guide Read More

Partners in Transition

Prof. Elspeth Brown is interviewing partners of trans people as part of a project to record the stories of LGBTQ people Read More

Illustration of a laptop with gene sequencing on the screen.

The Gene Editors

U of T scientists are using a powerful new technology to alter DNA and possibly cure disease Read More

How CRISPR Works

Proteins and RNA all play a part in this age-old defense against invading viruses Read More

Dr. Yvonne Bombard, a U of T professor in the Institute of Health Policy

The Ethics of Gene Editing

Drawing the line at “designer babies” Read More

Photo of Jonathan Sun speaking into a microphone

Loving the Aliebn

Jonathan Sun tweets funny, heartfelt – and often misspelt – observations about what it means to be a 21st-century human Read More

Photo of girl looking out across a canyon

What Makes a Good Mother?

Catherine Connors writes poignantly – and humorously – about the joys and perils of parenting Read More

In the Pink

Anabela Piersol showcases independent clothing designers, as well as her own lovely creations Read More

Photo of a small robot with wheels in front of a ball

Robots That Play Soccer

At the end of the course, teams pit their robots against each other in an actual match on a mini-"field" Read More

Photo of a electric car charging station.

Carbon Busters

How can Toronto reduce its greenhouse gas emissions? Munk School students propose the ways Read More

Photo of students with startup supporters.

Support You Can Bank On

U of T teams up with RBC to create new resources for student entrepreneurs Read More

Robot, You Can Drive My Car

Automated vehicles are almost here, but governments have done little to prepare, U of T analysts warn Read More

A Few Simple Questions Could Change Your Dental Visit

Dentists should screen patients for anxiety to minimize their experience of pain, new research suggests Read More

Mx

New honorific is for people who don't want to reveal their gender Read More

Prof. Jooyoung Lee (left) with rapper Big Flossy

Rap Dreams

Where gangs rule, hip hop is a strongly positive force for youth, study finds Read More

Claire Daines and Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo+Juliet

Much Ado about William

What explains Shakespeare’s enduring appeal, 400 years after his death? Read More

Improve Your Punch

Hykso creates wearable tech for boxing Read More

Making Camp

U of T prof’s designs let campers sleep over wetlands or high among trees Read More

A man surveys the rubble in Guangzhou, China

Cities in Ruins

Prof. Tong Lam's photographs depict urban decay in Asia, and the parallels between security and surveillance in east and west Read More

The Fast Lane Out of Poverty

Paved roads give households in developing nations a leg up Read More

Illustration of two figures looking at one another.

The Science of Disagreement

How our bodies unwittingly reveal our prejudices Read More

Literary Midwife

Eliza Reid helps writers deliver prose at her Iceland retreat Read More

Illustration of a blue shirt with white clouds, a green striped tie, and a joint being smoked

High Time?

When it comes to legalizing marijuana, drug and public health experts caution that “the devil is in the details” Read More

U of T students Alex Boross-Harmer (left) and Megan D’Souza at the new Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre

Lift Weights to Lift Mood

U of T opens one of the first research facilities in the world to integrate the study of physical activity and mental health Read More

Photo of run-down residential buildings and overcrowded housing in Brazil

A Lesson for the World

Students visit Brazil to learn how it has cut poverty rates so dramatically Read More

Cheryl Arrowsmith at work in a lab, looking at samples under a microscope

U of T Researchers Lead Cancer-Fighting “Dream Team”

“Our knowledge is at a turning point,” says scientist Peter Dirks Read More

Chair for Investor Rights Seeks Better Protections for Canadians

A gift from the Honourable Hal Jackman establishes the J.R. Kimber Chair at the Faculty of Law Read More

Illustration of a biker in a forest looking at a giant carbon dioxide molecule in a field of glass panels

Could Carbon Dioxide Be the Solution to Climate Change?

Greenhouse gas could be harvested from the atmosphere and recycled into renewable fuel, says researcher Read More