Research & Ideas

Hot Tubbing

In the world of law, hot tubbing is a common practice

Illustration of a face speaking into a device which turns that speech into text.

Word Perfect

New software will help people with speech problems be more clearly understood

Help in a Heartbeat

Toronto’s public defibrillators could save more lives if they were placed in better locations, U of T researchers find

Illustration of mobile devices and charging cables as square academic convocation hats.

Screen Time

Online courses are big, bold and potentially game-changing for higher education

Photo of a cup of orange lique that appears to be sinking into the table.

Iron Man

By fortifying two everyday foods, Prof. Levente Diosady aims to reduce malnutrition worldwide

Former Varsity Blues swimmer Taylor Bond

Speaking Out

U of T is working on multiple initiatives to combat homophobia in sport

Photo shows a hand holding a movile device with the Seamless app open.

Get Better, Sooner

Seamless Mobile Health aims to reduce hospital readmissions following surgery and save millions in medical costs

Prof. Matt Ratto holds a conventional prosthetic socket (left) and one his lab printed.

A Foot in Two Worlds

3-D printing is creating new opportunities – and raising intriguing questions – as digital and physical realms meld

Photo of an alarm clock.

Nudging

Adults more likely to behave in socially beneficial ways when prompted

Photo of a woman wearing a hijab with a Quebecois flag draped over her.

Whose Values?

Does the proposed Quebec Charter guarantee a secular society, or more votes for the Parti Québécois?

Photo of an elderly woman looking pensively out a window.

Aging Cities

Global population of seniors will triple by 2050, creating challenges for urban planners, report says

Star insignia of Soviet Union Red Army

What the Red Army Did

Soviet officers' attitudes during the Holocaust depended on where they were stationed, grad student finds

Photo of Ted Kotcheff.

Duddy and Me

Ted Kotcheff made almost 20 movies during his career - but it was a pair of small films that really got critics to take notice

Group photo of the Hart House Jazz Choir, better known as Onoscatopoeia.

Onoscatopoeia

Hart House’s choir members only use one instrument: their voices

Photo of students writing an exam.

An “A” for Teamwork

You’ve heard of crowdfunding. With crowdmarking, a U of T prof hopes to change how students are evaluated

A 3D model of a body part.

The Augmented Body

A learning tool that combines gaming software, 3-D modelling and a CT scan could change how students learn anatomy

Photo of a golf ball and club.

Nanofacturing

From making golf clubs stronger to designing water repellant garments

Illustration of medical professionals attempting to capture disease in a book.

When Germs Get Tougher

An Internet-based surveillance system gives physicians the ability to track dangerous new strains of tuberculosis in real time

Photo of USA security seals.

Eyes Everywhere

Recent revelations about governments spying on their citizens should have us all concerned about abuse of power

Prof. Shelley Wright of the Dunlap Institute

First Contact

A professor at the Dunlap Institute is trying to answer one of the biggest questions in all of science: Is there intelligent life beyond Earth?

Photo of a pile of petroleum coke.

Garbage into Gas

An idea developed at U of T would help turn polluting oilsands waste into clean-burning hydrogen gas

Business Ties

Governments should do more to encourage immigrant entrepreneurs to forge links with businesses in their native countries, according to a U of T report

Leaning Left

Meditation might make you more liberal, according to new U of T research

Cybill Lui. Photo by Liam Sharp

Dream Job

Cybill Lui worked for years on Wall Street, then followed her heart into the high-risk world of film production

Nadia Amoroso. Photo by Liam Sharp

Beauty in Numbers

Nadia Amoroso helps clients interpret complex data quickly and present it memorably

Stephen Piron. Photo by Liam Sharp

Uncovering Fraud

Computer science grad Stephen Piron is helping banks stay on the right side of regulators

Jane Gooddall.

Into the Wild

U of T partners with the Jane Goodall Institute to send students to Uganda to study endangered wildlife

Rose Harrison in her Yonge and Eglinton apartment

Housing First

It turns out that a good way to help homeless people is to actually give them a home

Photo of traffic lights.

Making Traffic Smarter

An intelligent transportation system could reduce wait times at traffic lights in Toronto by more than half

Photo of Minuum keyboard on a smart phone.

The Tiny Perfect Keyboard

As devices get smaller, a U of T company has created a keyboard that makes typing easier while using less screen space

Christina Nona. Courtesy of NSERC

The Glutamate Riddle

Grad student Christina Nona seeks to unlock the role of an important brain chemical in Alzheimer’s and addiction

Intelligent Clothing

Architecture grad student Stacie Vos has developed a "smart" shirt that can detect germs and protect its wearer from them

Patrick Gunning. Illustration by Adam Cruft

Starving Cancer Cells

Many scientists work for years to find a cure for a single type of cancer - Patrick Gunning has his sights set on four

Katherine Larson. Illustration by Adam Cruft

Literary Songbird

Katherine Larson infuses her study of English with a passion for music to find new meaning in literature

Joyce Poon. Illustration by Adam Cruft

Speed of Light

Joyce Poon is developing optical devices that could make computers vastly more powerful and a whole lot faster

Emma Master. Illustration by Adam Cruft

Goodbye to Plastic?

Emma Master imagines a world with much less garbage, thanks to new organic materials she’s researching