U of T Engineering receives over $1 million in CFI research funding
Somewhere across a massive water system, a toxic bloom of algae is polluting drinking water. But what’s the fastest way to find it? To U of T Engineering professor Angela Schoellig (UTIAS), the answer is flying drones—an entire swarm designed to zigzag across landscapes and spot environmental hazards. Schoellig and her pioneering drone development is […]
Identity crisis: Engineering more security on your smartphone
Originally published in the 2014 issue of ANNUM Magazine. It wakes up next to you, sits by to you at lunch, hits the gym with you after work. Face it—your smartphone is your best friend. But how good is it at keeping your secrets? Almost two billion people have a computer in their pockets right now. And […]
The U of T Engineering holiday gift roundup: Four must-have wearables
The holidays are upon us, and as savvy shoppers search for gift ideas with a personal touch, wearable gadgets from U of T Engineering-developed companies are pret-a-porter for the fashionable tech lover on your list. A motion-sensing glove for gamers? Check. Wristbands that let you make secure mobile payments? Check. This season, startups from U of […]
Machine learning reveals unexpected genetic roots of cancers, autism and other disorders
In the decade since the genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists, engineers and doctors have struggled to answer an all-consuming question: Which DNA mutations cause disease? A new computational technique developed at the University of Toronto may now be able to tell us. A Canadian research team led by engineering and medicine professor Brendan Frey […]
Former Engineering dean inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame
James Milton Ham (ElecE 4T3), the 10th president of the University of Toronto and former Dean of Engineering, was posthumously selected for induction into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame. Ham was a leading Canadian engineer and a public servant who made enormous contributions to the safety of Canada’s mining and metallurgy industries and the […]
Power players: How U of T engineers are building a smarter electricity grid
Originally published in the 2014 issue of ANNUM Magazine. A single unpruned tree was all it took. On Aug. 14, 2003, one hot day in a hot summer, a power line sagged onto some branches in the small village of Walton Hills, Ohio. The resulting cascading failure throughout Ontario and the northeastern United States shut down power […]
No more poking at your smartphone: Students unveil ideas for new mobile user interfaces
Poking at your smartphone with your finger is so 2014—it’s time to find new ways to interface with the mobile devices we all carry. That’s the challenge Professor Parham Aarabi (ECE) of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at University of Toronto posed to his graduate class. “I encouraged students […]
New technique offers spray-on solar power
Pretty soon, powering your tablet could be as simple as wrapping it in cling wrap. That’s Illan Kramer’s (ECE) hope. Kramer and colleagues have just invented a new way to spray solar cells onto flexible surfaces using miniscule light-sensitive materials known as colloidal quantum dots (CQDs)—a major step toward making spray-on solar cells easy and cheap […]
A tribute to Dean Emeritus Anastasios (Tas) Venetsanopoulos
On November 17, 2014, the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering lost Dean Emeritus Anastasios Venetsanopoulos, better known as “Tas.” He was a pillar of U of T Engineering, known not only for his pioneering research and strong leadership, but also for being a mentor and friend to many colleagues. He was a guiding light […]
