Machine learning, genetics and doubt: Big ideas from NASIT’14
Professor En-hui Yang asked information theorists from across the world to doubt absolutely everything — except, of course, their decision to study information theory (IT). Yang spoke at the IEEE North American School for Information Theory (NASIT’14), hosted this month by the University of Toronto. The conference brought together 100 graduate students from across North […]
Four U of T engineers receive Ontario Professional Engineers Awards
Márta Ecsedi (CivE 7T6) knows a little something about being first. During her undergraduate degree at U of T Engineering, she was the first woman to lead the Engineering Society. Later, she served as the first woman president of the Engineering Alumni Association. She was also the founding chair of two different professional engineering advisory […]
New class of nanoparticle brings cheaper, lighter solar cells outdoors
Think those flat, glassy solar panels on your neighbour’s roof are the pinnacle of solar technology? Think again. Researchers in the University of Toronto’s Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering have designed and tested a new class of solar-sensitive nanoparticle that outshines what we currently consider state of the art. This […]
Three U of T engineers honoured by Engineers Canada
When Michael Branch (CompE 0T3) founded Inovex over ten years ago, the fledgling software company only had one staff member: him. Now, under Branch’s skilled leadership, Inovex has grown to become a successful company that offers tangible solutions to clients in the environmental and healthcare fields.Branch was one of three members of the U of T Engineering […]
Creating a clean water supply, using light to save lives
An estimated 768 million people in the world – about one tenth of the world’s population – do not have access to safe water. In Canada alone, five million people lack access to a reliable source of safe drinking water, especially in rural areas or on reserves. Now, the Indian Government’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) […]
The engineer as maker: A look at this year’s team-based student projects
Whether it’s the latest smartphone, the flashiest vehicle or the next gravity-defying structure, behind every piece of new technology, there are makers. These makers – often engineers – form new ideas that they build, test and perfect long before we see them in the marketplace. At U of T, we rigorously encourage the maker within […]
Three new innovative educational projects from U of T Engineering
Today’s assignment: design an outdoor, heated smoking area for a local women’s shelter. Do you take on the project, knowing it propagates a harmful, deadly habit? It’s dilemmas like this that engineers face in the real world, but not necessarily in a post-secondary curriculum. That’s why Professor Doug Reeve (ILead) and his team are assembling […]
Ten innovative apps compete for Top App title and $1,000 grand prize
Today it’s mostly our smartphones and tablets that are touch sensitive, but soon it could be our desks, car dashes or even our kitchen counters. That’s the technology behind XTouch, a new app from U of T Engineering students. “XTouch extends the tactile environment beyond the surface of that mobile device,” said app developer Amin […]
Mapping robots, surgery aids, pollution apps and more at Engineering Design Fair
If you stood among the crowd at this year’s ECE Design Fair, you’d spot a drone helicopter that can find any charging station, a power grid that can sense its own flaws, a surgeon’s scope that detects internal abnormalities and even an app that helps a child deal with cancer. This month, U of T […]
