More than 250 current industry partners are helping to advance U of T Engineering’s research activities and create business solutions with global impact.
That’s 250 great reasons to celebrate.
On Nov. 19, industry representatives and researchers attended a reception held at the University of Toronto’s Faculty Club. The event was hosted by U of T Engineering to both thank its partners and welcome new industry collaborators. Attendees included large established companies (such as IBM and General Electric Digital Energy) and startups (such as Konectivity and Opalux) alike.
“In the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, we greatly value our interactions with industry,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “By partnering with industry, we have the opportunity to work together on the most challenging problems while advancing technology quickly and translating research innovations effectively into the market.”
Professor Ted Sargent (ECE), vice-dean, research, also spoke at the event, emphasizing how industry partnerships can develop into much more, including alliances and affiliated programs.
“U of T’s Pulp & Paper Centre is the gold standard for an industry research consortium,” Sargent said. “Founded in 1987 to stimulate research for pulp and paper products and to encourage collaborative research, the Centre now has more than 20 companies from seven countries and has celebrated 27 successful years.”
Sargent also highlighted the Centre for Maintenance Optimization & Reliability Engineering. In operation for more than 20 years, it helps save companies millions of dollars through research in engineering asset management in the areas of condition-based maintenance, spares management, protective devices, maintenance and repair contracts, and failure-finding intervals.
Three reasons to partner with U of T Engineering
Alumnus Ted Maulucci (MechE 8T9) understands the kind of value a partnership with his alma mater can bring to his company. As chief information officer at Tridel Corporation, he has partnered with the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE) on fourth-year Capstone projects, serves on MIE’s Industry Advisory Board and often volunteers his time as a guest speaker. He shared three reasons why a partnership with U of T Engineering is invaluable for industry:
Research
“U of T Engineering was talking about big data and analytics five years ago before it became mainstream. Everything that they are talking about now is what you’re going to start to hear about in five years. It is an incredible resource to tap into.”
Fact: The Association of American Universities (AAU) index ranks U of T Engineering first in Canada and eighth in North America for publication counts between 2006-2010. The index measures research output, productivity and intensity based on publication counts over a five-year period. Among the U15 (Canada’s 15 research-intensive universities), U of T Engineering ranked first in citations per faculty member and first in citations per publication. Prevalent citations by other researchers demonstrates the relevance of U of T Engineering publications and research.
Inspiration
“I mentor a lot of students because they see the fire. They don’t care about limitations. They are the ones who show up, sometimes exhausted, and still try to reach that next goal. By being exposed to that, it encourages my colleagues and I to tirelessly pursue our goals. I’ve hired students from U of T Engineering and I’ve seen their work benefit Tridel.”
Fact: U of T Engineering’s Professional Experience Year (PEY) is one of the most recognized undergraduate paid internship programs in Canada. In 2013-14, 304 PEY employers hired U of T Engineering graduates.
Innovation
“One critical element in Canada’s success is the fact that we’ve stayed innovative. That’s why it’s fundamentally important that we create these partnerships, work together and do something great. I encourage you to actively pursue these partnerships before your competition does.”
Fact: More than 42 per cent of invention disclosures at U of T over the past five years originate with the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
“Being back here in a different capacity has been completely enriching,” said Maulucci, referencing the value of his industry partnership with U of T Engineering. “It has had a big impact on my life.”
Click here for five more great reasons to partner with U of T Engineering and further information on industry partnerships.
Although mending broken bones or prescribing medication may seem like simple tasks at a hospital, providing health care to millions of people is anything but. It requires a hugely complex system of hospitals, clinics, ambulances, research centres, suppliers and governments—and according to Professor Timothy Chan (MIE), that system needs re-engineering.
Chan is the new director of U of T Engineering’s Centre for Healthcare Engineering (CHE) (formerly the Centre for Research in Healthcare Engineering). The collaborative hub brings a highly interdisciplinary, systems engineering approach to drastically improve how health care works.
“Health-care systems are a lot like giant factories—they involve a large number of people and processes all working together in different stages to meet one goal,” said Chan. “At the CHE, we pioneer research that optimizes many of those stages, making health-care delivery more efficient, less costly and quicker.”
Engineering’s RJ Taylor spoke with Chan to learn more about how the Centre is taking the “waiting” out of “waiting room”.
New medical breakthroughs make headlines every day, but they aren’t the only way to improve health care—what’s unique about what CHE contributes?
Each year, Canadians spend over $200 billion on health care—that’s almost $6,000 a person. Health care spending can consume over 40 per cent of the annual budget of some Canadian provinces. With numbers like these, even small efficiencies can lead to significant cost savings and decreased wait times.
At the Centre for Healthcare Engineering, we use systems engineering to find and take action on these efficiencies. Hailing from many different fields, our researchers focus on optimizing health-care delivery, decision-making and policy. We collaborate directly with industry partners, lead fundamental research and also focus on educating the next generation of health-care engineers.
Can you explain what systems engineering is?
Systems engineering is a multidisciplinary field that looks at how a process or processes operate—and often how to improve them. Projects can involve leveraging vast amounts of data to create computer simulation models—models that we can use to test variables and mimic potential outcomes, leading to better decision-making.
The field is rooted in industrial engineering, which historically examined the most efficient layouts for manufacturing facilities. Today, systems engineering can involve virtually any discipline linked to the process you’re trying to build or improve. With healthcare engineering, this can include public health, medicine, business, law, political science and more.
Can you give us some examples of how you’re using this systems engineering approach in your research?
Have you ever had to wait well beyond your appointment time at the doctor’s office? It was probably because of inefficient scheduling. Recently, Professor Michael Carter (MIE) and I worked with Women’s College Hospital in Toronto to redesign their entire clinics scheduling system from scratch. By shifting clinic schedules to better balance resources—like not booking clinics that require time-consuming blood tests all at once—we were able to keep waiting to a minimum for both patients and staff.
Another project I’m working on looks at automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), which are publicly available devices to treat patients suffering from cardiac arrest. With data on historical cardiac arrests, building layouts and current AED locations, my team and I can determine the ideal places to put these machines. Our computer models show that by using such comprehensive data—as opposed to merely placing AEDs according to population density—we can triple the number of cardiac arrests that are supported within 100 metres of a defibrillator.
Internationally, I’m also involved in a collaboration to improve emergency medical care in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Unlike Toronto, Dhaka’s roads are congested with motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians that can be barriers for ambulances. We are developing models that use GPS data from cell phones to depict how traffic is moving in real time—recommending the best routes to an emergency scene. This can significantly cut down on response times and help emergency medical responders save more lives.
What about others at the CHE?
Radiation treatment for cancer can be a complex balancing act, as doctor’s deal with many different variables when trying to make sure that the right amount of radiation gets into a tumour without too much getting into healthy tissues. Professor Dionne Aleman (MIE) and her team simplified this treatment by creating mathematical models and algorithms that can balance the many factors involved. These models target tumours with greater than 90 per cent accuracy, a significant improvement on current plans. Working with Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Hospital and Elekta AB (a Swedish radiation equipment manufacturer), her team has already demonstrated that their models can save time and money, with better treatment.
A few years ago, Professor Carter also worked with the Ontario Ministry of Health to develop a plan that reduced wait times for cataract operations. The goal was to bring down the wait times from an average of one year down to six months—and his model figured out how many additional surgeries were required to meet the target. When implemented, his numbers accurately predicted the real-life numbers.
Where do students fit into CHE’s mandate?
Great question. With our researchers leading such groundbreaking research, we definitely want them to share it—as well as their expertise—with students. We offer a number of graduate and undergraduate courses in health-care engineering, systems and policy, as well as fundamental engineering methodologies that are applicable to health care. At the graduate level, we offer a Master of Engineering emphasis in Healthcare Engineering, which includes specialized courses and an opportunity to work directly on an industry-related project. We are also looking to expand beyond Engineering and engage students from across U of T campus.
What’s next?
At the Centre for Healthcare Engineering, we have ambitious plans to expand well beyond our home in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE). We are looking to actively involve researchers and students from across U of T—medicine, law, business, public health, you name it. We want to bring more diverse perspectives, add more collaborative projects, increase industry engagement and expand our student opportunities. And of course, we want to improve health care for everybody around the world.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
A new frontier in cardiac health care
On November 20, the Rogers family donated an unprecedented $130 million to create the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research (TRCHR).
The new Centre unites research expertise from the University of Toronto, the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the University Health Network (UHN). Together, these organizations are matching the Rogers family gift with $139 million, for a total investment of $269 million.
With a goal of reducing hospitalization for heart failure by 50 per cent in Canada over the next decade, the cross-disciplinary TRCHR was conceived in memory of the late Ted Rogers, who spent his life embracing new technologies and also had first-hand experience with heart disease.
U of T Engineering received $20.5 million of the donation, which will be dedicated to transformative research and commercialization at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME)—a unique, multidisciplinary graduate research unit at the cutting edge of innovation in biomedical engineering.
Advancing U of T Engineering’s innovative research and collaboration
Several U of T Engineering faculty members and graduate students will join the TRCHR as part of a new Ted Rogers Program in Translational Biology and Engineering. Here, they will combine stem cell technology with tissue engineering to regenerate heart tissue, heart valves and cardiovascular vessels. The research will reveal new possibilities for more effective heart therapies and create new technologies for improving heart diagnosis and monitoring in clinics.
“This remarkable collaboration builds on U of T Engineering’s unparalleled strengths in bioengineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and regenerative medicine,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “These are fields where our Faculty leads pioneering research and commercializes innovative technologies that make a difference around the world.”
The donation enables the expansion of IBBME’s state-of-the-art laboratories, and also creates two new Chairs—one in Immuno-Bioengineering and another in Cellular Systems Modelling—both located at IBBME and cross-appointed to UHN’s McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine.
Professor Peter Zandstra (IBBME) will be the lead U of T investigator at the Centre—accepting the role of interim scientific director for the Ted Rogers Program in Translational Biology and Engineering—where he will be joined by IBBME professors Rodrigo Fernandez-Gonzalez (IBBME), Milica Radisic (IBBME, ChemE), Paul Santerre (IBBME, Dentistry) and Craig Simmons (MIE, IBBME). Mansoor Husain, director of the Toronto General Research Institute, will be the TRCHR’s interim executive director.
“The first step is examining how we can build living replacement heart tissues using stem cells and biomaterials and tissue engineering approaches,” explained Professor Simmons, whose research focuses on the interface between mechanical engineering and biology. “And then we have to understand the best method to produce structures that have the mechanical integrity and functional features they need to work in the body.”
“The [TRCHR] represents a unique marriage of the engineering and science strengths of IBBME with the clinical expertise of UHN and SickKids—it’s a truly natural and powerful partnership,” said IBBME Director Christopher Yip. “IBBME has a long-standing history of exceptional collaborations with organizations across Toronto, and indeed the world, that are focused on advancing and translating health research and innovation”.
Currently, IBBME faculty members are working with UHN researchers on new methods to treat diseased heart valves. They are also engaged with SickKids clinicians and researchers to engineer new heart valves that replace those of children who were born with heart valve defects.
The Institute continues to attract significant philanthropic investment from Engineering alumni and friends, such as a $1-million gift from the Milligan family to establish Milligan Graduate Fellowships for trailblazing biomedical engineering students. (Read about U of T Engineering’s banner fundraising year in 2013–14)
A continued legacy at U of T Engineering
The Rogers family donation is not the first in their support of U of T’s Engineering’s research and teaching excellence. In 2000, they gave $25 million to establish two research chairs—the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Chair in Engineering and Velma M. Rogers Graham Chair in Engineering—and to endow graduate and undergraduate scholarships that supported 150 students in the last year alone and more than 1,600 students since it was established.
The Faculty also renamed the electrical and computer engineering department in honour of Ted Rogers’ father—Edward S. Rogers Sr.—who was a student in the department from 1919 to 1921. With his technical inventions and business savvy, Rogers Sr. revolutionized the Canadian radio industry, launching the Rogers communications empire that exists today. One of his early radios from 1931 is still on display in the Faculty’s Galbraith building.
“On behalf of the entire Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, I offer my deepest thanks to the Rogers family for their monumental support, for their leadership and for enabling research that will improve the lives of millions in the decades ahead,” said Dean Amon.
While Professor Simmons’ colleagues will be building and fixing next-generation computer chips at The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering—at the new Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, Simmons will be “fixing broken valves and repairing hearts to make people better.”
“I think we’ll be able to push some of our most promising technologies and ideas to the patients quicker and more effectively than ever before,” he said. “It excites me that we have that opportunity to make that difference.”
Largest private donation in Canadian healthcare history will bring together the strengths of SickKids, UHN and U of T in personalized genomic medicine, tissue engineering and advanced cardiac care to address heart failure across the lifespan.
With the goal to reduce hospitalization for heart failure by 50 per cent over the next decade, the Hospital for Sick Children, the University Health Network and the University of Toronto have announced the creation of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, funded by an unprecedented donation of $130 million from the Rogers family—the largest monetary gift ever made to a Canadian health-care initiative.
“We’re thrilled to be able to bring the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research to life,” said Loretta Rogers, wife of the late Ted Rogers. “We know Ted would have been proud of this bold initiative that will improve heart health for all.”
“The generosity and magnitude of this gift, and the transformational effect it will have on heart research, truly reflects the pioneering and innovative spirit of Ted Rogers and his family,” said Dr. Michael Apkon, president and CEO of SickKids. “This powerful, collaborative partnership among SickKids, UHN and U of T will have a global impact. Together we hope to accelerate discovery and cardiac care at an unprecedented pace.”
Heart disease represents a considerable economic strain on the Canadian health-care system. The annual cost for managing moderate and severe heart failure patients in Canada is as much as $2.3 billion. “Today, one million Canadians are living with heart failure, and that number is projected to increase 25 per cent over the next 20 years,” noted Dr. Barry Rubin, chair and program medical director of the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre and a professor of surgery at U of T. “This unprecedented gift will enable research teams in the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research to develop new therapies that will dramatically improve the lives of patients with heart disease.”
The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research will bring together more than 30 expert clinicians and researchers from across the partner institutions, as well as up to 80 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows who represent the future of the field. This critical mass of expertise will improve treatments for heart patients—and develop entirely new therapies. The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research will be a magnet to attract additional research talent from around the world, solidifying Toronto’s and Canada’s position as a global leader in cardiac care, noted Professor Meric Gertler, president of U of T.
“The Toronto region is home to one of the world’s largest biomedical science and health education clusters,” said Gertler. “This exceptionally powerful network of researchers and educators is translating exciting ideas, innovations and therapies in stem cell research and regenerative medicine into clinical settings where they will address the most challenging problems across the spectrum of heart disease. With its pioneering spirit and innovative approach, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research will be a world-class collaboration and a most fitting tribute to its namesake.”
The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research will have facilities in each of the three participating institutions. It will be the first in the world to bring together research, education and innovation in personalized genomic medicine, stem cell research, bioengineering, and cardiovascular treatment and management under one umbrella with a single focus: improving heart health across the entire lifespan, from children to adults. Each institutional partner will take the lead in a particular area:
- SickKids will harness the power of genomic science to decode the genetic foundations of cardiac disease, which will allow for heart disease to be better predicted before it occurs, and will support individualized therapies for children and adults, based on the unique genome of each patient.
- UHN, through the application of powerful databases, new biomarkers for cardiac disease, regenerative and individualized medicine approaches and state-of-the-art-real-time home monitoring and telecommunications technologies, will focus on the translation of research discovery into the delivery of care for patients. Foundational to this approach is a customized cardiovascular data module for a new electronic patient record which is linked to a Biobank which will house a vast array of biologic samples that come from both adult and paediatric patients.
- U of T will focus on combining stem cell technology with novel approaches in cellular and tissue engineering for the regeneration of heart muscle, coronary vessels and heart valves. This cutting-edge science, which is crucial to restoring damaged hearts, will be led out of U of T’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, one of the many fields in which the University is recognized as a world leader.
Professor Peter Zandstra (IBBME), a lead U of T investigator for the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, said patients with valve disorders, for example, typically need several complex operations during their lifetime to implant larger valves to accommodate the growing heart. They also require drugs to keep their heart from rejecting valve replacements. “Research at the centre could one day lead to the regeneration of a valve with the patient’s own cells—eliminating a lifetime of chronic illness,” he said.
Cardiac fibrosis is a stiffening of the heart tissue that leads to a variety of cardiac diseases, including heart failure. Zandstra said advances in tissue engineering at U of T will accelerate the discovery of biomaterials that could be used to treat fibrosis, bringing new hope to patients.
Research at the University will also enlarge our understanding of how genetic, molecular signalling, and cellular networks function as the heart develops, opening up the possibility for more effective heart therapies.
The establishment of the new centre will enable U of T scientists to create technologies and tools for improved heart physiology monitoring, in clinical settings and for patients at home. These efforts will lead to more seamless, integrated care for heart patients.
The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research will also establish a competitive innovation fund to drive discovery and development of next-generation therapies for heart failure, and an education fund to attract the best and brightest students and postgraduates to ensure a deep pool of talent in Canada for cardiac care and research.
Over the next decade, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research will help enable more people—adults and children alike, in Canada and around the world—to live long, healthy and happy lives.
For Aaron Persad (EngSci 0T6, MechE MASc 1T1, PhD 1T4) ‘reach for the stars’ is far more than a clichéd phrase on a graduation card.
“It may sound a bit wild, but I’m training as a commercial astronaut,” said Persad, who graduated on November 18 with a PhD in mechanical engineering—one of 386 engineering students who walked across the stage at Convocation Hall this month.
But when you account for all the diverse and disruptive things Persad has built, taught, experimented with and discovered since his days as an undergraduate in engineering science at the University of Toronto, wrapping up his PhD to become a commercial astronaut seems like a natural step.
Persad’s undergraduate thesis explored shuttle launch vibrations on stem cells, and he interned with the Canadian Space Agency’s flight research laboratory. This meant assisting with experiments performed in free fall among other projects. Professor Emeritus Charles A. Ward (MIE) then took Persad on for PhD work looking into the nature of evaporation with implications for liquid use in space—resulting in some provocative conclusions.
“At one conference in Naples, Italy, I remember scientists from half of the room were arguing with the other half about what I had just presented,” he said.
Between pushing forward the science in his field, gaining hands-on research with astronauts and finding a job that will have him floating at the edge of space, Persad also made time to found a company teaching robotics to six-year-olds and win an award for innovations in teaching that were later published in a scholarly journal.
“Our entire robotics education business is built on the idea that kids can learn complex ideas with one-on-one mentoring,” he said, adding this approach allows his company to teach university-level curriculum to grade-school kids.
Below, Persad explains how U of T Engineering supported his interest in discovery and why he’s working to inspire the next generation of engineers.
Why leave research on the ground behind you?
Being weightless is an incredible feeling. During my undergrad professional experience year (PEY) with the Canadian Space Agency, part of my job required me to fly in the Falcon-20 aircraft operated by the National Research Council out of Ottawa and I had the opportunity to experience weightlessness. It felt fantastic. I remember my legs had the tendency to float up toward my chest; I had to consciously keep them down. The training I do now with Astronauts for Hire, at the NASTAR Centre, is a very different experience: they simulate a Virgin Galactic space ship launch using a human centrifuge. You are exposed to forces up to six times that of Earth’s gravity. Imagine six of your clones standing on your chest!
Tell us a bit about the research that earned your PhD.
My research applies quantum mechanical principles to the evaporation of liquids. Some interesting (and controversial) discoveries were made in my PhD work and my experimental results could not be explained with conventional theories. Presenting this work at conferences made for lively discussions during the question periods.
What are you doing after graduation?
I’ve already completed suborbital training at the NASTAR Centre in Pennsylvania with Astronauts for Hire, the same facility Virgin Galactic uses to train their flight crew—and training will continue into next year.
I’ll also be working with Integrated Spaceflight Services, where I’ll manage the integration of experiments funded by NASA into a zero-g aircraft. The aircraft provides a near-weightless environment where everything inside will float for intervals of 20 seconds. It’s basically the same feeling that astronauts experience in the International Space Station, only for a much shorter duration.
As co-founder of TMS Robotics and Academics, I’ll continue to teach kids how to build and program robots.
And I’ve also been working with my supervisor, Professor Charles Ward, and Dr. Bjarni Tryggvason on an experiment scheduled for launch to the International Space Station with SpaceX in December.
What motivates you?
There is so much to discover in the world. My PhD work investigated the evaporation of water and other liquids. It may seem common knowledge that water evaporates, but it was amazing to discover that no one really knows how. Think of all the processes that rely on evaporation, such as weather forecasting, searching for water vapour on distant planets, or making efficient heat sinks for a tablet computer. Imagine how much more accurate storm forecasting could be, or how much more efficient electronics devices can be if we understood evaporation at a quantum mechanical level. My PhD work suggests that these improvements are within our grasp, and I was the lucky one reaching out to it.
How did U of T help you get to where you are?
I’ve had amazing support from faculty, friends and family at U of T. My cousin is graduating the same day as I am.
It was through my PEY supervisor, Dr. Marcus Dejmek at the Canadian Space Agency, that I met my PhD supervisor. Professor Ward has a great deal of experience in space sciences (having flown experiments on rockets and the Space Shuttle) and I knew I wanted to work with him. His willingness to let me try new and risky ideas led to some unique discoveries and made my PhD work so much more exciting to work on.
I was also hired by the mechanical and industrial engineering department to teach a capstone robotics course and this proved to be valuable experience in launching my own robotics education company, TMS Robotics and Academics.
It was through travel grants from the School of Graduate Studies and MIE that I was able to attend conferences and present my work. I met many experts from space agencies worldwide, including NASA. It was through networking at these conferences and showcasing the quality of my research with Professor Ward that I was ultimately selected as a commercial astronaut candidate. The MIE department has been very supportive of my work, and I was pleased to have been nominated by them for teaching awards.
See this month’s other graduating students in our Convocation Fall 2014 photo gallery.
Alumni, students, faculty and friends from around the world continue to rally behind U of T Engineering’s ambitious $200-million Boundless campaign goal, pushing the Faculty past the halfway mark and helping to achieve its most successful fundraising year yet.
U of T Engineering raised nearly $22 million dollars in 2013–14, with a record number of contributions by major donors (gifts of $25,000 and up). At the core of the campaign is the Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CEIE), a vibrant new hub for faculty, students, alumni and industry partners that is expected to break ground in the spring.
“Philanthropic support from our alumni and friends fuels our vision and inspires us to reach higher and further in our goals,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “I am deeply grateful for the remarkable commitment from our alumni, faculty, staff and students—it is because of their efforts that the CEIE is becoming a reality.”
This achievement was publicly acknowledged earlier this month at Celebrating Boundless Impact, a panel discussion on entrepreneurism, moderated by President Meric Gertler, to celebrate the University surpassing the $1.5-billion mark of its $2-billion campaign goal.
Held in the new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, the panel featured faculty members and alumni from U of T Engineering, including Professor Stewart Aitchison (ECE), James Dou (ECE PhD Candidate) and alumnus Karl Martin (EngSci 0T1, ECE MASc 0T3, PhD 1T0), as well as Professor Ajay Agrawal (Rotman School of Management), alumnus Darren Anderson and Professor M. Cynthia Goh (Department of Chemistry).
“As an engineering graduate and donor to the Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship, I was fascinated by the panel discussion with alumni, faculty and student entrepreneurs,” said event co-host George Myhal (IndE 7T8). “Clearly the University is extending the boundaries of knowledge, while also serving as a crucible for creativity. This is why reaching our historic goal of $2 billion is not only possible but essential.”
U of T Engineering gift highlights
The Faculty attracted several major gifts this past year to support innovative research, education and entrepreneurial activities:
Gerald Heffernan – $5 million
Half of Gerald Heffernan’s (MMS 4T3) $5-million gift will fund Heffernan Commercialization Fellowships, which enable U of T graduate students to commercialize research outcomes and spark new technology companies. The other half will provide space for The Entrepreneurship Hatchery at its new home in the CEIE building.
Lee & Margaret Lau – $2.5 million
Lee (ECE 7T7, MASc 8T2) and Margaret Lau’s $2.5-million gift will fund a unique, cutting-edge auditorium in the new CEIE building that aims to enable change to pedagogical practices and improve how the next generation of engineers will learn and create.
Bill & Kathleen Troost – $2 million
Bill (ChemE 6T7) and his wife Kathleen donated $2 million to support the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry’s Unit Ops Lab, and the Faculty established new scholarships through the J. Edgar McAllister Foundation-Troost Family Award for Engineering. In 2012, Bill and Kathleen also made a $2-million gift towards a new space for the Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (ILead) in the CEIE.
Paul Cadario – $1 million
Paul Cadario’s (CivE 7T3) generous $1-million commitment to strengthen the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) is a critical contribution to the education of generations of global engineers. His gift will support the creation of the new home for CGEN in the CEIE building.
The University of Toronto Engineering Undergraduate Society – $1 million
The Engineering Society (EngSoc) supported the Faculty’s vision with a collective commitment of $1 million to fund student club spaces in the new CEIE building. Every undergraduate in Faculty is a member of EngSoc.
Francis Shen – $1 million
This past summer, Francis Shen (UTIAS MASc 8T3) donated $1 million to the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies to develop an entrepreneurship incubator, enabling future engineers with the competencies and opportunities he’s learned over decades in business.