Do you need to test a new shade of lipstick while on the run? Look no further.
A new smart phone application developed by Professor Parham Aarabi (ECE) can provide users with a virtual makeover. Using facial recognition technology, the app offers individuals the chance to test different shades of make-up using their iPhone or Android phone. The app also takes advantage of patent-pending Shade Match technology for realistic shade and shimmer.
The application was developed by Professor Aarabi’s company, ModiFace. The application features more than 1,000 shades and integrates social media, so you can consult your friends before making a final determination on which look is right for you.
The new app is profiled in Jerry Seregni’s technology blog on WVUE-TV’s website.
Professor Aaron Wheeler (IBBME) has won the Analytical Chemistry 2011 Young Innovator Award. This award honours exceptional technical advancement and innovation in the field of micro- or nanofluidics early in the investigator’s career.
Wheeler’s innovative research explores the relationship between traditional enclosed microchannels and digital microfluidics, in which discrete droplets are manipulated on open devices using electrostatic forces. These processes are then used for high-throughput bioanalytical applications. Recently, Wheeler has worked with an endocrinologist to quantify hormones in small tissue samples, with potential therapeutic applications for infertility and cancer therapy. In another application of his methods, he has worked with Newborn Screening Ontario to evaluate blood samples; his hybrid microfluidic and microchannel methods enable the automation and streamlining of the process of quantifying inborn genetic disease. It is projects like these that demonstrate Wheeler’s unique vision that brings together two paradigms of microfluidics.
“It’s a great honour to be recognized,” stated Wheeler. “It’s a well-known award in the microfluidics community, and previous recipients are in the top of the field.” It’s not the first time Wheeler has been honoured; in 2009 he received a Sloan Fellowship and the Eli Lilly & Company Young Investigator Award in Analytical Chemistry.
Wheeler is an Assistant Professor with appointments in Chemistry, IBBME and the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, and is Canada Research Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry. The award is sponsored by Analytical Chemistry and the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society and will be presented at uTAS (MicroTAS) 2011 in Seattle, October 2-6, 2011.
As the demand for nanotechnology grows, The Edward S. Rogers Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering has responded with an undergraduate course that “is one-of-its-kind in Canada.”
Introduction to Micro- and Nanofabrication Technologies, which was launched in 2009, provides students with the chance to obtain knowledge and hands-on skills in the in-demand field of nanotechnology. The course and its benefits are outlined in an article by Dr. Aju Jugessur, Senior Research Scientist and Manager of the Emerging Communications Technology Institute (ECTI), which was published in the IEEE Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) newsletter.
Another technology commercialization success story emerges from U of T. Interface Biologics Inc (IBI), a company founded by Professor Paul Santerre, Director of the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), announced the successful conclusion of a licensing evaluation period with Fresenius Medical Care.
Fresenius Medical Care, the largest provider of dialysis products and services, will apply IBI’s Endexo technology to dialysis circuits for treating end-stage renal disease. Last week marked the conclusion of an evaluation period, at which time Fresenius Medical Care exercised its licence option, including the payment of a $2-million licensing fee. This payment represents an important step for the company as it transitions from research and development to a commercial-stage company.
Professor Santerre serves as IBI’s Director on its Advisory Board, and is the company’s Chief Scientific Officer.
“The research that led to the founding of this company was incubated in my lab within the Faculty of Dentistry from 2001 to 2004,” Professor Santerre said. His research into novel biomedical polymer technologies was identified by U of T’s Innovations and Partnerships Office (IPO) as viable for commercialization. IPO identified an investor, and in December 2001, IBI was created.
Although separate from U of T, start-up companies such as IBI not only demonstrate the innovative and creative thinking of its University researchers, but also turns their research into high-impact, life-changing products.
IBI’s Endexo is a self-locating fluoro-oligomeric additive that reduces platelet adhesion and activation, protein adsorption and thrombus formation in medical devices, thereby reducing the need for anti-coagulants, such as heparin. Endexo has significant manufacturing advantages over other anti-thrombogenic coating or impregnation alternatives and does not change the mechanical or functional properties of the underlying medical device.
IBBME’s unique interdisciplinary position between the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine and Dentistry makes it a particularly fruitful environment for the development of groundbreaking biomedical technologies such as this, remarked Professor Santerre. “IBBME researchers make use of the resources of facilities and expertise from all its Faculties and partners. The research that led to the founding of IBI, for example, involved chemical engineering and the health care expertise in Dentistry and Medicine. And I don’t have to look farther than our teaching hospitals and IBBME cross-appointed professors for consultants,” he said.
Along with taking advantage of such a community of expertise, he notes that IBI’s success comes as the result of a diversified portfolio. “IBI has always had at least three technologies in development, with short-and long-term goals,” he explained. “The investors stay engaged, and the risks we take remain measured.”
As investment grew from $1 million in 2001 to $10 million in 2004, Professor Santerre stepped back from his role of company President, but continues his leadership role as Chief Scientific Officer. In 2010, Professor Santerre received the Julia Levy Award from the Canadian Society for Chemical Industry for Commercialization of Innovation in Canada in the field of Bio-medical Science and Engineering. He continues to lead IBBME as its Director, where he fosters a community of excellence and where researchers develop the biomedical engineering technologies that change lives.
Professor Chris Damaren, of the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), offers insight into what the future of space exploration may look like as the famed NASA shuttle program comes to an end.
The Engineer, who also serves as Vice Dean, Graduate Studies, discusses the future of manned space travel in North America and what possible role the private sector could play in the aerospace industry.
To read the full interview, please visit U of T Research
Demand for air travel is projected to rise roughly 5%, a figure that could mean disastrous results for the environment. Professor David Zingg, Director of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS), is doing his part to make the field of aviation more environmentally friendly.
The U of T Engineer, who is also a Canada Research Chair in Computational Aerodynamics and Environmentally Friendly Aircraft Design, was recently featured in Wings Magazine for his research on applying high-fidelity aerodynamic shape optimization to the design of aircraft configurations.
By doing this, he and his team hope to decrease the number of greenhouse gasses emitted by planes and help the aviation industry achieve its set target of 50% reduction in total carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
To read more about David Zingg’s research, please visit Wings Magazine.