A fellowship program at the University of Toronto founded by graduate Gerald Heffernan (MMS 4T3) is helping graduate students transfer their research into businesses.
The Heffernan/Co-Steel Innovation Commercialization Fellowship provides $20,000 annually for up to three years to postgraduate fellows wanting to further develop and implement their research. Among those who have benefited from this support is Carlos de Oliveira (CivE MASc 0T6), who transferred his graduate work on structural dynamics into Cast ConneX Corporation, which produces seismic-resistant joint for buildings in earthquake-prone regions.
Heffernan and de Oliveira were featured in a Globe and Mail article that highlights the efforts by Canadian universities to encourage innovation.
The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering mourns the passing of Professor J. Douglas Lavers of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Professor Lavers died on July 11, 2011 in an accident while on a 16-day canoe trip in the Yukon.
Professor Lavers’ research focused on applications involving magnetic fields. His work was used to design magnetic components for telecommunications and computer power supplies as well as MRI systems.
“Professor Lavers was a valued colleague, an accomplished researcher and a respected educator,” said Professor Farid Najm, Chair of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. “He has served the department in many ways, including as Associate Chair for Graduate Studies. We extend our sincere condolences to his family, especially his wife Barb and his children Monica and Eric.”
Planning has begun on a memorial service that will be held on campus in September. Details will be forthcoming.
Engineers at U of T’s Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) are working on a revolutionary project that could change millions of lives all over the world.
Led by Professor Yu-Ling Cheng (ChemE), Director of CGEN, a team of Faculty engineers hope to reinvent the toilet to provide people in developing worlds with affordable, alternative, sanitation that does the impossible: works for only five cents per user, per day and doesn’t rely on running water, sewerage systems or supplied electricity.
The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded almost $400,000 to U of T Engineering. The Faculty is the only Canadian recipient among eight leading universities worldwide being asked to think outside the box about water closets.
The grant was announced by the Foundation at the AfricaSan conference in Rwanda as part of more than $40 million in new investments launching its Water, Sanitation & Hygiene strategy.
Watch Professor Yu-Ling Cheng describe the project in her own words:
“This is a vital problem and is just the sort of global issue engineers, especially engineers from U of T, are so well suited to tackle,” said Dean Cristina Amon, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I am confident that we will contribute to solve this major sanitation challenge and health issue for the developing world. We are deeply grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for selecting us as the sole Canadian recipient of this funding.”
“It is a fascinating problem,” said Professor Cheng. “Those of us in the West don’t give toilets much thought. But there are 2.6 billion people in the world who don’t have access to safe and affordable sanitation.” The result is the prevalence and spread of water-borne diseases like dysentery and cholera. “Lack of clean drinking water is important,” said Cheng. “But the lack of a way to safely deal with human waste is even more pressing.”
The Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) at the University of Toronto promotes scholarly, interdivisional research and other educational activities related to Engineering in a global environment. “U of T was in the right place at the right time,” said Cheng. “Not only are we a world-leading Engineering school, but we’re focused on just these kinds of global challenges and opportunities.”
Over the next year, in Phase One of the Challenge, Cheng and her team will develop the technical ideas to create a prototype and conduct field testing of the concept in Bangladesh to make sure the ideas are culturally appropriate. Then they’ll vie for additional funding for Phase Two.
“It is a developing world problem,” said Cheng, “but, really, if we could make a toilet that didn’t require water, sewerage and power, and we add a splash of First World stylishness, who wouldn’t want to use it in Toronto.”
Read more about the Toilet Challenge in the following selection of stories:
CBC
CityNews
CNN
CP24
CTV
Design News
Digital Journal
Globe & Mail
Maclean’s
MSN Canada
Radio Canada International
Sympatico Canada
Study Magazine
TheSpec
Time Magazine
Torontoist
Toronto Star
TopNews (US)
Additional links from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:
Reinvent the Toilet Challenge Fact Sheet
Toilet Challenge strategy overview
Press release: Reinvent the Toilet Challenge announcement
It’s difficult to dispose of traditionally produced plastics in a sustainable manner. However, thanks to the work of researchers like U of T Engineering’s Professor Emma Master (ChemE), new options are now available.
Professor Master is utilizing enzymes to create plant-based polymers. The enzymes are biodegradable and are being used to make the plant polymers water resistant. The results could replace plastics used everyday, including cups, disposable plates and packaging.
Professor Master’s research is profiled in Science News for Kids.
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.