A team of students from U of T Engineering has clinched the top spot in the 2025 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race.
Their yellow, submarine-shaped vehicle — appropriately named Ringo — beat out nearly a dozen other challengers in the competition, held January 25 at Groupe Plein Air Terrebonne, a ski resort just outside of Montreal.
“I think we were all a bit surprised,” says Amélie Smithson (Year 4 MechE), one of the two co-captains of the University of Toronto Concrete Toboggan Team.
“There was one other team that had a faster time than us, but the overall win is about accumulating the most points across all aspects of the competition. We were very happy to see the amount of work we put in pay off.”
The annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race challenges teams from Canadian engineering schools to put their skills to the test by designing a fast and functional sled.
Any part of the sled that is normally in contact with the ground must be made of concrete, and the vehicle must be equipped with both a functional braking and steering system. Five team members are required to ride the sled during the various races.
“I think a really valuable part of this competition is how novel it is,” says Tobin Zheng (Year 4 MSE), the team’s other co-captain.
“The unique set of requirements provides a really interesting engineering challenge.”
Check out footage from the competition from CityNews Montreal
Each team designs and builds a new sled from scratch every year. At U of T, the team consists of more than 100 students, mostly but not exclusively from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, though only about 30 were able to attend the actual race.
The students have been working on Ringo for months. After creating models using computer-aided design (CAD) software throughout the spring and summer of 2024, they began pouring concrete parts and assembling the vehicle last fall.
Though the snow conditions in Toronto did not allow for a full ‘road test’ before the competition, each part was tested individually to ensure it met safety requirements.
Among the criteria that the teams are judged on are the formulation of their concrete and the geometric profile used in the design.
“We earned second place for the geometric profile of our skis, which was designed to evenly distribute forces across the skis in order to reduce the likelihood of them cracking during the runs,” says Smithson.
“Another unique aspect of Ringo is that she doesn’t have a chassis. Instead, we integrated hard points into the structural members between the layers of carbon fibre, which helped us significantly reduce weight compared to previous years.”
On race day, there are three events. One is a time trial, in which the goal is to get the fastest speed, typically in the range of 25-30 km/h.
Another, the slalom, requires the team to navigate through three gates on opposite sides of the track to test their steering capabilities.
The final event is the King of the Hill competition, in which teams go head-to-head in individual heats.
There are also points for team spirit, including the design of appropriate costumes, which Ringo and her supporters had in spades.
“I think that the spirit component is really valuable, and something not a lot of other design competitions have,” says Zheng.
“It fosters a sense of community and makes everyone enjoy the competition.”
The team took second place in both the speed race and King of the Hill events, making their overall win as satisfying as it was surprising.
“As soon as they read out our name, everyone just exploded in excitement,” says Zheng.
“We all rushed up on stage to receive the trophy, and it was a really wonderful moment.”
New funding from NSERC and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will advance several U of T Engineering projects related to quantum communication networks, quantum computing and more.
Professor Li Qian (ECE) is a key principal investigator on three of the newly funded projects. Her overarching goal is to make quantum communication more practical and accessible.
“Whether it’s about protecting banking information or safeguarding the signals that control critical infrastructure, there is a lot of interest in secure communication these days,” says Qian.
“In quantum communication, we leverage phenomena from quantum physics to ensure that nobody can listen in or alter the message. But establishing quantum links over very large distances poses special challenges, and that’s particularly relevant for a geographically large country like Canada.”
Establishing a quantum link typically involves creating photons that are interrelated via a quantum phenomenon known as entanglement.
Once two or more photons are entangled, their quantum properties match in a way that can’t be altered. Measuring or attempting to copy one of the photons instantly affects the photon as well as its entangled partner, rendering any attempt to listen in on the signal detectable.
But sending entangled photons through traditional optical communications networks is far from straightforward.
“Optical fibres are the best technology we know of for long-distance communication, because the losses are very low,” says Qian.
“But at the same time, the losses are not zero, so by the time you have gone a hundred kilometres, you’ve lost 99% of the photons.
“With classical signals, that’s not a problem, because you can add amplifiers along the way that boost the signal as it degrades. But if you’re only sending single photons, which is the case in quantum communication, that is very hard to do.”
Qian is an expert in creating sources of entangled and hyperentangled photons. Two of the newly-funded projects involve collaborations with Canadian researchers and companies to create long-distance quantum links for secure communications, particularly in the area of defence.
In the UKRI project, she is working with researchers at the University of Bristol to study how principles and paradigms from classical optical networks can be adapted for quantum networks.
“My collaborators know a lot about how to package signals, or how to dynamically reconfigure the network to deal with high-traffic situations,” says Qian.
“We are looking at how you approach these challenges differently once you start sending entangled photons.”
Qian is also part of a collaboration between Canadian and European researchers known as HyperSpace, which aims to use satellites to establish trans-continental quantum networks.
“As in any industry, customers want a range of solutions to meet their various needs,” says Qian.
“If we can reduce its cost, expand its range and enhance its reliability, we can make secure quantum communication a practical reality for many different kinds of users.”
Qian’s projects are among several across U of T Engineering that will share more than $7.5 million in funding from several NSERC Alliance programs, as well as $800,000 more from NSERC and UKRI via the UK-Canada Quantum for Science Research Collaboration.
The full list of U of T Engineering projects and principal investigators includes:
- Advanced QUAntum applications via complex states in integrated and meta optics (AQUA) — Stewart Aitchison (ECE)
- Dynamic metropolitan-scale entanglement distribution networks and beyond — Li Qian (ECE)
- QuantaMole: Consortium on quantum molecular technologies — Amr Helmy (ECE) and Alan Aspuru-Guzik (Department of Chemistry)
- Quantum dot photonics for large-scaled Entanglement — Li Qian (ECE)
- Quantum software centre — Hans-Arno Jacobsen (ECE)
- Twin Fields: From secure quantum communication to quantum sensing networks — Li Qian (ECE)
U of T Engineering researchers are working to enable a future where a single, non-invasive injection under the eyelid could replace months of daily eye drops in treating glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.
In a recently published paper in Advanced Materials, a team led by Professor Molly Shoichet (ChemE, BME) describes how they used colloidal drug aggregates (CDAs) to modify the effects of a small-molecule glaucoma drug.
This new approach prolongs the drug’s effect from six hours when it is delivered via an eye drop, to up to seven weeks with a single, non-invasive injection placed in the subconjunctival space, that is, under the eye lid.
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by an increase in eye pressure, leading to damage of the optic nerve, which is essential for vision. Currently, there are no clinical cures, only treatments that can slow the progression of the disease.
“Eye drops are the most common treatment for glaucoma, but they come with issues regarding efficacy and patient compliance, especially since the disease is more common in older adults. Self-administering drops perfectly can be difficult, and their effects are transient, requiring administration on a precise, interval-based schedule,” says Mickaël Dang (ChemE PhD 2T4), postdoctoral fellow in Shoichet’s lab and the first author of the study.
“There are also laser therapies and surgical treatments that require an injection inside the eye every few months. But these come with risks of complications, such as infection, inflammation or vision loss.”
The new method delivers timolol prodrug colloids dispersed in a hydrogel, demonstrating for the first time that a non-colloid forming drug can be chemically modified into a colloid-forming prodrug.
CDAs are drug molecules that can spontaneously self-assemble into nano-scale particles. Traditionally, they have been seen as a hindrance in drug development research. This is due to CDAs creating false positive and false negative results in enzyme- and cell-based assays, respectively, which are commonly used to screen and characterize drug candidates in the early stages of development.
“We showed that delivery of this colloidal drug aggregate could be dispersed in an in situ forming hydrogel into the subconjunctival space,” says Shoichet.
“The colloidal drug enabled the slow release over several weeks leading to a 200-fold increase in efficacy, and the hydrogel resulted in the formulation staying in the subconjunctival space after injection. The control — without the hydrogel — mostly leaked out of that space.”
Shoichet’s lab collaborated with Dr. Jeremy Sivak on this research. Sivak is an associate professor in Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science and the glaucoma research chair at the Krembil Research Institute, part of the University Health Network.
While this study was conducted on animal models, the researchers are now working towards optimizing their formulation for ultimate clinical use.
“We envision a future where this non-invasive injection can be administered once every month or two in a medical office,” says Dang, who is also at Synakis, a spinoff biotechnology company founded from research in Shoichet’s lab.
“We invented this novel hydrogel as a vitreous substitute for vitreoretinal surgery, and here we show its versatility to encapsulate and release small molecule drugs.”
“There is a lot of work ahead,” adds Shoichet. “We are focused on the stability and manufacturability of our product while at the same time looking to raise funds to advance it more quickly to the clinic.”
The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has climbed to the 23rd spot in the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings by Subject 2025. The faculty has jumped three spots since 2024 and is the only Canadian engineering school in the top 25.
The ranking assesses universities across five core disciplines: general engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, civil engineering and chemical engineering. This year’s standing featured 1,488 institutions from 97 countries and territories.
“This significant jump of three spots since last year is a testament to the dedication and excellence of our community, which includes our faculty members, students, alumni, staff and partners,” says Christopher Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering.
“It is reflected in our commitment to educating the 21st century engineer to develop enhanced skillsets and global perspectives, as well as in the far-reaching impact of our research.”
U of T ranked first in Canada in all 11 subjects tracked by Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings by Subject 2025 — and is one of only six universities in the world to rank in the top 30 across the board.
The only other institutions to place in the top 30 across all subject categories were the University of California, Berkeley, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Stanford University and University of California, Los Angeles.
The closely watched ranking also placed U of T in the top 10 globally in two subjects: medical and health, and education studies.
“These rankings confirm once again that the University of Toronto encompasses a tremendous breadth and depth of academic excellence,” says U of T President Meric Gertler.
“Our consistently high standing among the world’s top universities is a tribute to the talent, creativity and drive of our faculty, librarians, students and staff across all three campuses.”
U of T notched improvements in two other subjects: computer science (up two spots to 23rd), and life sciences (up one spot to 26th).
The university also demonstrated continued strength in the remaining eight categories: medical and health (ninth); education studies (ninth); psychology (11th); arts and humanities (16th); law (22nd); business and economics (24th); social sciences (24th); and physical sciences (30th).
U of T ranked 21st in the world in Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, which ranks institutions’ overall performances. The same ranking placed U of T third among public universities in North America and 10th among public universities globally.
Overall, U of T continues to be the highest-ranked Canadian university and one of the top-ranked public universities in the five most closely watched international rankings: Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, QS World University Rankings, ShanghaiRanking Consultancy’s Academic Ranking of World Universities, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Global Universities and National Taiwan University World University Rankings.
U of T Engineering alumnus Nick Di Donato (MIE 8T1) has been awarded the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour given to individuals for excellence in all fields of endeavours and backgrounds, and whose contributions have left a lasting legacy in Ontario.
Following his studies in industrial engineering at U of T, Di Donato began his journey in hospitality with the founding of Liberty Entertainment Group (LEG) in 1986.
Over the next few decades, LEG become one of Canada’s most recognized and successful hospitality, nightlife and entertainment companies. Under his leadership, the company has developed a portfolio of landmark venues that draw visitors from around the world.
Di Donato’s innovative approach, passion for architecture and engineering expertise have enabled him to breathe life into any structure. He has focused on restoring historic properties and transforming them into special event facilities, turning these sites into community landmarks.
In 2018, he received the Citizenship Award from Professional Engineers Ontario, recognizing his extensive community involvement and the application of his engineering expertise for the benefit of society.
“I am truly humbled by my appointment to the Order of Ontario,” says Di Donato.
“My engineering background has been instrumental in helping me reimagine the use of heritage sites, transforming them into vibrant spaces that celebrate both hospitality and history. This recognition reflects the incredible opportunities I’ve had to contribute to our province’s cultural and economic landscape.”
One of his most notable achievements is the $12 million restoration of Casa Loma, which has been reimagined as a premier cultural attraction and event venue. The expansion of cultural, educational and culinary programming has solidified it as a top Toronto destination.
Additionally, the revitalization of the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, which previously had only been used during the two weeks of the Canadian National Exhibition, has been re-established as a year-round hub for major events. LEG is the only Canadian hospitality group with two Michelin-starred restaurants.
Di Donato’s impact extends beyond his own ventures. He has served on various boards that promote the economic prosperity of Toronto, including the TTC and Tourism Toronto. He actively works in his community by volunteering with the Hospital for Sick Children and Toronto Crime Stoppers, to name a few. He currently serves as the chair of Canada’s Walk of Fame.
He is also a passionate philanthropist, supporting St. Michael’s College, his alma mater, as well as founding Caring & Sharing Children’s Christmas Gala to support underprivileged children, and FoodBall to fundraise for Sinai Health Foundation.
“Nick’s creativity and dedication has left an indelible mark on the fabric of the city. This appointment is a testament to what his family and partners have built,” says Professor Markus Bussmann, chair of the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at U of T.
“Congratulations — this recognition is well deserved.”
Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME) have found that studying blood flow in leg muscles may help detect cardiovascular disease earlier compared to standardized tests, opening the door to earlier treatment and better outcomes.
This research was published in Discover Medicine.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is a common and challenging condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It often progresses quietly, showing few symptoms until it becomes serious and difficult to treat. While medical imaging has improved the ability to find heart-specific issues, such as stiffening or scarring of heart tissue, these tests typically miss even earlier signs of trouble in other parts of the body.
Previous research suggests that poor blood flow regulation in leg muscle may show up before similar changes in the heart, and could even explain symptoms like fatigue or difficulty exercising. However, this connection has not been widely studied until now.
“Our study shines a light on an important gap in how we detect HFpEF before the heart becomes irreversibly damaged,” says Professor Hai-Ling Margaret Cheng (BME), senior researcher on the project.
“Our work suggests that vascular changes in leg muscle could serve as an earlier, more accessible warning sign of the disease.”
To explore this idea, the research team used a special type of MRI scan that tracks how blood vessels respond to stress. They tested this method in a rat model of diabetes-induced HFpEF, focusing on blood flow changes in both the heart and the leg muscle. They found that in diabetic rats, problems in blood flow regulation in the leg muscle appeared months before similar issues were seen in the heart. This suggests that leg muscle may offer a better location to catch HFpEF in its early stages.
“Our results show that by looking at blood flow in the legs, we could detect problems much sooner than we would by focusing only on the heart,” says Sadi Loai (BME PhD 2T3), the study’s lead researcher.
“This could make a big difference in how we diagnose and treat this condition.”
Looking ahead, Cheng emphasized the next steps for the research.
“The next step is to test human patients with the risk factors for HFpEF and determine if our MRI platform can, indeed, identify disease earlier than can conventional diagnostic methods,” she says.
“Our ultimate goal is not only to open a door to early diagnosis when this disease may be treatable, but also to offer a new direction in treating a condition that is growing in prevalence and has become the most common form of heart failure.”