Engineers to transform genomic medicine with deep learning startup
Evolution has altered the human genome over hundreds of thousands of years — and now humans can do it in a matter of months. Faster than anyone expected, scientists have discovered how to read and write the DNA code in a living body, using hand-held genome sequencers and gene-editing systems. But knowing how to write […]
Smart cities become reality at SAVI meeting of minds
If you live in Toronto, you may have noticed that your commute is worse since the HOV lanes opened ahead of Toronto’s Pan Am Games. Or is it all in your head? The smart traffic monitoring platform Connected Vehicles and Smart Transportation (CVST) has the answer to that question, and many more that haven’t been […]
Two CFI grants accelerate research in electromagnetics and smart-grid security
Two professors in The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering have received grants from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) worth a combined $3.4 million. The funding supports cutting-edge infrastructure upgrades and equipment needed to accelerate research on advanced electromagnetics and quantum security for smart grids. Professor George Eleftheriades won $2.6 million for the Centre […]
How this Engineering professor is helping drivers keep their eyes on the road
Originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of Edge Magazine. According to recent studies, texting while driving has surpassed drunkenness as the leading cause of death for teen drivers. But even as public service campaigns plead with drivers to relinquish their devices, cars are increasingly loaded up with GPSs, infotainment systems, dash cams and other on-board tech. Cars […]
Identity crisis: Engineering more security on your smartphone
Originally published in the 2014 issue of ANNUM Magazine. It wakes up next to you, sits by to you at lunch, hits the gym with you after work. Face it—your smartphone is your best friend. But how good is it at keeping your secrets? Almost two billion people have a computer in their pockets right now. And […]
Machine learning reveals unexpected genetic roots of cancers, autism and other disorders
In the decade since the genome was sequenced in 2003, scientists, engineers and doctors have struggled to answer an all-consuming question: Which DNA mutations cause disease? A new computational technique developed at the University of Toronto may now be able to tell us. A Canadian research team led by engineering and medicine professor Brendan Frey […]
No more poking at your smartphone: Students unveil ideas for new mobile user interfaces
Poking at your smartphone with your finger is so 2014—it’s time to find new ways to interface with the mobile devices we all carry. That’s the challenge Professor Parham Aarabi (ECE) of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at University of Toronto posed to his graduate class. “I encouraged students […]
From pulsars to particles: What can engineers do with big data?
The information available today, between books, the Internet and more, amounts to approximately 1,200 exabytes – that’s 1,200 billion gigabytes – of data. If all of that were stored on CDs, the discs would form five stacks, each tall enough to reach the moon. Big data – sets of information that are too large to […]
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 […]
