Research news

Learn more about the latest discoveries and innovations from the U of T Engineering community. Our researchers are developing new ways of capturing and storing clean energy, medical devices that can save and extend lives, smarter ways to design and build cities and much more.

Researchers at U of T Engineering and the University of Waterloo used wood-derived materials to construct this device, about the size of a credit card, which can be used to harvest electrical energy from everyday movements via the triboelectric effect. (Photo: Md Masud Rana, University of Waterloo)

Wood-derived prototype could lead to self-powered biosensors

June 3, 2022

Biodegradable device uses lignin-containing nanomaterials to create electrical energy from movement

Dr. Hugues Thomas (UTIAS) and his collaborators created a new method for robot navigation based on self-supervised deep learning (Photo: Safa Jinje)

UTIAS researchers design socially aware robots to move safely around people

May 13, 2022

Collaboration between Professor Tim Barfoot (UTIAS) and Apple Machine Learning applies new approach for navigating spaces with moveable obstacles

Professors Yu Zou (MSE), left, and Nicolas Papernot (ECE), right, received Early Researcher Awards from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities in the latest round of funding. (Photos: Submitted)

Ontario Early Researcher Awards support materials for next-generation vehicles and trustworthy applications of machine learning

May 12, 2022

Professors Yu Zou (MSE) and Nicolas Papernot (ECE) receive support in the latest round

Graduate research assistant Weiwu Chen (CivMin) counts microplastics using a microscope in the lab of Professor Elodie Passeport (CivMin, ChemE). (Photo: Shuyao Tan)

U of T Engineering researchers use machine learning to enhance environmental monitoring of microplastics

April 18, 2022

More accurate measurements are critical to preventing microplastics from entering the environment — or removing those that are already there

The DREAM Laboratory constructed and tested 12 different face masks, and used a sweating thermal manikin to validate if there was a correlation between face mask discomfort and the level of protection the mask offers. (Photo: Farzan Gholamreza)

Are safer masks more uncomfortable? New U of T Engineering study offers answers

April 8, 2022

Professor Kevin Golovin (MIE) analyzed 12 different face masks to investigate connections between discomfort and protection.

Postdoctoral fellow Dr. Hao Chen shows off a prototype inverted perovskite solar cell created in the lab of Professor Ted Sargent (ECE). The team leveraged quantum mechanics to improve both the stability and efficiency of this alternative solar technology. (Photo: Bin Chen)

Quantum innovation advances low-cost alternative solar technology

April 7, 2022

New manufacturing technique for inverted perovskite solar cells increases both stability and power conversion efficiency

Professor Gisele Azimi (ChemE, MSE) and her lab group have received a 2022 Connaught Innovation Award for their work on high-performance and cost-effective aluminum batteries for electric transportation and renewable energy storage. (Photo: Roberta Baker).

Beyond lithium-ion: New battery technologies among nine projects supported by 2022 Connaught Innovation Awards

March 31, 2022

Professor Gisele Azimi (ChemE, MSE) is exploring aluminum as an alternative to lithium and cobalt to develop more cost-effective and reliable components for next-generation batteries

MIE PhD candidate Nitish Sarker works in the lab of Professor Amy Bilton (MIE) designing low-cost, solar-powered water treatment systems for remote, rural or off-grid communities. (Photo: Nitish Sarker)

Safe water, low cost: Meet award-winning global engineering leader Nitish Sarker

March 22, 2022

Sarker (MIE PhD candidate) earned the Global Engineering Outstanding Student Award from the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder

Tracking community transmission: Researchers advance COVID-19 variant detection in GTA wastewater

March 21, 2022

A collaboration between ChemE and U of T’s Department of Chemistry is strengthening viral signals and the early detection of variants of concern in wastewater

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