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.

A new analysis by U of T Engineering researchers shows that concrete basements are the top driver of material intensity for new single-family homes. (Photo: twenty20photos, via Envato Elements)

Large carbon footprint of new house construction mostly due to concrete basements

Analysis of 40 homes in Toronto suggests zoning and construction strategies that could reduce the environmental impact of new builds

Alumnus Lyndon Chan hopes to boost political engagement with Parlawatch, an online tool that scrapes official transcripts from Question Period and uses natural language processing to generate daily summaries. (Photo courtesy: Lyndon Chan)

Startup led by U of T alumni uses AI to help Canadians track parliamentary proceedings

Their online platform aims to cut through clutter, misinformation and bias to help people better engage in federal politics

Professor George Eleftheriades (ECE) achieved a practical mechanism for ‘full-duplex nonreciprocity,’ a property in metamaterials that allows for manipulation of both incoming and reflective beams of light. (Photo: Matthew Tierney)

New metamaterial with unusual reflective property could boost your Wi-Fi signal

U of T Engineering research team’s ‘full-duplex’ intelligent metasurface has the potential to double the capacity of existing wireless communication networks

Professor Li Qian (ECE), shown in her lab pre-pandemic, is part of a research team that proposed a new quantum fingerprinting protocol, which is used to quickly and securely identify whether information from two sources is the same. (Photo: Don Figer)

Quantum ‘fingerprints’ made smaller and delivered faster

New protocol from ECE researchers solves communication complexity problems more efficiently and with off-the-shelf components

Michael Sefton, a U of T tissue engineer and executive director of Medicine by Design, is investigating whether dendritic skin cells can aid in the successful transplantation of insulin-producing islet cells in diabetes patients. (Photo: Neil Ta)

With a focus on skin cells, U of T’s Michael Sefton seeks ‘huge step forward’ in diabetes treatment

Sefton’s research will explore whether dendritic skin cells can aid in the successful transplantation of insulin-producing islet cells in diabetes patients

These prepared samples are used as references by Professors Elodie Passeport and Jennifer Drake and their teams, who study the prevalence of microplastics in the environment. They have shown that human-engineered structures known as bioretention cells can be effective at preventing microplastics from getting washed downstream in storm surges. (Photo: Ziting (Judy) Xia)

Q&A: Can green infrastructure keep microplastics out of the environment?

Professor Elodie Passeport (CivMin, ChemE) and her team study how urban green infrastructure such as bioretention cells can remove microplastics and other emerging contaminants from stormwater

The members of team TelOmG, from left to right, are Erin Richardson (EngSci Year 4), Anthony Piro, Miranda Badovinac in the top row; Taylor Peters, Dunja Matic (both EngSci Year 4), Luca Castelletto (EngSci Year 3) in the middle row; Samantha Aberdein, Emma Belhadfa (EngSci Year 3), Nicole Richardson, Krish Joshi, and MacKenzie Campbell (EngSci 2T0 + PEY, ChemE MASc candidate) in the bottom row. (Photos courtesy of team TelOmG)

Student team studies human genetics in microgravity

A multidisciplinary student team will fly in a microgravity environment to investigate why astronauts experience chromosomal changes during spaceflight.

In the Rock Fracture Dynamics Facility (CivMin), rock samples are subjected to the stress, fluid pressure and temperature conditions they would experience in nature. The research is one of nine projects boosted by new funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation. (Photo courtesy Sebastian Goodfellow)

Rock music: Listening for induced earthquakes among nine U of T Engineering projects funded through CFI

CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund will support research into seismicity, water treatment, bioengineering and more

Binbin Ying (MIE) demonstrates the performance of iSkin by sticking it to the outside of his winter jacket, in this photo, taken Feb. 27, 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The cold-tolerant, stretchable, sticky sensor converts physical movement into electrical signals, and can be used in wearable electronics as well as many other applications. (Photo: Runze Zuo)

iSkin: The cold-tolerant, stretchable, sticky sensor that could power a new generation of wearable electronics and more

Professor Xinyu Liu (MIE) and his team have built a flexible, conductive hydrogel that works at temperatures down to -93 C