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 research collaboration on analyzing tiny particles of plastic in drinking water is one of 11 projects supported in the latest round of XSeed, which catalyzes multidisciplinary research across U of T. (Photo: Tyler Irving)

XSeed: Catalyzing multidisciplinary research at the University of Toronto

May 30, 2019

Eleven newly funded projects will advance research in areas from environmental monitoring to cancer detection

Professors Chelsea Rochman (left, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) and Bob Andrews (right, CivMin) have joined forces to develop new techniques for analyzing microplastics and nanoplastics in drinking water. (Photo: Tyler Irving)

Microplastics in drinking water: how much is too much?

May 30, 2019

Professors Chelsea Rochman (left, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) and Bob Andrews (right, CivMin) have joined forces to develop new techniques for analyzing microplastics and nanoplastics in drinking water. (Photo: Tyler Irving)

Geonhui Lee (ECE PhD candidate) operates an electrolyzer capable of transforming dissolved carbonate into CO2 and then into syngas. The device offers a new, shorter path for converting atmospheric carbon into commercially valuable products (Photo: Marit Mitchell)

Out of thin air: New electrochemical process shortens the path to capturing and recycling CO2

May 29, 2019

Professor Ted Sargent (ECE) and his team offer a promising technique for converting atmospheric CO2 into commercially valuable products

Members of the aUToronto team at the Year 1 AutoDrive Challenge competition at General Motors Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. (Credit: SAE International)

aUToronto to compete in Year 2 of AutoDrive Challenge

May 29, 2019

U of T Engineering team and their self-driving car are headed to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on seven other teams in international competition

Mengxia Liu (ECE PhD 1T8) is the lead author on a new paper in Nature that describes a way to combine two promising solar technologies — perovskites and quantum dots — in order to enhance their stability. (Photo: Sanyang Han)

Quantum rebar: Quantum dots enhance stability of solar-harvesting perovskite crystals

May 22, 2019

U of T Engineering researchers demonstrate that perovskite crystals and quantum dots working together can increase stability of solar materials

$Michael Floros, the CEO of Cohesys and a recent IBBME post-doctoral researcher, hopes the startup's 'bone tape' will one day replace the metal plates and screws used to heal facial fractures. (Photo: Erin Vollick)$

‘Bone tape’ startup by U of T Engineering alumnus takes home international prize

May 21, 2019

Cohesys, a startup that makes biodegradable ‘bone tape’ to help heal facial fractures, recently took home US$20,000 at an international competition

Professor Leo Chou (IBBME) will study how DNA nanotechnology could be used to ramp up or dampen immune responses, offering new ways to treat disease. (Photo: Bill Dai)

Six U of T Engineering projects earn support from Medicine by Design

May 15, 2019

The funding supports new research concepts that could be critical to regenerative medicine in the coming decades

Graduate student Thanyathorn (Smile) Thanapattheerakul (MIE MASc candidate) demonstrates the Target Acquisition Games for Measurement and Evaluation (TAG-ME games) in Professor Mark Chignell’s lab (Photo: Pam Walls).

It’s all fun and brain games: Using simulations and games to improve health in older adults

May 14, 2019

U of T Engineering researchers develop driving simulators and games that monitor cognitive and physical health of older adults with dementia and other impairments

Professor Erin Bobicki (MSE, ChemE) wants to decrease the energy required for crushing rocks by 70%. (Photo courtesy of Erin Bobicki)

The search for a cleaner solution to crushing rocks

May 13, 2019

Professor Erin Bobicki named a finalist in national challenge to develop an energy-efficient solution for crushing and grinding rocks in the mining industry

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