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.

Three students making sustainability part of their education

March 23, 2016

Undergraduate students are making sustainability and the environment key components of their education through Engineering minors

Livestock graze in an arid field. Africa is losing 20,000 hectares of land to desertification annually. Two-thirds of arable land is expected to be lost in Africa by the year 2025 because of land degradation (photo supplied by Rod Tennyson)

World Water Day: Prof Rod Tennyson plans 8,000-kilometre water pipeline across Africa

March 21, 2016

Professor Rod Tennyson (UTIAS) wants to build a pipeline that would stretch from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, providing water for millions of people in Africa’s Sahel region.

Dr. Malgosia Pakulska (pictured) and University Professor Molly Shoichet have outlined the best techniques for discovering molecules that will bind to proteins with the potential to treat conditions from stroke to heart disease. (Photo: Marit Mitchell)

Tailored protein binding opens possibilities for nerve, tissue treatments

March 17, 2016

Biomedical engineers at the University of Toronto review most promising ways to discover or design new binding partners for time-release protein treatments

After a single MSC transplant, the leg bone of this previously osteoporotic mouse shows a restoration of the normal internal structure. (Courtesy: Dr. Jeff Kiernan).

Stem cell therapy reverses age-related osteoporosis in mice

March 17, 2016

Researchers from the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering and The Ottawa Hospital suggest stem-cell treatment for humans may not be far off

Gimmy Chu, a U of T Engineering alumnus, co-founded the green technology company Nanoleaf. The company developed the Nanoleaf LED light bulb, the world's most energy-efficient bulb. (Credit: Johnny Guatto).

Federal government backs three U of T Engineering startups and their clean tech innovations

March 11, 2016

Nanoleaf, QD Solar and ARDA Power Inc. received a total of almost $6 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada

Before drilling underneath a city of skyscrapers, engineers such as Professor Giovanni Grasselli need sophisticated models of how the rock underneath might react to physical forces. (Credit: Jonathan Moore via Flickr)

Advanced imaging techniques let U of T engineers see inside rock

March 10, 2016

Professor Giovanni Grasselli’s research improves predictions of how different rock types respond to engineering activities, from hydraulic fracturing to excavating a new subway tunnel to capturing carbon underground

When seeded with heart cells, the flexible polymer scaffold contracts with a regular rhythm, just like real heart tissue. (Image: Boyang Zhang)

‘Person-on-a-chip’ — U of T engineers create lab-grown heart and liver tissue for drug testing and more

March 7, 2016

Professor Milica Radisic and her team have developed unique methods for manufacturing small, intricate scaffolds for individual cells to grow on

Tangy the personal assistive robot (credit: Liz Do).

Meet three robots engineered at U of T that could improve — or save — your life

March 3, 2016

Group of international journalists visits Mechanical & Industrial Engineering labs to learn about U of T Engineering research in robotics and automation

The past, present and future of flight: Q & A with Professor David Zingg

March 1, 2016

From the rise of drones to the push for greener planes, the world of aeronautics and space has changed dramatically in the past decade, and Professor David Zingg has had a front-row seat

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