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.

Crowd at the 2015 SAVI Annual General Meeting

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 […]

AirSensors.ca screenshot

U of T researchers launch interactive air pollution map for Pan Am Games

A group of researchers from the University of Toronto and the Allergy, Genes and Environment (AllerGen) Network have launched an interactive map that tracks air pollution across Toronto for the Pan Am Games. The tool uses data from new AirSENCE devices, which are a type of inexpensive air quality monitoring system that the U of […]

Mark Fox

Mark Fox named U of T Distinguished Professor of Urban Systems Engineering

Professor Mark Fox (MIE) has been named a University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Urban Systems Engineering, an honour that recognizes his exceptional career achievements and promise. Awarded by the U of T Office of the Vice-President and Provost, Fox holds the title for a five-year term, beginning July 1, 2015. He is one of […]

Rendering of a portion of a cell

New device tracks chemical signals within cells

Biomedical engineers at the University of Toronto have invented a new device that more quickly and accurately visualizes the chemical messages that tell our cells how to multiply. The tool improves our understanding of how cancerous growth begins, and could identify new targets for cancer medications. Throughout the human body, certain signalling chemicals — known as […]

Professor Milos Popovic

IBBME professor honoured with UHN Inventor of the Year Award

Professor Milos Popovic (IBBME) has been named the recipient of the University Health Network (UHN) 2014 Inventor of the Year Award for his creation of MyndMove, a non-invasive device that delivers electrical stimulation to paralyzed muscles producing movement in arms and hands. Popovic, a professor at the U of T Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and senior […]

Professor Craig Simmons

Engineers receive grant for ‘artificial liver’ that could help find more effective drugs

A research team led by U of T Engineering Professor Craig Simmons (MIE, IBBME) received $300,000 this week to create a 3D model of the human liver. Funded by Ontario Centres of Excellence and pharmaceutical consortium CQDM, the project could help determine whether or not new drug molecules are safe for use in humans. Drug developers rely on lab tests and […]

Professor Hani Naguib

The bionic man: coming soon?

Originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of Edge Magazine. In 1999, NASA issued a challenge to the scientific community: to develop a robotic arm with artificial muscles that could beat a human in an arm-wrestling match. At a conference six years later, a high school girl faced off against three such arms. She won against each of […]

Ted Sargent

Solar energy pioneer receives U of T’s highest academic rank

Ted Sargent, ECE professor and vice-dean, research for the Faculty, has been appointed to the rank of University Professor by U of T. University Professor is U of T’s highest academic rank, recognizing unusual scholarly achievement and pre-eminence in a particular field of knowledge. The number of such appointments is limited to two per cent […]

ECE professors George Eleftheriades and Hoi-Kwong Lo

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 […]