Sustainability news

Sustainability programs and research at U of T Engineering are at the forefront of alternative technologies that can mitigate the impact of climate change.

Phil De Luna (MSE PhD candidate) is one of the lead authors of a new paper published in Nature Chemistry that reports a low-cost, highly efficient catalyst for chemical conversion of water into oxygen. The catalyst is part of an artificial photosynthesis system being developed at U of T Engineering. (Photo: Tyler Irving)

Artificial photosynthesis gets big boost from new catalyst

U of T Engineering system takes inspiration from plants to convert electrical energy to chemical energy at 64 per cent efficiency, the highest yet reported for renewable carbon fuels

Professor David Sinton has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). (Photo: NSERC)

David Sinton elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Award recognizes Sinton’s application of microfluidics to challenges in sustainable energy

From left: UTEV’s Professor Peter Lehn, Dr. Theo Soong, and Professor Olivier Trescases (all ECE) at the Electric Mobility Canada Show with Havelaar’s electric pick-up truck, the Bison. (Credit: Sonja Persram).

Electric vehicle partnership earns $9-million investment

University of Toronto Electric Vehicle Research Centre (UTEV) receives major grants to advance R&D of sustainable transportation

Chemical engineering PhD candidate Kayla Nemr and Professor Krishna Mahadevan grow yeast in a bioreactor. Along with their collaborators, they are using these organisms to transform bark, leaves and stems into the chemical building blocks of materials such as nylon. (Photo: Tyler Irving)

Natural fibres: New yeast strains could turn plant waste into fabrics

U of T Engineering researchers are developing bio-based commodity chemicals, including nylon precursors

Human-Powered Vehicle Design Team

U of T Engineering students win global speedbike competition

Vehicle achieves speed of 127.6 kilometres per hour

Blue Sky Solar Racing Team - Polaris

Polaris: Blue Sky Solar Racing team unveils its newest vehicle

Ninth-generation solar vehicle to race 3,000 kilometres across Australia in the 2017 World Solar Challenge

Postdoctoral researcher Lukas Kohl (ChemE) and undergraduate student Cynthia Jing (Year 2 EngSci) will sample homes in northern Alberta for ash left over from last summer’s wildfire. (Photo: Tyler Irving)

U of T Engineering researchers search for toxins in the aftermath of Fort McMurray wildfire

Project aims to test household dust for evidence of ash, lead contamination and more

Optimizing traffic flow between the City of Oshawa, at right, and Toronto, lower left, is one challenge that Master of Engineering students in the Cities Engineering and Management program at U of T will study in the newly established ‘teaching city.’ (Image: Google Maps).

New partnership establishes a Canadian teaching city for engineering students

A first in Canada, the agreement between academia, industry and the City of Oshawa launches the municipality east of Toronto as a ‘living lab’ for exploration in fields from traffic to urban planning

Left to right: Rahim Rezaie (U of T Engineering), Erastus M. Mwanaumo (Assistant Dean, School of Engineering, University of Zambia) and Professor Murray Metcalfe (U of T Engineering) at the University of Zambia. A partnership between U of T Engineering and various institutions in Africa aims to prepare the engineering leaders who will build the world’s fastest-growing cities.

Preparing the next generation of engineering leaders to grow Africa’s megacities sustainably

U of T Engineering initiative to offer scalable online education in partnership with universities in Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia and others