Toronto, ON – Starting Tuesday, June 6 the next generation of leaders will graduate from Canada’s top university. This year, U of T will host 27 different ceremonies (two more than in 2016) over 13 days for almost 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students from the university’s three campuses in downtown Toronto, Scarborough and Mississauga. They […]

U of T’s reigning champs eye Americas-wide record at the 2016 Shell Eco-marathon Americas Challenge Toronto, ON – Imagine driving from Toronto to San Francisco and back on three litres of gasoline. That’s exactly the kind of vehicle a University of Toronto Suoermileage Team, will be unveiling on April 16 along with another battery-electric powered car. It’s […]

Sunnyvale, CA – Deep learning will transform medicine, but not in the way that many advocates think. Biological complexity, rare mutations and confounding factors work against us, so that even if we sequence 100,000 genomes, it won’t be enough. Brendan Frey is engineering the future of personalized medicine. A professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty […]

Toronto, ON –  University of Toronto professor Michael Sefton (ChemE, IBBME) has been presented with a major research award from international diabetes foundation JDRF to advance treatment research for type 1 diabetes (T1D). The funding, valued at approximately $1.1 million ($845,135 USD), supports a three-year study at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomaterials & […]

Toronto, ON – Augmented reality startup ModiFace will make a major announcement Tuesday, aimed to accelerate development of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) talent at Canada’s top-ranked engineering school. The company, founded by Professor Parham Aarabi of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, uses AR and AI to […]

Toronto, ON –  Machine learning and artificial intelligence are poised to revolutionize the way companies do business in the fields of healthcare, transportation, and materials research. With the launch of the new Vector Institute, Toronto is quickly becoming a hub for machine learning development. Following this momentum is a three-part limited edition CIFAR seminar series, […]

Discovery that confirms theory of relativity makes headlines around the world “We see today that black holes exist in the universe and they do collide!” Associate Professor Harald Pfeiffer says (image courtesy NASA) For the first time, scientists have observed gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of spacetime from a cataclysmic event in the […]

Toronto, ON – When one atom first meets another, the precise nature of that interaction can determine much about what kinds of physical properties and behaviours will emerge. In a paper published today in Nature Physics, a team led by U of T physicist Joseph Thywissen reported their discovery of a new set of rules […]

University of Toronto Engineering, Google and Actua partner on Innovate U, a day-long STEM event for children in grades 3–8, featuring hands-on coding, circuitry and moreToronto, ON – More than 1,400 students from Grades 3–8 will descend on the University of Toronto on Friday, May 13 for Innovate U, a massive day of hands-on activities […]

Toronto, ON – University of Toronto Professor Giovanni Grasselli, of the Department of Civil Engineering, has been named the inaugural holder of the Foundation CMG Industrial Research Chair in Fundamental Petroleum Rock Physics and Rock Mechanics. Professor Grasselli is joining 12 chairs at 12 universities, including Penn State and the University of Texas in Austin, […]

Suggests similar evolution occurs on separate islandsToronto, ON – A University of Toronto-led team has reported the discovery of a new lizard in the middle of the most- visited island in the Caribbean, strengthening a long-held theory that communities of lizards can evolve almost identically on separate islands. The chameleon-like lizard – a Greater Antillean […]

Likely due to high temperatures and uncoordinated treatmentToronto, ON – High ocean temperatures and poor timing of parasite management likely led to an epidemic of sea lice in 2015 throughout salmon farms in British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Strait, a University of Toronto-led study has found. The sea lice spread to migrating juvenile wild salmon, resulting in […]

Universities announce their 2016 Schulich Leader Scholarship winners Toronto, ON – Kevin Han, Jun Ran Xu, Haleema Khan and Sabrina Cruz have been named University of Toronto’s recipients of the prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarships. Created in 2011 by Canadian business leader and philanthropist Seymour Schulich, this annual scholarship program encourages promising high school graduates to embrace […]

Compositions provide a soundtrack for the Cassini probe’s final plunge into planetToronto, ON –After centuries of looking with awe and wonder at the beauty of Saturn and its rings, we can now listen to them, thanks to the efforts of astrophysicists at the University of Toronto (U of T). “To celebrate the Grand Finale of […]

The following is a list of University of Toronto experts who can comment on the Toronto police task force report and TAVIS. Rinaldo Walcott, Associate Professor of Sociology Expertise: Race, Black politics, Community criticism of TAVIS Tel: (416) 978‑0400 Email: rinaldo.walcott@utoronto.ca (email is best) Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, Ph.D. Candidate in Centre of Criminology Expertise: Policing challenges, Criminal Justice, […]

The following is a list of University of Toronto experts who can comment on the police apology. David Rayside, Professor Emeritus with the Faculty of Arts and Science Expertise: Veteran activist in 1981 raising awareness of the raids Mobile: (647) 973‑8087 Email: david.rayside@utoronto.ca Donald Ainslie, Principal of University College Expertise: History of gay movement in Toronto […]

The following is a list of University of Toronto experts who can comment on Brexit: how did it happen, political impact and shock in Britain. *Please see U of T News story on the vote. Check in throughout the day for reaction from our experts Randall Hansen, Professor of Political Science at Munk School of Global […]

The following is a list of University of Toronto experts who can comment on Brexit: economic impact to Canada and the world. Laurence Booth, Professor in Structured Finance at Rotman School of Management Expertise: International Business Tel: (416)978‑6311 Email: booth@rotman.utoronto.ca Peter H. Pauly, Professor of Economics, Research Associate at the Institute for International Business at the […]

The following is a list of University of Toronto experts who can comment on Brexit: impact on UK-Canada foreign policy and trade deals. Robert Bothwell, Professor of International Relations at U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs Expertise: History of Canada/UK relations, Commonwealth ties Tel : (416) 946‑8948 Email: bothwell@chass.utoronto.ca Nelson Wiseman, Professor of Political Science […]

Chemical appears to have highest global-warming impact of any compound to dateTORONTO, ON - Scientists from U of T’s Department of Chemistry have discovered a novel chemical lurking in the atmosphere that appears to be a long-lived greenhouse gas (LLGHG).  The chemical – perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) – is the most radiatively efficient chemical found to date, […]

University of Toronto among extensive list of global collaboratorsTORONTO, ON – International high-energy physics research project IceCube has been named the 2013 Breakthrough of the Year by British magazine Physics World. The Antarctic observatory has been selected for making the first observation of cosmic neutrinos, but also for overcoming the many challenges of creating and […]

Massive deposit may be world’s most important animal fossil discovery in decadesKOOTENAY NATIONAL PARK, BRITISH COLUMBIA - Yoho National Park’s 505-million-year-old Burgess Shale – home to some of the planet’s earliest animals, including a very primitive human relative – is one of the world’s most important fossil sites. Now, more than a century after its […]

TORONTO, ON — New research from the University of Toronto Scarborough shows that animal dispersal is influenced by a gene associated with feeding and food search behaviours. The study, which was carried out by UTSC Professor Mark Fitzpatrick and PhD student Allan Edelsparre, provides one of the first aimed at gaining a functional understanding of […]

A quantum change in our understanding of how much of Earth’s crust may be habitableTORONTO, ON — A team of scientists, led by the University of Toronto’s Barbara Sherwood Lollar, has mapped the location of hydrogen-rich waters found trapped kilometres beneath Earth’s surface in rock fractures in Canada, South Africa and Scandinavia. Common in Precambrian […]

Team led by U of T Engineering designs world’s most efficient catalyst for storing energy as hydrogen by splitting water moleculesToronto, ON — We can’t control when the wind blows and when the sun shines, so finding efficient ways to store energy from alternative sources remains an urgent research problem. Now, a group of researchers led […]

TORONTO, ON– Despite the political challenges regarding Ontario’s publicly funded education system, there remains general satisfaction among the public as a whole, and parents more specifically. This is according to the 19th OISE Survey of Educational Issues, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education’s bi-annual survey of public attitudes towards education, released today. “A majority […]

Toronto, ON – A study by researchers at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto shows that four-year-olds with average and lower vocabulary skills learn more effectively with an adult reading an eBook to them versus relying solely on the eBook’s voiceover. Adult reader versus e‑book voiceover In the study, […]

TORONTO, ON — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced a new partnership with the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs to launch the Digital Public Square project, an up to $9‑million initiative that will increase digital space for free expression and open political dialogue in places where civil society and citizen participation are […]

Toronto, ON — G7 Germany: The Schloss Elmau Summit, an official eBook authorised by the federal government of Germany for the G7 Summit,  produced by the G7 Research Group at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Trinity College, University of Toronto and edited by John Kirton and Madeline Koch, ­ launched on 26 May. […]

TORONTO, ON-   The global paralysis on the Syrian crisis has led to the largest refugee crisis ever witnessed by the international community, with millions of Syrians being uprooted and displaced. The Canadian government has announced a plan to welcome 25,000 refugees by the end of February in 2016 but much work needs to be done […]

Toronto, ON — A number of journalists, activists, politicians and public figures in Latin America have been targeted by a large-scale hacking campaign since 2008, according to a new report from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. Researchers have named the malicious actor behind the attacks as “Packrat,” to highlight the attacker’s preference for Remote […]

Toronto, ON — A new study from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab identifies security and privacy issues in QQ Browser, a mobile browser produced by China-based Internet giant Tencent, which may put many millions of users of the application at risk of serious compromise. Citizen Lab researchers identified problems in both the Android and […]

Meric Gertler announces climate change challenge, new investing strategy Toronto, ON — University of Toronto President Meric Gertler today unveiled a 14-point plan of specific, targeted actions that aim to make a difference on climate change now. Gertler outlined U of T’s plan to battle climate change in a bold report, Beyond Divestment: Taking Decisive […]

Backing research into billion-year-old water, evolution of plants, faster disease diagnosis, microbial energy Toronto, ON — Five University of Toronto scholars have been awarded prizes in 2016 by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) – the largest tally of winners at any university in Canada. “Our exceptional performance in the NSERC awards […]

Toronto, ON — The University of Toronto welcomes the $15M investment by the Ontario government for the new Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CEIE). As stated in the 2016 Ontario Budget introduced today, this investment will support strengthening the Innovation SuperCorridor in Ontario. This Centre will bring together smart building design and state-of-the-art learning technologies, […]

Toronto, ON — The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education has launched the Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre (MPARC) — one of the first research facilities to integrate the study of physical activity and mental health in Canada and internationally. Opened on February 25, this multidisciplinary centre will address the […]

Toronto, ON — Imagine telling a patient suffering from age-related (type-II) osteoporosis that a single injection of stem cells could restore their normal bone structure. This week, with a publication in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, a group of researchers from the University of Toronto and The Ottawa Hospital suggest that this scenario may not be […]

Partnership unites nine institutions in fight against diabetesToronto, ON — A new national research network was launched today to transform the health outcomes of individuals with diabetes and its related complications. It will be led by two of Canada’s top researchers in the field and includes researchers conducting leading-edge health and biomedical research at nine institutions […]

How our billion-year-old cousin, baker’s yeast, can reveal — more reliably than leading algorithms — whether a genetic mutation is actually harmful.Toronto, ON – It’s easier than ever to sequence our DNA, but doctors still can’t exactly tell from our genomes which diseases might befall us. Professor Fritz Roth is setting out to change this by […]

Four of the six new inductees have U of T rootsToronto, ON – Members of University of Toronto’s faculty and alumni will be inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame at a ceremony taking place today at McMaster University, taking four of this year’s six spots. “This is something in which we can all […]

World Health Organization Launches Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector at University of TorontoToronto, ON – The University of Toronto and the World Health Organization are proud to launch the WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability and Transparency for the Pharmaceutical Sector with a policy workshop and celebration at the Leslie […]

Toronto, ON –  In what University of Toronto President Meric Gertler called “an historic investment in Canadian science and innovation,” the federal and provincial governments are joining with the university to provide almost $190 million to upgrade almost half of U of T’s research labs over the next two years. The announcement of the Lab […]