CivMin’s Professor Jennifer Drake In nature, one organism’s waste often becomes energy for another. Professor Emma Master (ChemE) wants to apply these same principles to industrial manufacturing. “We can leverage biological processes to recycle carbon and clean water, as well as to upgrade natural materials into diverse and useful products,” she says. “At the end of their life, we can also break down these products into building blocks that we can reassemble as something new. This is...
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Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer delivers a speech on the environment in Chelsea, Que. on June 19, 2019.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld David Taylor, University of Toronto When Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer unveiled his long-awaited climate plan, he said he could eliminate the federal carbon tax and still meet Canada’s emissions targets by focusing on investments into green technology. Tech, not taxes, he said. Under the plan, major emitters would not pay a carbon tax and...
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Dean Cristina Amon (right) receives a standing ovation after her speech at the Celebration of Leadership event on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (credit: Lisa Sakulensky) On Wednesday, June 26, more than 400 members of the U of T Engineering community came together to celebrate the transformative leadership of Dean Cristina Amon and reflect on the past decade of excellence in the Faculty. Under her visionary leadership, the Faculty has become a global leader in multidisciplinary research, education and innovation....
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Professor Jennifer Drake (CivMin) presents to Indigenous leaders from across Ontario at the Sioux Lookout Innovation Station. The event is part of the Reconciliation Through Engineering Initiative, a collaboration between Indigenous communities and U of T Engineering’s Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN). (Photo: Shakya Sur) Researchers at the Centre for Global Engineering (CGEN) are collaborating with Indigenous communities to address pressing infrastructure challenges facing geographically disparate communities across Canada. CGEN’s Reconciliation Through Engineering Initiative (RTEI)...
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Olugbenga Olubanjo holding two Reeddi Capsules. Photo: Phill Snel, Civil and Mineral Engineering/ U of T A hearty “Yah!” accompanied by a fist-pump of victory, is what Olugbenga Olubanjo (CivE MASc Candidate) remembers best about Victoria Day. While the rest of the country was enjoying an extra day off as part of the holiday long weekend, Olubanjo heard of his startup’s latest prize – an award of US$10,000 as a runner-up in the Cisco Global...
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THE TRANSPORTATION DECISION-MAKER Md Sami Hasnine (CivMin PhD 1T9) Md Sami Hasnine (CivMin PhD 1T9):“I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Khandker Nurul Habib. Professor Habib introduced me to the basics of travel-demand modelling. He also truly cares about his students. He always pushed me to learn more and become a better human being. Graduate studies last for a short period of time, but I will continue to carry the lessons about research and ethics...
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Professor David Taylor analyzes the impact of intermittent water systems, as well as other water distribution technologies, on public health. (Photo: Roberta Baker) In Toronto, when you turn on a water tap, water comes out. But for more than a billion people around the world, that is not always the case. “About 21% of the world’s water pipes don’t usually have water in them,” says Professor David Taylor (CivMin, CGEN), who studies water treatment and...
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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) Is there plastic in your drinking water? Professors Bob Andrews (CivMin) and Chelsea Rochman (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) say there is — but right now, researchers don’t know much more than that. “If someone asks me how microplastics in drinking water influence human health,...
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A group photo of attendees at the 17th Euroseminar on Microscopy Applied to Building Materials held at the University of Toronto May 20-23, 2019.PHOTO BY PHILL SNEL/ UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO – DEPT OF CIVIL & MINERAL ENGINEERING By Phill Snel We know civil engineers are involved in building tall buildings, long bridges and large stadiums, but just how much detail do civil engineers delve into? Surprisingly, they’re examining building materials down to the microscopic level....
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Professor Erin Bobicki (MSE, ChemE) wants to decrease the energy required for crushing rocks by 70%. (Photo courtesy of Erin Bobicki) Whether it’s copper for electric cars, or lithium for cellphones, many everyday technologies and devices are made of or rely on metals. But mining and extracting these valuable commercial minerals can come at a catastrophic cost to the environment. The process of comminution — crushing and grinding billions of tonnes of rocks a year — is...
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