Our faculty and students are investigators with various research centres and institutes. Research outcomes are driven by partnerships with industry, government and communities, accelerating the timeline from research lab to real community impact. Below is a selection of the research centres and institutes where our faculty are principal investigators.
The Centre for Climate Science and Engineering (CSE) is part of the Civil Engineering department at the University of Toronto. The CSE is a multi-disciplinary research and education centre that was established in 2019 and is supported by the Dean’s Strategic Fund from the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. The CSE focuses on the intersection of climate science, engineering, and policy, with the goal of reducing and mitigating the impacts of climate change through research on energy, air quality, GHG emissions, building structures, and transportation.
Vision
Provide a trans-disciplinary opportunity to address carbon accounting, greenhouse gas reduction efforts, and climate change mitigation/adaptation challenges
Objectives
Generate and communicate actionable knowledge for engineering decisions and policy development under climate change.
Create multi-level educational programs that accelerate the awareness and adoption of low-carbon, climate change resilient choices in urban design.
Stimulate strategic partnerships with private and public sector stakeholders.
Website
www.uoftcse.ca
The Centre for Information Systems in Infrastructure & Construction (i2c) has adopted a mission to participate - through cutting-edge research, innovative course work and active industry engagement - in creating a breakthrough in the infrastructure information ecology that instills an effective leadership role for the construction industry in the new knowledge-based economy, encourages multidisciplinary teaming and information exchange, influences government and private organizations’ policies and regulations to support integrated, sustainable, information-centered infrastructure development. The business model for this Centre is a cross between an industry forum and a research institute. The research domain of the Centre is at the intersection of civil engineering, software engineering and business administration.
Research themes include several multi-disciplinary topics. Research is being conducted in 5 major areas:
- Infrastructure Information Modeling
- Infrastructure Data Collection, Analysis and Brokerage
- Integrated Infrastructure Provision
- Infrastructure Development Policy
- Impacts of Globalization on Infrastructure Management
Sustainability Elements:
- Biowall for Improving the Indoor Air Quality: A biowall cleans air through biofiltration and phytoremediation. The air is cleaned through completely biological and natural means without and artificial chemicals.
- Conservation of Energy: Efficiency in the use of HVAC and electricity will be enhanced.
- Green Materials: Green and recyclable finishing materials and furniture are selected.
The Centre for Resilience of Critical Infrastructure (CRCI) is an initiative of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering to advance the field of infrastructure engineering and the understanding and practice of infrastructure resilience. The CRCI builds upon the University’s existing world-class reputation in engineering and the built environment, bringing together expertise in research and practice from around the world, across government, academia and industry.
The CRCI structure and philosophy is based upon the government’s identified vision for future Canadian capability. The Centre was established due to the government concern that there exists a lack of competent skills and practice of resilience planning in Canada and a lack of professional understanding of the requirements. The CRCI was established to identify competencies amongst stakeholders, while the Sandford Fleming Forum seeks to address the issue of understanding by engaging directly with the professional community of governments, clients, consultants and academia to promote discussion on current and emerging threats and concepts.
The Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) at the University of Toronto is an inclusive, multidisciplinary centre designed to bring together researchers, students, and teachers from across the university, together with partners from industry and government, with the goal of increasing energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact of energy use and conversion.
The Institute for Water Innovation’s (IWI) vision is to be the premiere industry-university alliance dedicated to developing innovative solutions for sustainable water management. We will serve the needs of our partners by establishing the needed knowledge base, developing innovative technologies, and by educating future leaders.
The Lassonde Institute of Mining is a world-leading interdisciplinary mining research institute at the University of Toronto.
It is a global leader in innovative research across the spectrum of mining activities, from exploration and extraction, to processing and metallurgy. It aims to attract and train future leaders in mining research and use its researchers’ expertise to benefit the mining industry.
Institute personnel develop leading-edge solutions for the mining industry with a focus on sustainability. Comprised of an exceptional community of students, researchers, and engineers, the institute addresses the most important scientific problems facing mining. The institute brings together mining, civil, materials, and chemical engineers, as well as geophysicists, geologists, geochemists, and environmental scientists, who conduct research that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.
By training and cultivating the people who will help find solutions to the greatest contemporary mining problems, and by contributing the ideas and pioneering the practical technologies that will make the difference, the Lassonde Institute of Mining fulfills its obligation as a world-leading centre.
The Institute was created with the financial assistance of the Canadian minerals industry, and in particular Dr. Pierre Lassonde, as well as with support from the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.
The University of Toronto has an internationally recognized critical mass of researchers with extensive experience in the analysis, planning and design of urban transportation systems. Our expertise covers roads, transit, freight and active transport modes (walk and bike) across a range of perspectives – travel behaviour, system performance, economics and environmental impacts. We have extensive experience with comprehensive, system-wide, evidence-based policy analysis and decision support, leading to successful transportation facilities implementation and operations.
Successful urban transportation system planning and operations requires a systems perspective, in which each system component is understood in terms of its contribution to the whole. Achieving our transportation objectives for efficient resource allocation and system performance means considering the network- and region-wide implications of alternative investments.
UTTRI faculty specialize in systems analysis and policy evaluation, and are leaders in building and applying cutting-edge computer simulation models to the analysis and design of complex transportation systems.