Having a CLUE: Annual conference brings together academia, corporations and municipalities

JUNE 18, 2025 — CLUE SYMPOSIUM — A photo from the City Logistics for the Urban Economy (https://clue.utoronto.ca/) CLUE Symposium with the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto in Toronto on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The even was held at the Myhal Fifth Floor Atrium. (Photo by Phill Snel / CivMin, University of Toronto)

The City Logistics for the Urban Economy (CLUE) held its Fourth Annual Symposium and Poster Competition at U of T.

 

CLUE Symposium on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.  (Photo by Phill Snel / CivMin, University of Toronto)

The June 18 event, hosted by CLUE’s Principal Investigator, CivMin Professor Matthew Roorda. The gathering, in partnership with the Smart Freight Centre, brought together nearly 100 attendees, including 34 researchers from five universities, to share research and foster collaboration across academia, government and industry.

The Smart Freight Centre is a collaborative initiative involving McMaster University, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, York University and key public and private sector stakeholders across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. The event featured poster presentations, discussions and networking focused on sustainable and efficient urban logistics.

CLUE Symposium 2025 student winners (top L to R) Sara Torbatian (CivMin PhD student), Yunfei Ma (McMaster University student), (bottom L to R) Jacob Klimczak (Year 3 CompSci), Azin Golrizkhatami (CivMin PhD student). (Photos by Phill Snel / CivMin, University of Toronto)

University of Toronto researchers received three of the four awards recognizing outstanding research presentations:

The Purolator Best Poster Award in Optimizing Last-Mile Deliveries was awarded to Azin Golrizkhatami (CivMin PhD student) for “Learning to Deliver: Deep RL-Based Policy Optimization in a Simulated Food Delivery Environment.”

The Mobility Network Best Poster Award in Data, Modelling and Forecasting went to Jacob Klimczak (Year 3 CompSci) for “Gridlock in the Dugout: Quantifying the Effects of Induced Demand by the Toronto Blue Jays.”

The Smart Freight Centre Best Poster Award in Energy, Electrification and Forecasting was given to Sara Torbatian (CivMin PhD student) for “Implications of Off-Peak Commercial Deliveries for Air Quality and Environmental Justice.”

Detail of delivery tracking devices. (Photo by Phill Snel / CivMin, University of Toronto)

By the numbers:

  • 80 attendees
  • 39 posters displayed
  • Five universities attending
  • Three prizes for U of T researchers
  • Five – the floor level of the Myhal Atrium