Faculty of Forestry

‘Future-proofing Ontario’s economy’: U of T researchers to showcase advanced manufacturing innovations

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 24 May 2019 18:04:27 +0000

‘Future-proofing Ontario’s economy’: U of T researchers to showcase advanced manufacturing innovations

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 05/24/2019 - 14:04

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Olivier Trescases, the director of the U of T Electric Vehicle Research Centre, says one of U of T's core strengths is its ability to bring together researchers from different disciplines to work on major projects (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

Ontario Impact

Chemical Engineering

Electric Cars

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Forestry

Research & Innovation

Sustainability

From auto parts made of bio-foams to green chemicals and more efficient battery systems for electric vehicles, University of Toronto researchers are leading the way in devising new manufacturing technologies that could revolutionize any number of Ontario industries.

One of those researchers is Ning Yan, a professor in U of T’s Faculty of Forestry and the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry. Her team has been working with an automotive startup to develop bio-foams that could potentially replace plastic components in the automotive parts industry – a sector that’s long been vital to Ontario’s economy.

On May 28, Yan and other researchers will have the opportunity to discuss their work with provincial legislators as part of a public policy discussion at Queen’s Park. The event, hosted by the Council of Ontario Universities, will focus on how universities are working with employers to keep Ontario’s advanced manufacturing sector competitive.

“Advanced manufacturing is crucial to future-proofing Ontario’s economy and ensuring that our province remains ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing innovative technologies and processes and creating new jobs,” said Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation.

“U of T’s world-class research in various facets of advanced technologies has a key role to play, and dialogue between our experts and policy-makers is crucial to ensuring that Ontario’s advanced manufacturing sector thrives now and in the future.”

The Ontario manufacturing sector accounts for 18 per cent of the province’s economy, generating $270 billion in annual sales, and employs over 12 per cent of its workforce. In 2018, the federal government named advanced manufacturing in Ontario one of five innovation superclusters – collections of companies, research institutions and innovation partners – as part of a strategy to invest in industries where Canada has an opportunity to be a world leader.

Yan, who specializes in developing green chemicals, bio-based composites and other products from renewable forestry resources, plans to show off product samples at the Queen’s Park event.

“We’ll bring some bio-adhesives and bio-resins which were synthetized using materials from forest residue and biomolecules from forests,” she said, adding that she wants to demonstrate that making green products is possible through advanced manufacturing in Ontario – and that undertaking a more sustainable approach can play a role in reducing carbon footprints.

“We can make products which can replace plastics and chemicals to be more sustainable.”

Yan will be joined at the event by PhD student Nicole Tratnik, who joined Yan’s group in 2016. Tratnik will present a cornstarch-based adhesive she developed with Ontario-based agricultural feed – one that is formaldehyde-free and fire-resistant. Tratnik’s products could be adapted to manufacturing operations in forestry, construction and building products, according to Yan.

Elsewhere at U of T, researchers are working closely with partners in the auto sector to develop technologies that are driving a shift towards environmentally friendly electric vehicles (EVs).

“Today, EVs are very conservative because there isn’t really a lot of intelligence in how their battery systems are used,” said Olivier Trescases, the director of the U of T Electric Vehicle Research Centre (UTEV) and professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering.

“If you can improve that, you can really push the limits and get more range and better lifetime. So we’re embedding better electronics and mechanical design to get better performance from the EVs.”

One of the projects involves developing sub-systems for the world’s first all-electric pickup truck, the Bison – made by Toronto-based startup Havelaar Canada, UTEV’s founding industry partner.

Havelaar is consulting with UTEV on technology with the intention of becoming the centre’s commercialization partner – although Trescases said several other companies have since entered the fray to leverage UTEV’s expertise.

Another project involves designing battery systems for the A2B electric car, manufactured by Toronto Electric. Trescases describes the car as a “moving lab” that is used to test new technologies and platforms.

Trescases’s own area of focus is in power electronics – he holds a Canada Research Chair in Power Electronic Converters – but he said the advancements being made at UTEV wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the diverse range of expertise found at the centre.

“We’re combining electrical engineering, computer, mechanical, aerospace and robotics engineering,” he said. “One of the strengths of U of T is the ability to do multidisciplinary work. Instead of having lots of different researchers working in silos, we’re bringing them together and doing larger-scale projects that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”

Trescases added that the technological and manufacturing breakthroughs that can be forged through such large-scale projects promise to make a huge contribution to the Ontario labour market.

“Through UTEV, we can train a new generation of engineers who can go out and contribute to this technology revolution,” he said.

“In terms of job creation, it’s a huge opportunity because there’s a massive shift happening and hopefully Canada can capitalize on it.”

With a file from Perry King

New U of T proposal would see Faculty of Forestry join John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Romi Levine — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 05:00:00 +0000

New U of T proposal would see Faculty of Forestry join John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design

Romi Levine Mon, 12/17/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

“Combining the Daniels and forestry faculties will pave the way for more collaboration and interdisciplinary research,” says Robert Wright, the dean of forestry

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

A new proposal would see faculty, staff, and students from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry join the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design as of July 1.

The academic restructuring proposal comes after a year and a half of extensive online and in-person consultations, and would result in a number of new faculty being hired in forestry-related fields.

Discussions with the academic units affected will be established and communicated by the deans of both faculties. Consultations will continue to take place until April. The proposal would go through the governance process beginning on May 9.

“We are strongly committed to using these consultations to identify the best structure for forestry-related academic programs at the University of Toronto,” says U of T Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr. “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to participate in this process thus far.”

The Faculty of Forestry currently has five full-time faculty members and one contractually limited-term appointee as well as 122 graduate students. Undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts & Science can also pursue forestry-related courses and programs.

Under the proposed restructuring plan, there would be no reduction in the number of faculty or staff and no changes for graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in forestry-related courses and programs. Forestry will continue to be housed at 33 Willcocks St.

The proposal also includes the addition of five new faculty positions in forestry-related fields to allow integration into the Daniels Faculty’s various program offerings.

“These changes will ensure that forestry-related academic programs and research have a bright future at U of T, with the support and resources needed to remain sustainable and to flourish,” says Regehr.

“Combining the Daniels and forestry faculties will pave the way for more collaboration and interdisciplinary research,” says Robert Wright, the dean of forestry and an associate professor and former associate dean at Daniels. “It’s about how this would create true innovation and more opportunities for students.”

There are already a number of areas where architecture, design and forestry intersect, Wright says, including urban forestry and building with mass timber and other renewable building materials.

Forestry and timber research also play a vital role in supporting the university’s commitment to education and programming on environmental issues and initiatives, says Wright.

“With our faculties’ mandates around sustainability and climate change, there's a group of professionals who want to build cities sustainably and who are very interested in the science behind climate change, conservation, and ecology,” he says.

“This proposal also corresponds with U of T’s cities mandate and the fact that trees in cities are becoming very important aspects of urban infrastructure for the cities themselves.”

Beyond the Faculty of Forestry, researchers across all three campuses are engaging in forest science – from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s Pulp and Paper Centre to research at U of T Mississauga on the growth and management of urban forests and U of T Scarborough’s partnership with Parks Canada on the Rouge National Urban Park.

Canada must adapt to changing world with more wildfires: U of T expert in Globe and Mail

geoff.vendeville — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 19:02:13 +0000

Canada must adapt to changing world with more wildfires: U of T expert in Globe and Mail

geoff.vendeville Fri, 08/10/2018 - 15:02

Cutline

Flames engulf trees along a highway near Fort McMurray, Alta., on May 6, 2016 (photo by Cole Burston via AFP/Getty Images)

Topic

Global Lens

Faculty of Forestry

This summer, the world has seen devastating wildfires in B.C. and California. Greece was hit with what's been described as the worst wildfire in its history, killing over 70 people.

“Wildfire activity and impacts are increasing around much of the world,” writes Mike Wotton of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry and Mike Flannigan, a professor in the department of renewable resources at the University of Alberta, in the Globe and Mail.

“And, it will only get worse,” they write. “The effort we put into adapting to this changed world will influence how easily we co-exist with fire.”

Changing weather patterns – leading to hotter, drier and windy conditions – as well as the presence of more people on the planet has made wildfires more frequent, the experts say.

Fire-management agencies may have to change their approach and let low-risk fires “burn unsuppressed, freeing up resources to respond to more imminent threats and letting fire play its natural role,” they add.

As wildfires become the norm, provincial and federal governments will have to invest in wildfire management and research to reduce the risk of catastrophe, Wotton and Flannigan say.

“We hope the catalyst for action is not multiple fatalities from wildfires as it was in the past century.”

Read the full op-ed in the Globe and Mail

U of T part of team designing Toronto’s first vertical forest

Romi Levine — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 15:47:14 +0000

U of T part of team designing Toronto’s first vertical forest

Romi Levine Mon, 07/30/2018 - 11:47

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A proposed condo building in Toronto includes 400 to 500 trees in its design (rendering by Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects)

Topic

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Plans are in place to build Toronto’s first vertical forest – a 27-storey condo enveloped by hundreds of trees that its designers say will provide much-needed green space for city residents and local wildlife.

The design team, led by architect Brian Brisbin, includes Robert Wright, the University of Toronto’s dean of the Faculty of Forestry and an associate professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

The building's design challenges include planting 400 to 500 trees on a vertical structure, which is to be located off Davenport Road, and making sure the trees receive sufficient irrigation and can withstand Toronto's harsh winters.

The health of the building’s trees will be monitored by a group at U of T and the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

“What we’re doing is prototyping how to do this and by monitoring it, we’re going to know where the strengths and weaknesses of the system are and, maintaining it, we’re going to do a better job of making sure these things survive,” Wright told the Toronto Star.

Read about the vertical forest in the Toronto Star

Four U of T global projects get almost $1-million funding injection from Connaught Fund

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 13:54:08 +0000

Four U of T global projects get almost $1-million funding injection from Connaught Fund

noreen.rasbach Fri, 07/20/2018 - 09:54

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Marc Cadotte, a biological sciences professor at University of Toronto Scarborough, is receiving $242,500 to set up a Global Urban Biological Invasions Consortium (photo by Ken Jones)

Jennifer Robinson

Topic

Global Lens

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Connaught Fund

Connaught Global Challenge Award

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Forestry

Global

Humanities

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Research & Innovation

Rotman School of Management

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

Vector Institute

Global research in blockchain technology and using theologies to help build more inclusive societies are among four University of Toronto projects sharing almost $1 million in funding from this year’s Connaught Global Challenge Award.

The internal award, funded by the Connaught Fund, supports new collaborations involving leading U of T researchers and students from multiple disciplines, along with innovators and thought leaders from other sectors.

The Connaught funding will help these programs get off the ground and boost efforts to find external funding to further develop solutions to global challenges, as well as create new research-oriented academic programs.

“The Connaught Global Challenge Award is unique,” said Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation. “It fosters cross-disciplinary research, harnessing the university’s incredible depth and breadth of expertise to come up with truly innovative, groundbreaking solutions.

“Once again, we have been amazed by the tremendous creativity and desire of U of T’s scholars to work together to tackle some of the world’s most challenging and complicated global problems.”

The recipients of this year’s Connaught Global Challenge Award are:

Marc Cadotte, a biological sciences professor at University of Toronto Scarborough, is receiving $242,500 to set up a Global Urban Biological Invasions Consortium.

The consortium will oversee a network of projects and collaborations to determine the magnitude of invasion economic and ecosystem impacts in cities around the world.

Understanding invasive plant and animal species – and how best to tackle them – is largely based on insights from natural habitats, yet urban ecosystems differ radically because of the human population. Researchers will study a number of issues including how political, economic, trade, and environmental differences among cities influence how vulnerable they are to invasive species.

His team includes U of T researchers Marney Isaac, department of physical and environmental sciences and the Centre for Critical Development Studies at U of T Scarborough, and the department of geography; Daniel Silver, department of sociology at U of T Scarborough; Scott MacIvor and Nicholas Mandrak, department of biological sciences at U of T Scarborough and the department of ecology and evolutionary biology; Sara Hughes, department of political science at U of T Mississauga; Marc Johnson, department of biology at U of T Mississauga and director of the Centre for Urban Environments; Marie-Josée Fortin, department of ecology and evolutionary biology; Sandy M. Smith, Faculty of Forestry; and Liat Margolis, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

In addition, there are external collaborators from research groups in 30 different cities from 19 different countries. The cities are clustered into regional hubs led by Myla Aronson (Rutgers University); David Richardson (University of Stellenbosch); Ingolf Kühn (Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg); Petr Pysek (Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic); Rafael Zenni (Universidade Federal de Lavras); and Inderjit Singh (Delhi University).

Valentina Napolitano (pictured left), a professor in the department of anthropology, and Simon Coleman, a professor in the department for the study of religion, are receiving $230,000 to further build the U of T tri-campus into a world leading hub of dialogue and expertise on relations between theologies and both the social and the natural sciences.

Theologies, involving multiple means of sensing the divine and orienting everyday practices, remain key to studies of historical and ongoing political forms of social inclusion and exclusion.

The initiative will involve international and interdisciplinary collaborations for the organization of seminars, public lectures and visiting fellowships on the linked themes of sovereignty, sanctity and soil, as well as student initiatives in co-operation with interfaith organizations in the Greater Toronto Area.

Laura Rosella (pictured left), associate professor of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is receiving $250,000 to launch a global network to advance innovative research and training in predictive analytics to address pressing global population health challenges.

The multidisciplinary team will create two innovation hubs. One hub will develop and test artificial intelligence, or AI, approaches for population risk prediction and integrate these predictive models into health decision-making. The second team will focus on how best to integrate this knowledge using prescriptive analytics.

The team includes U of T researchers Ajay Agrawal and Avi Goldfarb, Rotman School of Management; Timothy Chan and Scott Sanner, department of mechanical and industrial engineering; and Anna Goldenberg, department of computer science, as well as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Andreas Veneris (pictured left), a professor cross-appointed with the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering and the department of computer science, will receive $250,000 to create the UTLedgerHub, the University of Toronto’s global knowledge hub for crypto-economic blockchain technology.

The development of distributed ledger technologies such as bitcoin and ethereum has almost entirely occurred outside of the mainstream tech sector, with universities and their researchers largely at the sidelines.

To address this knowledge gap, the UTLedgerHub will bundle research across technology, finance, law and governance to establish U of T as an international leader in research and teaching of decentralized ledger technology and help cement Toronto as a leader in the field at a global scale.

His team includes U of T researchers Andreas Park from the Rotman School of Management; Jon Lindsay from the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy; Katya Malinova from the department of economics, as well as Poonam Puri from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University.

To be considered for Connaught Global Challenge funding, global challenge teams must represent new collaborations involving leading U of T researchers and students from multiple disciplines, along with innovators and thought leaders from other sectors.

The application deadline for the next round of funding is Feb. 1.

U of T to build academic wood tower on downtown Toronto campus

Romi Levine — Mon, 07 May 2018 15:43:37 +0000

U of T to build academic wood tower on downtown Toronto campus

Romi Levine Mon, 05/07/2018 - 11:43

Cutline

A 14-storey academic building made of wood is to be built on top of the Goldring Centre (all renderings courtesy of MJMA and Patkau Architects)

Romi Levine

Topic

City & Culture

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Forestry

Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education

Goldring Centre

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Rotman School of Management

The University of Toronto is set to build a 14-storey academic tower made of timber on its downtown Toronto campus – expected to be the tallest mass timber and concrete hybrid building in North America.

It follows a growing international trend towards tall timber structures, which have been lauded for their low carbon footprint, fire safety and faster construction time.

“There are a lot of compelling arguments for the use of wood,” says Gilbert Delgado, U of T’s chief of university planning, design and construction.

Recognizing the benefits of building with timber, the Ontario and federal governments are providing funding for buildings that use the material. U of T’s wood tower will be financed in part by those government subsidies, and through university funds and philanthropy, says Delgado.

The tower will be built above the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and will house a number of academic units, including Rotman Executive Programs, the Munk School of Global Affairs, the Faculty of Arts & Science's Master in Mathematical Finance program and the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education.

U of T is working on the project with Patkau Architects of Vancouver in partnership with MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA) of Toronto and Blackwell Structural Engineers – all of whom worked together on the Goldring Centre, which opened in 2014.

The Goldring Centre was designed and built with the structural integrity to be the base for the tower so there will be no need to dig deeper in order to build the taller structure, says Ted Watson, a partner at MJMA.

“As part of that project we developed a structural base, a foundation, to put the future tower on top of,” he says. “We don't have to go down into the ground and all of the mess and construction disruption that goes along with that – that work has been done.”

The tower was originally slated to be built using steel, but after becoming aware of government incentives and of research by members of the Faculty of Forestry, including the former dean Mohini Sain, the university decided to go with timber.

“The more we looked into it, the more excited we got,” says Delgado.

There are many arguments in support of building with timber – the primary one being its environmentally friendly attributes.

“In contrast to concrete and steel, which require a lot of carbon for their production and transportation, wood is something that occurs naturally, and it can be transported lightly,” says Delgado.

Wood also absorbs carbon, says Watson.

“It's actually taking carbon out of the atmosphere. It's reducing greenhouse gases,” he says.

U of T’s new tower will be built with cross-laminated timber (CLT) – a method that allows producers to create larger, stronger wood pieces in more consistent dimensions.

“They're kind of like plywood on steroids,” says Watson.

Using CLT wood, the timber tower will not need to be fireproofed, says Delgado.

“If you try to ignite a log with a match, you'll find out how difficult it is to ignite,” he says.

The same goes for the wood used to construct the tower.

“We're talking about beams and columns that are much larger, much thicker, that are much more difficult to ignite,” says Delgado.

Many of the tower’s components will be manufactured offsite so by the time the pieces get to the construction site, they can be assembled easily, quickly and quietly, says Watson.

“They really just show up almost like an Ikea set of parts,” he says. “One crate and a few workers can put a floor up in a few days with very little of the noise disruption that you see with steel and concrete buildings.”

Apart from its technical and environmental advantages, wood buildings are, simply put, aesthetically pleasing.

“Wood has this beautiful natural texture and colouring,” he says. “If you could leave it exposed, it reveals itself in terms of these really beautiful, warm interior spaces – the way it reflects light in yellow and orange tones, which most people find very warm and soothing.”

Building with timber also has a wider economic benefit, says Robert Wright, dean of the Faculty of Forestry and an associate professor in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design.

“For years we've been seen as a country sending our raw materials out to everybody, and they've been sending manufactured goods back to us, so it's really important that we can build up industries and manufacturing within our own country to use these materials,” he says.

As part of the Ontario government’s tall wood building incentive program, the province has also established a Mass Timber Institute (MTI), bringing together organizations from across the province, including U of T and other academic institutions, to study the building practices and benefits of wood construction. MTI’s interim director is Anne Koven, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Forestry.

“The Mass Timber Institute can really animate and excite people and promote building with wood,” she says.

The institute has an opportunity to study the construction and future benefits of U of T’s wood tower through all stages of its development, says Wright.

“We need to build these buildings as case studies to actually identify and deal with issues and people's perceptions of wood building, in terms of design, construction and the training of people who will actually build them,” he says.

U of T’s academic wood tower is still in the design phase of development, awaiting zoning changes to increase the height allowance for tall wood buildings. Construction could begin at the end of 2019.

Order of Ontario recognizes U of T community members

noreen.rasbach — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 18:49:35 +0000

Order of Ontario recognizes U of T community members

noreen.rasbach Tue, 01/30/2018 - 13:49

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Tom Chau and the other Order of Ontario recipients will attend a ceremony on Feb. 27 (photo courtesy of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital)

Topic

City & Culture

Alumni

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Forestry

Faculty of Medicine

Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

U of T Mississauga

Three University of Toronto faculty members have been recognized this week with appointments to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour.

Tom Chau, a professor at U of T's Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, was named to the Order for his work creating communication tools and technologies for children who require rehabilitation for complex medical problems. “He has literally given voice to children who had none,” Chau's citation reads. “His research and inventions provide novel ways for children with severe disabilities to communicate through movements and hums, vastly improving their quality of life.”

Chau is the vice-president of research at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. He leads a world-renowned research group that has published more than 190 journal articles and holds more than a dozen patents. He has also supervised over 250 undergraduate and graduate students.

“Tom’s extraordinary dedication to pediatric rehabilitation has helped improve the lives of many children and their loved ones, and he has also inspired a number of students to pursue this important work,” said Professor Warren Chan, director of the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering.

U of T group rallies to raise money for hurricane-ravaged Dominica

rasbachn — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:17:00 +0000

U of T group rallies to raise money for hurricane-ravaged Dominica

rasbachn Mon, 12/04/2017 - 11:17

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More than two months after Hurricane Maria ravaged Dominica the country is still trying to pick up the pieces

Don Campbell

Topic

Global Lens

Environmental Science

Subheadline

It’s been more than two months since Hurricane Maria devastated the Caribbean island of Dominica, and much of the country is still reeling from the disaster.

Now, a group of faculty and students in University of Toronto Scarborough's department of physical and environmental science and the Centre for Critical Development Studies is raising funds to support relief efforts on the island.

“By all accounts, it’s still an ugly situation,” says Adam Martin, an assistant professor in environmental science who has deep ties to the country.

“Recovery efforts have been slow, and it’s hard to get reliable information from our friends and colleagues there because the power is still down.”

Hurricane Maria, one of the strongest category 5 Atlantic storms on record, slammed into Dominica in mid-September and completely ravaged the country, destroying much of its water, communication, health, security and energy infrastructure. Reports from the island continue to paint a grim picture – not only have relief efforts been slow, the distribution of aid has been unequal.

Boiling Lake in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica

Martin, an ecologist who specializes in the physical characteristics of plants, began his connection to Dominica more than a decade ago as a young student. His research was based on the island and he formed close friendships with many researchers there. One close friend and collaborator is Elvis Stedman, who has partnered with Martin on much of his research.

“He told me he hasn’t had a fresh vegetable since the hurricane hit, and he’s hiking two hours through debris fields just to find a place to charge his cellphone so he can connect to the outside world,” says Martin.

Stedman is one of several collaborators on the island who act as guides for students from the master's of environmental science field camp course. He has also collaborated with researchers from the Faculty of Forestry for research projects on the island.

U of T urban experts on how Toronto can become a smart, technologically connected city

Romi Levine — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 16:53:45 +0000

U of T urban experts on how Toronto can become a smart, technologically connected city

Romi Levine Fri, 11/03/2017 - 12:53

Cutline

U of T experts weigh in on how Toronto should embrace a "smart cities" approach to city-building (photo by Ricky Thakrar via Flickr)

Romi Levine

Topic

City & Culture

Artificial Intelligence

Cities

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Faculty of Forestry

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

U of T Mississauga

Last month, Sidewalk Labs, a sister company of Google, and Waterfront Toronto announced their intention to create a new, technologically connected neighbourhood on Toronto’s waterfront.

The news was met with both excitement and caution by urbanists at the University of Toronto and beyond. And while the details of what a “smart city” will look like are up for debate, what’s clear is that there are many issues and challenges that need to be addressed in order to create a technology-powered city or neighbourhood that improves the lives of its residents.

That’s what fuelled the discussion on Thursday night at Innis Town Hall on the university’s downtown Toronto campus for the event Understanding Smarter Cities: What Happens Next?

The panel discussion included urban experts from across the university, many of whom were on a recent trip to Mumbai to participate in a city-building workshop. The panelists included:

Janice Stein, professor of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs
Judy Farvolden, program director, Transportation Research Institute in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
V. Kumar Murty, professor and chair of the department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts & Science
Patricia O’Campo, professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health
Enid Slack, director of the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance at the Munk School of Global Affairs
David Wolfe, professor of political science at U of T Mississauga and co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs
Robert Wright, director of the Centre for Landscape Research at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design and dean of the Faculty of Forestry

“The Sidewalk Labs investment is going to raise questions like who controls the development and the implementation of the technology, but most importantly, who controls the data,” said Wolfe.

This means governments have to be able to keep up with the pace of technological change in order to have a say in how it’s implemented, he said, quoting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who spoke last week at the business of AI conference at U of T: “The pace of change has never been as fast as it is right now but it will never be this slow again.”

“When we talk about smart city technologies, we have to think of it in that context,” said Wolfe.

(From left) Wolfe, Murty, Slack, Farvolden, O'Campo, Wright and Stein, participating in the smart cities panel (photo by Romi Levine)

Planning for a smart city means asking its residents what they want to see, O’Campo said.

“[It’s] really important and I think the potential of using all of this technology … so we are using that information to be more democratic about our decision-making.”

This also means designing smart cities that are inclusive, equitable and affordable – something O’Campo said is often ignored by tech-focused cities and companies, using the shortcomings of Silicon Valley as an example.

“It has done nothing for San Francisco in terms of reducing inequities,” she said. “It has created a very inequitable environment with very high housing prices, a disappearing middle class and poverty has gone to the suburbs.”

Toronto is heading in the same direction, she said, citing a recent study by U of T and United Way researchers.

Read about the U of T, United Way report

Panelists agreed that smart cities cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach – all cities and towns are built differently with different wants and needs.

“I don't know any AI in the world in existence and not likely to exist in the near future that can make a car drive by itself in Mumbai,” Murty joked.

Universities have a unique opportunity to bridge the public and private realms in order to ensure smart cities are designed effectively and equitably, said Farvolden.

“This university has many people who have devoted their professional lives to understanding the drivers for social return on investment and the means to achieve them,” she said. “We can bring them together with the technologists to have a big impact here.”

Forestry, conservation studies, and related disciplines: A consultation summary

lanthierj — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 15:21:19 +0000

Forestry, conservation studies, and related disciplines: A consultation summary

lanthierj Tue, 10/10/2017 - 11:21

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Forestry

A discussion paper summarizing input from consultations into the future of the Faculty of Forestry and forest science research is now available through the Office of the Vice-President and Provost.

It’s the latest step in a process that began in March. Professor Elizabeth Smyth, vice-dean, programs, School of Graduate Studies, chaired the first phase of the consultation, which solicited input from faculty, staff, students and alumni of the Faculty of Forestry as well as faculty members and others in related disciplines.

“I’m very grateful to Professor Smyth and all those who participated for their extensive engagement in this consultation,” Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr said Tuesday. “The insights and reflections they contributed through the consultation website, by email, and in person will be enormously helpful.”

Read the summary of consultation findings and discussion of options

Regehr said she welcomed responses to the discussion paper as well as feedback about the consultation so far – and any specific suggestions or proposals about academic restructuring. In the meantime, the provost said, she will continue discussions with the dean of Forestry and others about the best way to support Forestry and forest science faculty, students and research.

“This university plays a critical role in supporting research, education and programming on forestry and forest science, the environment, the sustainable management of natural resources, and climate change,” Regehr said. “As many people noted during the consultation, discussions about the best way to support the research and education of the Faculty of Forestry have been ongoing for many years – but it is important to get this right.”

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Forestry, conservation studies, and related disciplines: A consultation summary

Read the summary of consultation findings and discussion of options