12 U of T researchers recognized with Connaught Innovation Awards

Twelve researchers at the University of Toronto are receiving Connaught Innovation Awards to help accelerate the development and commercialization of promising technologies with strong socio-economic potential that will have a positive impact on society.

“The University of Toronto congratulates this year’s recipients, whose work is addressing some of society’s most important challenges,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “From energy-saving windows to the use of plant hormones as appetite suppressants or the development of therapeutic targets that hold promise for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, these researchers’ inventions have the potential to make life-changing impacts here in Canada and around the world.”

This year's recipients are:

Julie Audet, Institute of Biomedical Engineering: A tool to optimize complex formulations based on evolutionary computation accelerated by artificial neural networks
Denise Belsham, department of physiology: The use of a plant hormone CX as an appetite suppressant
Alan Cochrane, department of molecular genetics: Development of broad-spectrum, host-directed antivirals
Kevin Golovin, department of mechanical and industrial engineering: Reducing microplastic fibre pollution using low friction polymer brush as textile coatings
Glenn Gulak, department of electrical and computer engineering: A hardware accelerator for fully homomorphic encryption-based machine learning applications
Patrick Gunning, department of chemical and physical sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga: Development of an artificial intelligence-driven platform to explore the undruggable genome
Benjamin Hatton, department of materials science and engineering: Smart building facades for scalable operational energy management
Ronald Kluger, department of chemistry: Production and evaluation of hemoglobin-bis-tetramers for oxygen transport to increase supply of lungs for transplant by enhancing ex vivo perfusion of donor lungs
Eugenia Kumacheva, department of chemistry: A platform for safety evaluation of chemical agents
Janice Robertson, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology: Targeting TDP-43 aggregation as therapeutics for TDP-43 proteinopathies
Paul Yoo, Institute of Biomedical Engineering: Novel electrodes for non-invasive electrical nerve stimulation
Yu Zou, department of materials science and engineering: Autonomous additive manufacturing system

The Connaught Innovation Award, which provides one-time seed funding to support the development and commercialization of the researchers’ innovative technologies, is backed by the Connaught Fund – the largest internal university research funding program in Canada. Established 50 years ago through the sale of Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, which is known for the discovery and production of insulin, the fund supports U of T scholars through programs such as the Connaught New Researcher Award, the Connaught Community Partnership Research Program, the Connaught Major Research Challenge for Black Researchers, the McLean Award and international doctoral scholarships.

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Ted Sargent awarded Killam Prize in Engineering

lanthierj — Tue, 26 May 2020 14:17:26 +0000

Ted Sargent awarded Killam Prize in Engineering

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Tue, 05/26/2020 - 10:17

Faculty

St. George

Killam Prize

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

landscape

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

University Professor Ted Sargent of the department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering has received this year’s Killam Prize for Engineering from the Canada Council for the Arts.

“This honour means a lot to me, especially when I consider all of the inspiring researchers who have held it in years past,” says Sargent. "What this award celebrates is a truly global collaboration with talented researchers dedicated to building a cleaner, more sustainable world.

“I see it as a celebration of the remarkably talented students and fellows whom I’ve had the privilege of working with in the past two decades as a faculty member in Engineering at U of T.”

Sargent holds a Canada Research Chair in Nanotechnology, and leads a large research lab dedicated to advanced materials such as quantum dots, perovskite crystals and multi-metal catalysts. Applications include light sensing, solar energy harvesting, and carbon capture and storage. His research has received more than 37,000 citations, with more than 100 of his papers cited more than 100 times.

As vice-president, international for the University of Toronto, Sargent is also responsible for strengthening and expanding U of T’s global networks and forming research partnerships with peer institutions and leading companies worldwide. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

12 U of T researchers recognized with Connaught Innovation Awards

Ted Sargent awarded Killam Prize in Engineering

Read more about Ted Sargent and the Killam Prize