Media Releases
Below is a selection of recent press releases. For all the latest news please visit www.utoronto.ca/news
General Inquires +1 (416) 978-0100 Email media.relations@utoronto.ca
Grade 6–8 students compete and put their science skills and knowledge to the test at the Let’s Talk Science Challenge at the University of Toronto
TORONTO, ON - The Let's Talk Science Outreach Program at the U of T St. George campus site is hosting the 2014 Let's Talk Science Challenge for grades 6-8 students. The areas of science, technology, engineering, and math are important for elementary students to engage in to encourage them to pursue them further in their educational careers. The Let's Talk Science Outreach Program helps to improve literacy and involvement in science, technology, engineering, and math, and does this through innovative education…
2014 TELUS-Rotman Security Study introduces a “security responsible” approach to technology innovation
Enterprises that follow best practices and adopt innovation in a strategic and responsible manner have higher security satisfaction, fewer breaches and improved risk management TORONTO, ON – TELUS and the Rotman School of Management at The University of Toronto today released the 2014 TELUS-Rotman Security Study. Now in its sixth year, the annual survey tracks industry trends and documents the state of IT security in Canada. The 2014 report focuses on how enterprises can stay secure while making progressive innovation decisions…
University of Toronto launches the first AbleGamers Game Accessibility Arcade for gamers with disabilities in Canada
TORONTO, ON – On Saturday April 26th, the Semaphore Research Cluster (Faculty of Information, University of Toronto) launched the first Canadian AbleGamers Accessibility Arcade, a permanent installation in the Semaphore space in U of T's Robarts Library. It includes the most up-to-date technology and controllers designed to enable gamers with disabilities access to today’s most popular video games. “My hope in bringing AbleGamers and Semaphore together is that the arcade will be used as a hub for critical discussion, research and innovation relating to identifying and overcoming accessibility and design limitations…
Banff Centre President Jeff Melanson to join U of T’s Massey College
TORONTO, ON – Jeff Melanson, currently the President of the Banff Centre, has been appointed Senior Resident of Massey College in the University of Toronto for the 2014-15 academic year. The announcement was made today by John Fraser, Master of Massey College and Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto. Gertler said he is looking forward to Melanson’s arrival: “Jeff is a visionary leader with a rare ability to span the arts and business communities successfully. The U of T…
U of T to host first ‘Accessibility Arcade’ video game lab for disabled players
TORONTO, ON – The University of Toronto will launch Canada’s first Game Accessibility Lab to research video game technologies for players with disabilities. The lab, also known as the ‘Accessibility Arcade’, will feature the latest assistive technologies to enable disabled gamers to play today’s most popular video games. The lab will be permanently housed at the Semaphore Research Cluster, part of the U of T’s iSchool (Faculty of Information). The arcade will be built by the U.S. non-profit AbleGamers Foundation…
Canadian scientist honoured with prestigious international diabetes prize
TORONTO, ON — University of Toronto Professor Daniel Drucker is the recipient of the 2014 Banting Medal for Scientific Achievement Award from the American Diabetes Association. The prestigious honour, which is described by some as the Nobel Prize for diabetes research, is a rare honour for non-Americans. Drucker is only the second Canadian recipient of the award, which is named after the late U of T professor and co-discovered of insulin, Sir Frederick Banting. The other recipient was U of…
Rotman School expansion receives Canada’ s highest honour for architecture
TORONTO, ON -- The expansion of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is the recipient of a Governor General’s Medal in Architecture, Canada’s highest honour for architecture. Opened in September 2012, the expansion was designed by award-winning Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (KPMB) with Bruce Kuwabara as the design partner and Marianne McKenna as the partner in charge. The expansion doubled the amount of teaching, research, study, presentation and special event space available to the Rotman…
Rotman professor named as a Fellow of the Regional Science Association International
TORONTO, ON – A leading researcher and teacher of urban economics and real estate at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management has been elected a Fellow of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the scholarship of regional science. William Strange is the Smart Centres Chair in Real Estate and a professor of business economics at the Rotman School where he joined the faculty in 2001. His research examines agglomeration, industry clusters, labor market…
XTouch wins Top App title
TORONTO, ON—An app that can turn any surface into a tap-sensitive interface was named Top App at the University of Toronto’s 2014 Mobile App Lab Demo Night. The win comes with $1,000 in prize money. Amin Heidari demonstrated the XTouch app to a crowd of industry representatives, professors and students, including three judges: Darrell Etherington from TechCrunch, Lenny Freilich from Ontario Centres of Excellence and Arshia Tabrizi, technology lawyer and founder of the social video platform Vidoyen. “Two taps in…
Sleep behaviour disorder linked to brain disease
TORONTO, ON - Researchers at the University of Toronto say a sleep disorder that causes people to act out their dreams is the best current predictor of brain diseases like Parkinson’s and many other forms of dementia. “Rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is not just a precursor but also a critical warning sign of neurodegeneration that can lead to brain disease," says associate professor and lead author Dr. John Peever. In fact, as many as 80 to 90 per cent…