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
U of T researchers revolutionize technology used in electronic screens
TORONTO, ON – Engineering researchers at the University of Toronto have developed the world’s most efficient organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) on plastic. This result enables a flexible form factor, not to mention a less costly, alternative to traditional OLED manufacturing, which currently relies on rigid glass. The results are reported online in the latest issue of Nature Photonics. OLEDs provide high-contrast and low-energy displays that are rapidly becoming the dominant technology for advanced electronic screens. They are already used in…
New book challenges the local food movement
TORONTO, ON – Is the local food movement sustainable? Is genetically modified food harmful to human health? Should developing nations use agro-technology? A timely new book by University of Toronto Professor R. Paul Thompson tackles these challenging questions. Incisive and provocative, Agro-Technology is an important guide to a contentious issue that has momentous implications on the world’s health and environment. The book provides not only an accessible explanation of the scientific background of genetically modified organisms, but also analyzes ideological…
Insects are scared to death of fish
TORONTO, ON –The mere presence of a predator causes enough stress to kill a dragonfly, even when the predator cannot actually get at its prey to eat it, say biologists at the University of Toronto. “How prey respond to the fear of being eaten is an important topic in ecology, and we've learned a great deal about how these responses affect predator and prey interactions,” says Professor Locke Rowe, chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and…
Ontario’s first lesbian and gay rights group to be honoured
TORONTO, ON – A significant moment in Canadian queer history will be commemorated next week with the unveiling of a plaque marking the 1969 formation of the University of Toronto Homophile Association. The group was Ontario’s first to rally around lesbian and gay rights, and one of the first in Canada to be shaped by sexual liberation politics. Next Wednesday, November 2 at 5 p.m. at the East Hall in University College, officials from U of T, the Ontario Heritage…
University of Toronto to open Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex
The University of Toronto will officially open the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011, at 1 p.m. in a pavilion adjoining the health sciences complex. The four-storey facility includes the Mississauga Academy of Medicine, U of T’s internationally renowned biomedical communications program, research laboratories, lecture theatres, medical teaching classrooms and offices. The Mississauga Academy of Medicine, which opened its doors to students this past August, is a partnership among U of T Mississauga, U of T’s…
Moving people: responses to congestion
TORONTO, ON – The second lecture in a six-part series dissecting urban issues in Toronto, hosted by the University of Toronto’s Cities Centre, will focus on the city’s transportation situation. The event will take place on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto, 230 College Street, Room 103. Speakers Eric Miller (Director, Cities Centre) and Steve Munro (Public Transit Advocate and blogger http://stevemunro.ca/) will present overviews…
Harsh discipline fosters dishonesty in young children
TORONTO, ON – Young children exposed to a harshly punitive school environment are more inclined to lie to conceal their misbehaviour than are children from non-punitive schools, a study of three- and four-year-old West African children suggests. The study, published in the journal Child Development, also indicates that children in a punitive environment are able to tell more convincing lies than those in a non-punitive environment. The research, by Professor Victoria Talwar of McGill University and Professor Kang Lee of…
U of T named to top ten list of world’s best universities for arts and humanities
TORONTO, ON – The University of Toronto is one of the ten best universities in the world for the arts and humanities, according to a prestigious international ranking released today. In the latest result from the Times Higher Education (THE), the University ranks 10th among the world’s top institutions in the area of arts and humanities. Earlier this month, THE rated the University 19th overall in its rankings which measure the institutional excellence of the world’s top 200 universities in…
The myths of “ending demand” for prostitution: panel discussion
TORONTO, ON - Conservative MP Joy Smith’s public campaign to criminalize the purchase of sexual services reflects a troubling global campaign to “end demand” for prostitution. “End demand” campaigns are premised on an absolutist view of prostitution as exploitation, wherein all sex workers are cast as victims, and all clients as perpetrators. Media are invited to attend this panel, which will address the harmful consequences of “end demand” strategies, with a view to advancing alternative social and legal policies that…
New class has students cooking up literature
TORONTO, ON - Fourth-year English students are taking their appetite for literature to a whole new level with a course called Cook the Books. They are studying literature that observes and celebrates food and then cooking dishes inspired by their readings in the Hart House kitchen. Professor Andrea Most paired up with Joshna Maharaj, a local chef, to design the curriculum for the year. Most will run the English literature side, while Maharaj will take charge in the kitchen. The…