The products and services we use in our daily lives have to abide by safety and security standards,from car airbags to construction materials.But no such broad,internationally agreed-upon standards exist for artificial intelligence.And yet,AI tools and technologies are steadily being integrated into all aspects of our lives.AI’s potential benefits to humanity,such as improving health-care delivery or tackling climate change,are immense.But potential harms caused by AI tools–from algorithmic bias and labour displacement to risks associated with autonomous vehicles and weapons–risk leading to alack of trust in AI technologies.To tackle these problems,a new partnership between AI Global,a nonprofit organization focused on advancing responsible and ethical adoption of artificial intelligence,and the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society(SRI)at the University of Toronto will create aglobally recognized certification mark for the responsible and trusted use of AI systems.In collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s Shaping the Future of Technology Governance:Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning platform,the partnership will convene industry actors,policy-makers,civil society representatives and academics to build auniversally recognized framework that validates AI tools and technologies as responsible,trustworthy,ethical and fair. 查看详细>>

The University of Toronto will play akey role in anew National Research Council of Canada(NRC)advanced research materials facility focused on clean energy.The new research facility,the NRC’s first in Greater Toronto,will serve as aCanadian clean energy hub that supports research into advanced materials and transitions them to industrial use.It will bring together companies,governments and universities to work on clean tech projects.The NRC Mississauga facility will also be home to the new Collaboration Centre for Green Energy Materials(CC-GEM)–a partnership between Uof Tand NRC.“Tackling the reduction of the environmental footprint of Canadians is agrand challenge that requires bold ideas and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries to solve,”Derek Newton,U of T’s assistant vice-president,innovation,partnerships and entrepreneurship,said during avirtual ribbon-cutting ceremony that took place Monday on Zoom.“The University of Toronto looks forward to collaborating with the NRC to accelerate the work of Uof T’s researchers and training students to achieve new discoveries and apply them to further reduce the environmental impact of the electricity that powers the businesses,homes and vehicles of Canadians and people around the world.”The CC-GEM joint initiative will be co-led by:U of TProfessor Dwight Seferos in the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts&Science;U of TProfessor Timothy Bender in the Department of Chemical Engineering&Applied Chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science&Engineering;and Michel Dumoulin,the NRC’s vice-president of engineering. 查看详细>>

The University of Toronto and Japan’s Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.have agreed to renew,for three years,a partnership that seeks to advance innovative computing research projects with wide-scale applications.The partnership extension was marked this week by atransglobal videoconference that included Fujitsu CEO Hirotaka Hara and Uof TPresident Meric Gertler,as well as other senior leaders and researchers.The group discussed the progress of the partnership–which launched in 2018 and involved the establishment of the Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory at Uof T’s Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation&Entrepreneurship–and what can be achieved in the future.“Fujitsu is one of the world’s most admired companies and Fujitsu Laboratories is amajor engine of research and development in leading innovation clusters around the world including Beijing,Silicon Valley,London and now,of course,Toronto,”President Gertler said during the videoconference.“The University of Toronto and our department of electrical and computer engineering both enjoy very high rankings globally,and we are the academic anchor of an impressive innovation ecosystem here in the Toronto region.”Since its launch,the Fujitsu Co-Creation Research Laboratory has been credited with such major advancements as the advent of the Digital Annealer,a computing architecture that is inspired by quantum principles and can carry out operations beyond the scope of conventional computers,opening up potential applications in health care,drug discovery,finance,logistics,transportation and more.Fujitsu also launched an R&D centre in Toronto in 2017 as part of its partnership with the university.President Gertler said the collaboration between Uof Tand Fujitsu is testament to the richness of Toronto’s technology and innovation ecosystem. 查看详细>>

While most people are sheltering at home,it’s more or less business as usual for Professor Warren Chan and his team at the University of Toronto as they rush to develop an automated,more sensitive and rapid test for COVID-19 to help curb the pandemic.In fact,the current global lockdown has only strengthened the Chan team’s resolve to complete their work.That’s because widespread testing is needed to detect and quickly isolate infected people with mild or no symptoms to halt the novel coronavirus’s rapid spread.“It is very rewarding being able to work with everyone and do something that is contributing to this and future epidemics,”says Hannah Kozlowski,a graduate student in her fourth year of Uof T’s MD/PhD program.Powered by tiny light-emitting nanocrystals known as quantum dots,the test can simultaneously detect multiple components of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material,making it more sensitive than most available methods,which measure only one viral gene at atime.Single tests have alevel of uncertainty and can give false negative results in people who are infected.“A lot of available tests out there are faulty but people are using whatever is available and works best at this point,”says Chan,who is director of Uof T’s Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science&Engineering and principal investigator at the Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research. 查看详细>>

Researchers at the University of Toronto are playing aleading role in anational effort to study the efficacy of using blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients to treat those who are sick with the disease.The joint effort with researchers at more than 40 Canadian hospitals,the Universitéde Montréal,University of Ottawa,McMaster University and the University of British Columbia seeks to test whether it helps to transfuse plasma–the pale yellow liquid from whole blood that is rich in antibodies–from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to patients suffering from the illness.Antibodies in what’s known as“convalescent plasma”could give aboost to the immune system of COVID-19-infected patients to help them fight the disease,says Dr.Jeannie Callum,a professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Faculty of Medicine and an associate scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.“Antibodies are kind of like little forks that stick into the virus and assist your immune system,”Callum says,adding that the body’s immune system sees the virus attached to the end of the fork and tells macrophages and other immune cells to attack it.“It’s like your immune system is at war and you provided more tanks to fight the enemy.”Doctors in China and other countries have experimented with antibody-rich convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients,Callum notes.One Chinese study published last month focused on 10“severe adult cases”and suggested that adose of plasma from recovered patients was“well tolerated and could significantly increase or maintain the neutralizing antibodies at ahigh level.” 查看详细>>

A multi-disciplinary team of researchers has launched aproject to co-ordinate and deploy equipment from across the University of Toronto to produce medical supplies like masks,face shields and ventilators for health-care workers on the front lines of COVID-19.The Toronto Emergency Device Accelerator(TEDA)initiative draws on the resources of Uof Tand affiliate hospitals to:identify the greatest areas of need;co-ordinate equipment like 3D printers,laser cutters and water jets;and produce equipment that meets health and safety standards and can be used by health-care facilities in the fight against the novel coronavirus.The group’s first order of business is to address one of the most pressing equipment needs presented by COVID-19:reusable face shields.TEDA has committed to producing 3,000 face shields in an effort spearheaded by Nicholas Hoban,a lecturer at the John H.Daniels Faculty of Architecture,Landscape,and Design.Hoban,who is also the co-ordinator of the faculty’s digital fabrication lab,has cut models for the face shields,with production beginning this week.Matt Ratto,an associate professor at the Faculty of Information who is coordinating the 20-strong team of professors involved in TEDA,says his desire to set up the initiative was influenced by his experience working on 3D-printed prosthetics. 查看详细>>

The Creative Destruction Lab(CDL)has launched anew program called CDL Recovery,which aims to rapidly transform scientific innovations into products and services that address public health and economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The seed-stage accelerator,which is based at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and boasts aglobal network of scientists,inventors,economists and mentors,opened applications for the program on Monday,with startups,corporations,inventors,non-profit organizations and informal collaborations all eligible to apply.“Novel crises require novel responses,”said Ajay Agrawal,CDL’s founder and aprofessor at the Rotman School of Management,in apress release.“Novel responses require innovation,often predicated on insights from science.”Agrawal said the program was inspired by calls from scientists,policy-makers and industry leaders to assume a“wartime footing”in response to the global pandemic. 查看详细>>

Rozilaine Redi Lago,a visiting PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research(CQ)four years ago,taught the only qualitative research course at the Federal University of Acre(UFAC)in Brazil following her graduation.But she saw apressing need for an entire program–a goal that Uof T’s Denise Gastaldo and Brenda Gladstone,both volunteers with Academics Without Borders(AWB),are now helping to realize.“She created agroup which included her colleagues from several faculties who had training in qualitative research and said,‘Please come here to help us get started,’”says Gastaldo,an associate professor at the Lawrence S.Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing who is cross-appointed to the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.The Amazon region of Brazil desperately needs qualitative public health training.UFAC offers the region’s only public health PhD program with asingle quantitative focus.The resource-starved region faces serious and complex public health issues that require both quantitative and qualitative research approaches.“While they have been monitoring endemic diseases like malaria,dengue and leprosy,they also need information on social and cultural practices to create more effective programs to prevent and treat these diseases,”says Gastaldo,who is the former CQ director.Access to care is an ongoing issue.Large rivers surround the equatorial region.Intemperate weather hampers patients’ability to access care.The region is also home to 20,000 Indigenous residents who speak over 15 languages and observe various health-related cultural norms. 查看详细>>

Recruiters at top companies surveyed by Times Higher Education say University of Toronto graduates are among the best equipped in the world to join the workforce.U of Twas ranked the number one university in Canada and the top public institution in North America for producing work-ready graduates,according to the recently released Global University Employability Ranking 2019.The same ranking placed Uof T15th overall among 250 universities in 41 countries,and eighth among the world’s public universities.“Employers in Canada and beyond recognize the value of aUniversity of Toronto education,”said Uof TPresident Meric Gertler.“The university’s faculty and staff work tirelessly to equip students with the skills and experience they need to succeed in an ever-changing and competitive global job market.”The Times Higher Education Global University Employability Ranking 2019 was based on the combined results of two surveys of thousands of recruiters and managing directors at large international companies.In total,91,000 votes were cast for more than 5,000 institutions.The surveys,designed by Paris-based human resources consultancy Emerging,were conducted between May and September of this year. 查看详细>>

Egag is now pursuing amaster’s degree in social work at Uof Tand working as astudent counsellor at Family Services Toronto,a career track influenced by his lived experience of mental health challenges.At the same time,he is helping shape the future of mental health services on campus by lending his time and insights to the Presidential&Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health.The group,composed of students,faculty and staff,is reviewing mental health supports across the university and has already conducted alengthy consultation process on all three campuses.Now,the task force is seeking students’feedback on the broad themes that emerged from the consultations.From Monday to Friday this week,students,staff and faculty can weigh in on the draft summary of themes during student-run feedback sessions on the three campuses that have been organized by the Innovation Hub.No registration is required for the“pop-up”events,which are being held in high-traffic spaces. 查看详细>>