Creative Destruction Lab / en ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s AI thought leaders take centre stage at Collision 2024 /news/u-t-s-ai-thought-leaders-take-centre-stage-collision-2024 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s AI thought leaders take centre stage at Collision 2024</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-06/hinton-gomez-urtasun.jpg?h=b1603f5f&amp;itok=WdGBHwAQ 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2024-06/hinton-gomez-urtasun.jpg?h=b1603f5f&amp;itok=jsHlD9IB 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2024-06/hinton-gomez-urtasun.jpg?h=b1603f5f&amp;itok=-kPIGG5p 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2024-06/hinton-gomez-urtasun.jpg?h=b1603f5f&amp;itok=WdGBHwAQ" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2024-06-14T10:14:37-04:00" title="Friday, June 14, 2024 - 10:14" class="datetime">Fri, 06/14/2024 - 10:14</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Left to right: Geoffrey Hinton, Aidan Gomez and Raquel Urtasun ā€“ all ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ community members who are leaders in the AI field ā€“ are among the most anticipated speakers this year's Collision tech conference (photos by Johnny Guatto,&nbsp;Piaras Ɠ MĆ­dheach/Collision via Sportsfile and Polina Teif)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/mariam-matti" hreflang="en">Mariam Matti</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/geoffrey-hinton" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Hinton</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">ā€œ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is Canada's leading engine for research-based tech and AI startups&nbsp;and talent - and you see that reflected in both the lineup for Collision speakers, and the entrepreneurs who attendā€</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Some of the most anticipated speakers at this yearā€™s&nbsp;<a href="https://collisionconf.com/" target="_blank">Collision tech conference</a>&nbsp;are artificial intelligence luminaries from the University of Toronto ā€“ and they will be sharing their insights on how the revolutionary technology is poised to transform industry and society.</p> <p>Known as the "godfather of AI,"&nbsp;<strong>Geoffrey Hinton</strong>, a cognitive psychologist and ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ&nbsp;<a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a>&nbsp;Emeritus of computer science, will host a session on June 19 titled ā€œCan We Control AI?ā€ that explores the potential benefits <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9cW4Gcn5WY">and risks</a> inherent in AI advancement.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Aidan Gomez</strong>, one of Hintonā€™s former interns at Google Brain, is speaking on June 18 about the real-world impact of AI. Heā€™s CEO and co-founder at Cohere, which he and two ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ alumni founded, and which has been dubbed <a href="https://www.theverge.com/24173858/ai-cohere-aidan-gomez-money-revenue-llm-transformers-enterprise-stochastic-parrot" target="_blank">one of the&nbsp;ā€œbuzziest AI startups around right now.ā€</a></p> <p>And&nbsp;<strong>Raquel Urtasun</strong>, a ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ professor of computer science and the founder and CEO of <a href="https://waabi.ai">self-driving truck company Waabi</a>, which launched with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2021/06/08/uber-veteran-launches-her-ai-mindset-self-driving-startup-with-835-million-round/?sh=4d071be16edf" target="_blank">one of the largest rounds of seed funding in Canadian history</a>,&nbsp;will share her insights on the trajectory of AI-driven transportation solutions during a session on June 19.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-right"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2024-06/BriandeRiveraSimon_tarsipix_2058-crop.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Jon French (photo by&nbsp;Brian de Rivera Simon)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>ā€œ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is Canada's leading engine for research-based tech and AI startups&nbsp;and talent - and you see that reflected in both the lineup for Collision speakers, and the entrepreneurs who attend,ā€ says&nbsp;<strong>Jon French</strong>, director of ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Entrepreneurship.</p> <p>He adds that the conference also gives the university an opportunity to promote ā€œour innovative ecosystem and connect with corporate partners from around the world and investors looking to grow their pipelines, governments and academic institutions at home and aboard.ā€&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Anticipated to draw more than 40,000 attendees, Collision runs from June 17 to 20 at the Enercare Centre in Toronto and will feature startup founders, business leaders, investors, scientists, journalists and celebrities, including tennis star&nbsp;Maria Sharapova.&nbsp;</p> <p>Before the conference officially kicks off, ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Entrepreneurship will host two tours of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus in partnership with the City of Toronto and the Government of Ontario. It will also have a booth at Collision to showcase ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s entrepreneurial ecosystem, featuring self-driving lab and robot demos from the&nbsp;<a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/">Acceleration Consortium</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://craftmicrofluidics.ca/">CRAFT Microfluidics</a>&nbsp;ā€“ both ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ&nbsp;<a href="https://isi.utoronto.ca/">institutional strategic initiatives</a>&nbsp;ā€“ and a ā€œStartup Spotlight.ā€&nbsp;</p> <p>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s&nbsp;<a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/for-entrepreneurs/black-founders-network/">Black Founders Network</a>&nbsp;is part of a group of community organizers leading the Black Innovation Zone, which will have its own booth with programming for Black innovators.</p> <p>French says the conference provides ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ startups and entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their ideas and connect with global mentors, advisers, investors, partners and peers.</p> <p>ā€œFor many founders, it is an eye-opening conference that gets them thinking bigger about the markets they serve and often leads to participating in programs and opportunities in geographies around the world,ā€ he says.&nbsp;</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2024-06/UofT84945_0212NuhaSiddiqui003087A0028-%281%29-crop.jpg" width="300" height="300" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Nuha Siddiqui (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>Nuha Siddiqui&nbsp;</strong>is among the ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ-connected entrepreneurs participating in Collision this year. She is the co-founder and CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.planeterthos.com/" target="_blank">Erthos</a>, which has developed a plant-based resin that can be used as a substitute for traditional plastics when manufacturing everyday products. She launched the company with&nbsp;<strong>Kritika Tyagi</strong>&nbsp;while they were studying at the university and received support from ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s entrepreneurship community, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com">Creative Destruction Lab</a>&nbsp;at the Rotman School of Management.&nbsp;</p> <p>Siddiqui said sheā€™s ā€œincredibly thankfulā€ for ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s continued support to Erthosā€™s growth.</p> <p>ā€œMy co-founder and I started Erthos years ago while we were still students, and since graduating, ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ has continued to broaden our network, contribute to meaningful media coverage and remain active champions of our success,ā€ she says.</p> <p>ā€œIt's an absolute honour to represent the entrepreneurship community on the main stage at Collision this year and to have the opportunity to amplify our mission towards building a more material-conscious future."</p> <p>Here are just a few other ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ faculty, alumni and other community members who will be shaping the dialogue around innovation, tech and entrepreneurship at this yearā€™s conference:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Christian Weedbrook</strong>, founder and CEO at Xanadu and a&nbsp;former ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ post-doctoral researcher, will discuss the future of data centres and how quantum computing can be leveraged to avoid future economic and climate issues.&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Mike Murchison</strong>, ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ alum and founding CEO of Ada, which received support from the Creative Destruction Lab, will discuss the evolution of AI customer service agents and their implications for brands and consumers.</li> <li><strong>Curtis VanWalleghem</strong>, co-founder and CEO at Hydrostor and a ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ&nbsp;alumnus, will speak about Hydrostorā€™s innovative technology that utilizes underground spaces for a sustainable long-term energy storage.&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>David Wong</strong>,&nbsp;chief product officer at Thomson Reuters and ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ alumnus, will explore the transformative power of AI and offer insights on how organizations can unlock its full potential for business operations.&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>Mara Reiff</strong>,&nbsp;³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ alumna,&nbsp;chief customer officer and interim co-CEO at Freshbooks,&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Dan Richards</strong>, assistant professor, teaching stream, at the Rotman School of Management, will discuss how to empower small business owners to make smart decisions.&nbsp;</li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 14 Jun 2024 14:14:37 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 308181 at Ada CEO Mike Murchison is using AI to 'make customer service extraordinary' /news/ada-ceo-mike-murchison-using-ai-make-customer-service-extraordinary <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Ada CEO Mike Murchison is using AI to 'make customer service extraordinary'</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-11/MikeMurchison-Ada-1-crop.jpg?h=1e2a486d&amp;itok=CZbOx1qt 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-11/MikeMurchison-Ada-1-crop.jpg?h=1e2a486d&amp;itok=aCFOXA9- 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-11/MikeMurchison-Ada-1-crop.jpg?h=1e2a486d&amp;itok=zHd-WuPA 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-11/MikeMurchison-Ada-1-crop.jpg?h=1e2a486d&amp;itok=CZbOx1qt" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-11-20T10:08:28-05:00" title="Monday, November 20, 2023 - 10:08" class="datetime">Mon, 11/20/2023 - 10:08</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Mike Murchison's startup&nbsp;Ada&nbsp;uses AI to help businesses and brands automate their customer support (supplied image)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ alum plans to talk about his entrepreneurial journey at upcoming event</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For <strong>Mike Murchison</strong>, the best way to understand a problem isnā€™t to analyze it&nbsp;ā€“ but to immerse yourself in it.</p> <p>So, when the serial tech entrepreneur found himself looking for a way to improve companies' customer service, he decided to work as a frontline tech support agent for several months.</p> <p>ā€œI used to believe that creating a solution to a problem is an intellectual exercise,ā€ says Murchison, who studied cognitive science, psychology and human-computer interaction in the University of Torontoā€™s Faculty of Arts &amp; Science. ā€œBut the way you execute on that is very different if you actually understand the toil that exists in the day-to-day.ā€</p> <p>Murchison's call centre insights helped shape the work and mission of his startup, <a href="https://www.ada.cx/">Ada</a>, which uses AI to help businesses and brands automate their customer support.</p> <p>Ada ā€“ which successfully completed the <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a>'s seed-stage accelerator program&nbsp;at the Rotman School of Management&nbsp;ā€“ has established itself at the vanguard of the AI-enabled customer support business. In 2021, the startup secured a Series C funding round of $130 million. That pushed its valuation above a $1 billion, earning it ā€œunicornā€ status; its clients include tech giants such Meta, Shopify and Verizon.</p> <p>Murchison plans to further discuss the startupā€™s growth and his own entrepreneurial journey in a keynote address on Nov. 21 <a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/desjardins-speaker-series-with-mike-murchison-tickets-723661971437">as part of the Desjardins Speaker Series</a> organized by <a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Entrepreneurship</a>. The series is part of <a href="/news/u-t-entrepreneurship-partners-desjardins-startup-prize">a three-year partnership with Desjardins that includes a student startup pitch competition with more than $100,000 in&nbsp;prizes</a>.</p> <p>Itā€™s one of many initiatives designed to inspire ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s ballooning entrepreneurship community, which now comprises more than 12 campus-based accelerators that have spawned 650 companies, created more than 9,000 jobs and generated more than $3 billion in investment over the past decade.</p> <p>Murchison says Ada is moving to expand its AI platform, which helps companies resolve complex customer inquiries with minimal human effort.</p> <p>ā€œWeā€™ve developed what we call a reasoning engine which essentially brings together a bunch of different large language models&nbsp;ā€“ some of which are foundation models powered by the likes of OpenAI [makers of ChatGPT],ā€ he said.</p> <p>Ada also recently introduced a product, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ada-introduces-generative-actions-enabling-ai-powered-customer-service-chatbots-to-actually-resolve-customers-issues-without-human-intervention-301953747.html" target="_blank">Generative Actions</a>, that enables clients to train their AI bots on how to retrieve information from their business systems, making for more personalized responses and actions that can be carried out. ā€œWeā€™re now starting to see AI experiences that weā€™re powering that are not only on par with what humans are capable of, but are exceeding human capability,ā€ Murchison said. ā€œThatā€™s huge because the whole mission of Ada is to make customer service extraordinary for everyone.ā€</p> <p>Murchison urged entrepreneurs in the AI space to think of the technology as a tool to solve real-world problems, as opposed to an end in itself: ā€œWhat sends people in the wrong direction is when they believe that the technology holds some inherent value and their intellectual or high-level approach is all they need to build the right solution."</p> <p>He also suggested entrepreneurs view AI as an employee that requires feedback and coaching to improve its performance. ā€œWhen you hire a human employee, you expect their impact will be greater a year later than on day one. That same paradigm is whatā€™s needed to get the most out of AI,ā€ Murchison said, noting his upcoming keynote will address some ways this approach can be implemented.</p> <p>As for students interested in AI and other technologies of the future, Murchison urged them to seek out the array of knowledge, resources and mentors available at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ.</p> <p>ā€œI went to ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ when [<a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> Emeritus] <strong>Geoffrey Hinton</strong> was still teaching and was very lucky to be able to crash his courses. I also spent a lot of time just going into random labs ā€“ like, [computer engineering Professor] <a href="https://www.ece.utoronto.ca/people/mann-s/"><strong>Steve Mann</strong> </a>let me just show up in his lab and hang out,ā€ Murchison said.</p> <p>ā€œ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ gives you an incredible level of access to world-renowned research thatā€™s at your fingertips. Itā€™s on you to access it and tap into it.ā€</p> <p>Murchison also appealed to students to take advantage of ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s vast entrepreneurship supports.</p> <p>ā€œItā€™s really heartening and exciting to see the growth of entrepreneurship at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ,ā€ he said. ā€œBeing in an environment where you have a structure to catch you if you fall ā€“ or as you experiment ā€“ is so valuable; it becomes harder later on. Iā€™d love to encourage more students to do that.ā€</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:08:28 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 304472 at Finding ChatGPT: ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ grad's startup helps detect AI's fingerprints /news/finding-chatgpt-how-u-t-alum-s-startup-helps-detect-ai-s-fingerprints <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Finding ChatGPT: ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ grad's startup helps detect AI's fingerprints</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-10/Alex-Cui-Main-Photo-crop.jpg?h=8ab0b107&amp;itok=OGI_7tdy 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-10/Alex-Cui-Main-Photo-crop.jpg?h=8ab0b107&amp;itok=XUzFc0N6 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-10/Alex-Cui-Main-Photo-crop.jpg?h=8ab0b107&amp;itok=mkp_p3Ri 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-10/Alex-Cui-Main-Photo-crop.jpg?h=8ab0b107&amp;itok=OGI_7tdy" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-10-18T15:59:50-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 18, 2023 - 15:59" class="datetime">Wed, 10/18/2023 - 15:59</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Alex Cui co-founded GPTZero just a few months before finishing his masterā€™s degree in ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s Faculty of Arts &amp; Science (photo by Kemeisha McDonald)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/david-goldberg" hreflang="en">David Goldberg</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/vector-institute" hreflang="en">Vector Institute</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Co-founded by Alex Cui last year, GPTZero has already raised US$3.5 million</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>With the ink barely dry on his masterā€™s degree from the University of Toronto,&nbsp;<strong>Alex Cui</strong>&nbsp;is tackling a towering issue spawned by the recent revolution in artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT: How to tell if written content is generated by person or machine?</p> <p>Enter Cuiā€™s startup&nbsp;GPTZero. It analyzes patterns in writing, using sentence length and syntax to identify the likelihood text was generated by AI.</p> <p>ā€œGPTZero has a lot of imagination and potential in a future where AI is everywhere and itā€™s rampant,ā€ says Cui, who studied computer science as a masterā€™s student in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and graduated in June.</p> <p>"We haven't even really cracked the surface of what we could do.ā€</p> <p>Cui co-founded GPTZero with Edward Tian last January&nbsp;ā€“ just a few weeks after ChatGPT went public and triggered a torrent of questions about academic integrity and authenticity ā€“ and has already drawn the attention of Silicon Valley investors, raising more than US$3.5-million to date.</p> <p>As institutions around the world grapple with the impact of generative AI, <a href="https://www.viceprovostundergrad.utoronto.ca/strategic-priorities/digital-learning/special-initiative-artificial-intelligence/">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ has advised faculty to be clear with students about whether AI is permitted in their classrooms</a> and actively discourages the use of all AI detectors, many of which are still in development, in favour of traditional methods of assessing studentsā€™ work.</p> <h3><a href="/news/chatgpt-101-risks-and-rewards-generative-ai-classroom">Read a Q-and-A with Susan McCahan on ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s approach to AI in the classroom</a></h3> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-10/alex-cui-edward-tian-inside.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Alex Cui launched GPTZero with Princeton University grad Edward Tian in January 2023 (supplied image)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p>Cuiā€™s fascination with AI began at University of Toronto Schools ā€“ an independent secondary school affiliated with ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ that Tian also attended before going to Princeton University ā€“ and at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s Faculty of&nbsp; Applied Science &amp; Engineeringā€™s renowned&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.engineering.utoronto.ca/pre-university-programs/high-school-program/deep/">DEEP Summer Academy</a>. His early affiliation with the university gave him regular access to lectures by ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ faculty, who, even a decade ago, urged Cui and his classmates to learn AI skills as soon as possible.</p> <p>After high school, Cui earned his bachelorā€™s degree from the California Institute of Technology, but kept his Toronto connections. As an undergrad, he interned with one of the worldā€™s leading experts on self-driving cars, ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s&nbsp;<strong>Raquel Urtasun</strong>, professor in the department of computer science and co-founder of the&nbsp;<a href="https://vectorinstitute.ai/">Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence.</a></p> <p>When Cui returned to ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ, Urtasun supervised his masterā€™s thesis, which included writing code for <a href="/news/road-ahead-raquel-urtasun-s-startup-unleash-full-power-ai-self-driving-cars">the&nbsp;Waabi&nbsp;self-driving truck</a>.</p> <p>ā€œ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is one of the world leaders in machine learning,ā€ says Cui. ā€œThere's no other ecosystem in the industry that combines AI innovation, commercialization and research partnerships.ā€</p> <p>As GPTZeroā€™s chief technology officer, Cui is overseeing fresh innovations, including plugins for Microsoft and Google products that help users detect AI text in any document or on any website.</p> <p>Cui sees GPTZero offering immense value for several sectors, including publishing. He says the volume of author submissions is growing exponentially, especially with AI-driven content. Software like his could help editors determine whatā€™s been written authentically, and how to take the writing to the next level.</p> <p>Cui continues to be supported by ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ and its partners. GPTZero recently started consulting with the&nbsp;<a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a>&nbsp;at the&nbsp;Rotman School of Management and is also a member of the Vector Instituteā€™s&nbsp;<a href="https://vectorinstitute.ai/programs/ai-startup-and-scale-up-program/">FastLane&nbsp;program</a>, which advances AI adoption for Canadian startups and scaleups.</p> <p>"Alex is an exceptional and experienced researcher and builder. His accomplishments speak for themselves. He is humble, knowledgeable and great to work with,ā€ says Vectorā€™s Junid Ebadi, the FastLane programā€™s business analyst.</p> <p>"GPTZero is a fast-growing, well-resourced and driven company. They have been great partners for us, and we are happy to support them in their journey.ā€</p> <p>Cui hopes his story will ease the stress of aspiring startup founders.</p> <p>ā€œIt's not as scary as you think,ā€ he says. ā€œEspecially in AI right now, a lot of people want to make bets on promising ideas, and I think if you are a talented individual solving a pressing issue, there's a good chance you can get some investors to fund your ideas.ā€</p> <p>Despite <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-gptzero-startup-founder-building-leading-text-detector-2023-7" target="_blank">the attention from media</a> and investors, Cui is staying humble and focused on remaining a leader in AI detection.</p> <p>ā€œWe have people who are betting on us, but I wouldn't say we're proven yet. To build a sustainable business, you can't just be a flash in the pan. We're still very much in the mindset that we are priming ourselves to go up against some stiff competition. Weā€™re not going to take any liberties.ā€</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 18 Oct 2023 19:59:50 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 303786 at Global experts gather at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ to discuss how ā€˜self driving labsā€™ will revolutionize scientific discovery /news/global-experts-gather-u-t-discuss-how-self-driving-labs-will-revolutionize-scientific <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Global experts gather at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ to discuss how ā€˜self driving labsā€™ will revolutionize scientific discovery</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-08/Accelerate-Conference-2023-5620-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_Ea5WLVl 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-08/Accelerate-Conference-2023-5620-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=kGPgaqtq 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-08/Accelerate-Conference-2023-5620-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Of5J2j3- 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-08/Accelerate-Conference-2023-5620-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=_Ea5WLVl" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-08-31T14:44:06-04:00" title="Thursday, August 31, 2023 - 14:44" class="datetime">Thu, 08/31/2023 - 14:44</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Linda Hung, manager of Toyota Research Institute, speaks at this yearā€™s Accelerate Conference at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ (photo by Worker Bee Supply&nbsp;Ā© Acceleration Consortium)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/catrina-kronfli" hreflang="en">Catrina Kronfli</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/acceleration-consortium" hreflang="en">Acceleration Consortium</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/artificial-intelligence" hreflang="en">Artificial Intelligence</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leslie-dan-faculty-pharmacy" hreflang="en">Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">The Acceleration Consortiumā€™s second-annual Accelerate conference focused on talent development, collaboration and commercialization</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/">Acceleration Consortium (AC)</a> at the University of Toronto recently brought together more than 350 representatives from academia, industry and government from 16 countries to discuss how ā€œself-driving labsā€ are revolutionizing the speed and impact of scientific discovery.</p> <p>Held over four days in August, the consortiumā€™s second annual <a href="https://www.accelerate23.ca/">Accelerate conference</a> focused on key themes such as talent development, collaboration and commercialization ā€“ all with an eye to finding and developing new materials and molecules that can help solve humanityā€™s most pressing challenges, from climate change to pandemics.</p> <p><a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/researcher/alan-aspuru-guzik"><strong>AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik</strong></a>, director of the AC and a professor in ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s departments of chemistry and computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, said the conference has quickly emerged as a major draw in a field thatā€™s rapidly gaining momentum around the world.</p> <p>ā€œThe Acceleration Consortiumā€™s Accelerate Conference attracts the worldā€™s leading academic and industry researchers working to accelerate scientific discovery,ā€ he said. ā€œGiven the tremendous growth and excitement we have seen since launching the conference just one year ago, it is clear Accelerate is becoming the flagship event for accelerated discovery.ā€</p> <p>A ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ <a href="https://isi.utoronto.ca/existing-initiatives/">Institutional Strategic Initiative</a> that launched in 2021, the AC <a href="/news/u-t-receives-200-million-grant-support-acceleration-consortium-s-self-driving-labs-research">earlier this year received a $200-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF)</a> to help it achieve <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/vision">its bold vision of realizing the age of materials on demand</a>.</p> <p>The largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university, the CFREF grant allows the consortium to bring together researchers and industry to design, develop and implement self-driving lab technologies. These labs combine the power of artificial intelligence (AI) with robotics and advanced computing to create new materials and molecules needed for a sustainable future ā€“ at a fraction of the usual time and cost. Applications include everything from life-saving medications to biodegradable plastics.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-center"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2023-08/Accelerate-Conference-2023-5570-crop.jpg?itok=wlEJjeyH" width="750" height="500" alt="&quot;&quot;" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik speaks at the Accelerate Conference 2023 (photo by Worker Bee Supply&nbsp;Ā© Acceleration Consortium)</em></figcaption> </figure> <p><a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/vision"><strong>Chandra Veer Singh</strong></a>, an associate professor in the department of materials science and engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, and <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/researcher/christine-allen"><strong>Christine Allen</strong></a>, a professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, noted AI will be critical to a variety of careers in the future and that continuous learning is necessary to equip workers with the knowledge and skills needed to fill these roles.</p> <p><a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/researcher/sterling-baird"><strong>Sterling Baird</strong></a>, the ACā€™s director of training and programs, spoke about the consortiumā€™s upcoming digital discovery program ā€“ the first of its kind in Canada. Thanks to support from the Ontario Micro-credentials Fund, the program will train scientists looking to apply AI to materials discovery. Flora Wan, a technical education specialist with the Vector Institute, shared <a href="https://vectorinstitute.ai/programs_cat/ai-for-business/">the programs that the institute developed</a> to help professionals and businesses develop AI knowledge.</p> <p>As an emerging field, ecosystem development is also important. Anjuli Szawiola, policy analyst with Natural Resources Canada, spoke to the two networks the federal government is co-leading ā€“ <a href="http://mission-innovation.net/platform/materials-for-energy-m4e/">Materials for Energy</a> and the <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/partners/gc-mac">German-Canadian Materials Acceleration Centre</a> ā€“ to promote knowledge sharing and the adoption of advanced materials for clean energy in Canada and abroad.</p> <p>For its part, the AC has become a magnet for cross-sector collaboration as <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/partners">its partners</a> look to gain access to the wide range of expertise, research and innovation it has assembled.</p> <p>The consortium includes more than 100 academics from more than 40 research institutes and 30 private and public sector organizations. Together, they are creating a global community to tackle key challenges in the field such as data sharing and reproducibility of self-driving labs.</p> <p><a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/researcher/michelle-murphy"><strong>Michelle Murphy</strong></a>, a professor in the department of history in ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and a Canada Research Chair in Science &amp; Technology Studies and Environmental Data Justice, spoke about the importance of incorporating social scientists and Indigenous communities in the research process given the ethical implications of speeding up the pace of science.</p> <p>Murphy will examine critical issues associated with self-driving labs, including ensuring that those impacted most by the technology have a say in its development in order to prevent unintended harms, whether direct or indirect. With this in mind, equity, diversity and inclusion will continue to guide the ACā€™s project implementation and research design.</p> <p>On the topic of commercialization, <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/staff/sonia-sennik/"><strong>Sonia Sennik</strong></a>, executive director of the <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab (CDL)</a>, shared the non-profitā€™s history of and philosophy towards supporting entrepreneurs.</p> <p>ā€œNew founders have thousands of things on their to-do list. CDL believes the best judgment an early-stage entrepreneur can get is ā€˜entrepreneurial judgementā€™ from an experienced entrepreneur,ā€ Sennik explained. <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/program/">CDLā€™s program</a> allows select entrepreneurs to benefit from the entrepreneurial knowledge of fellows and associates who help guide CDL ventures.</p> <p>Co-founded by Aspuru-Guzik, CDLā€™s <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/streams/">Matter Stream</a> is working with the AC to help founders seeking to discover, develop or recycle materials.</p> <p>What comes next? The AC will assemble a steering committee to tackle various issues facing the sector. In addition to building six self-driving labs and a machine learning and automation lab, the consortium <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/news/were-hiring">is hiring new scientists, chemists, AI experts, roboticists and more</a>, with the goal of making the Greater Toronto Area and Canada a world leader in accelerated materials discovery.</p> <p><em>With files from Erin Warner and Tabassum Siddiqui</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 31 Aug 2023 18:44:06 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 302752 at Eva Lau, co founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, says universities key to Toronto's growth in tech /news/eva-lau-co-founder-two-small-fish-ventures-says-universities-key-toronto-s-growth-tech <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Eva Lau, co founder of Two Small Fish Ventures, says universities key to Toronto's growth in tech</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-06/2023-03-09-True-Blue-Impact-Day_Polina-Teif-16-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=33agJCvR 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-06/2023-03-09-True-Blue-Impact-Day_Polina-Teif-16-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9cN-7DvX 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-06/2023-03-09-True-Blue-Impact-Day_Polina-Teif-16-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=lCw9Q3Ef 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-06/2023-03-09-True-Blue-Impact-Day_Polina-Teif-16-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=33agJCvR" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>bresgead</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-06-26T16:04:34-04:00" title="Monday, June 26, 2023 - 16:04" class="datetime">Mon, 06/26/2023 - 16:04</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p><em>Eva Lau, pictured here speaking ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ's at True Blue Impact Day, will speak about the importance of diversity in entrepreneurial mentorship at a special session on June 28 (photo by Polina Teif)</em></p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/adina-bresge" hreflang="en">Adina Bresge</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/diversity" hreflang="en">Diversity</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship-hatchery" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship Hatchery</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ alumna is among the members of the ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ community speaking at this year's Collision conference</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>As one of the entrepreneurs on the front lines of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/21/technology/toronto-tech-boom.html">Torontoā€™s rise as a modern tech hub</a>, <strong>Eva Lau</strong> says the University of Toronto will play a critical role in keeping the city on the cutting edge by fostering the next generation of innovators.</p> <p>ā€œIā€™ve been in this ecosystem long enough to see how it has matured,ā€ says Lau, managing director and co-founder of <a href="https://twosmallfish.vc/">Two Small Fish Ventures</a>, which invests in early-stage tech companies and has backed successes such as SkipTheDishes, Sheertex and <a href="/news/u-t-drug-discovery-startup-benchsci-changing-tech-world-globe-and-mail">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ drug discovery startup BenchSci</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;ā€œAnd I have to give credit to the universities.ā€</p> <p>An alumna of the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, Lau is among <a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/u-of-t-at-collision-2023/">the ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ founders, alumni and faculty expected to speak at the Collision conference from June 26 to 29</a> ā€“ a list that includes <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a>&nbsp;Emeritus <strong>Geoffrey Hinton</strong>, known as ā€œthe Godfather of AI,ā€ who has garnered global attention for <a href="/news/godfather-conversation-why-geoffrey-hinton-worried-about-future-ai">sounding the alarm about the existential risks of the technology he helped developed</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/u-of-t-at-collision-2023/">At a special session on June 28</a>, Lau ā€“ who was formerly the head of community at <a href="/news/content-factory-how-u-t-alumnus-allen-lau-disrupting-way-books-movies-and-tv-shows-are-made">online storytelling platform Wattpad</a> ā€“ will talk about the positive impact that diverse mentors can have on founders as they go through the accelerator and incubator experience.</p> <p>She recently spoke to <em>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ</em> about the benefits of diverse mentorship and how ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s emphasis on entrepreneurship has bolstered Torontoā€™s startup scene.</p> <hr> <p><strong>How does having diverse mentors help founders and startups grow?</strong></p> <p>Mentorship is something that a lot of founders may take for granted. Theyā€™ll say, ā€œI need someone who understands this space.ā€ If theyā€™re building financial products, theyā€™ll look for someone in the financial sector, for example.</p> <p>But if we continue to iterate in a domain, we will always get incremental improvements of existing products. Disruption actually happens when people put their minds together and think outside the box. You need to surround yourself with people who think differently from you, who bring different perspectives.</p> <p>Mentorship is more than getting advice about how to follow other peopleā€™s paths to success. Itā€™s about building your own DNA, looking at things from a 360-degree perspective and making use of the advice around you so that you can chart your own path to build a product that works for everyone.</p> <p><strong>How did your education at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Engineering help you as an entrepreneur?</strong></p> <p>When I was at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ, I studied industrial engineering. One of the subjects that intrigued me most was human factors ā€“ the product-human interface, designing products that suit human needs.</p> <p>Addressing human issues is what innovation should be all about. When you design a product, you need to understand how humans will interact with it, because thatā€™s whatā€™s going to drive user adoption.</p> <p>That was a real eye-opener for me. Itā€™s not enough to create something that solves a problem for people. You have to think about how people are going to use your product to solve that problem. Iā€™m not only the creator; Iā€™m creating a solution for an actual person.</p> <p><strong>How have you seen Torontoā€™s startup scene evolve and where do you see it heading?</strong></p> <p>Iā€™ve been in this ecosystem long enough to see how it has matured. And I have to give credit to the universities. Back when I was at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ, entrepreneurship was barely mentioned. Nowadays, entrepreneurship is a building block of education.</p> <p>At ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ, thereā€™s the <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a> at the Rotman School of Management, the <a href="https://hatchery.engineering.utoronto.ca/">Entrepreneurship Hatchery</a> at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Engineering <a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/for-entrepreneurs/accelerators/">and so many other incubators and accelerators</a>.</p> <p>That seed of entrepreneurship gets planted very early on, right after high school. And in the past couple of decades, weā€™ve seen more and more tech companies founded in Canada ā€“ Shopify, Wattpad, Wealthsimple and many others. Thatā€™s inspiring a lot more young people to follow suit.</p> <p>Weā€™re also seeing more budding entrepreneurs get first-hand experience working at companies as part of their education. For example, the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering has the <a href="https://undergrad.engineering.utoronto.ca/academics-registration/work-experience-programs/professional-experience-year-pey/">Professional Experience Year Co-op Program</a>, where students can earn up to 20 months of work experience before they graduate. Thatā€™s a game-changer.</p> <p>Thatā€™s why weā€™re seeing the maturity of the startup ecosystem. Our young generation is no longer limited to learning from textbooks, professors and parents. They can get a diversity of mentorship during their formative years.</p> <p><strong>What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ, particularly women or people from diverse backgrounds?</strong></p> <p>Absolutely reach out to our amazing alumni network. And donā€™t limit yourself to alumni from your faculty. Reach out to alumni from the engineering school, or perhaps in philosophy, or physics, or history or business. Bring in different experiences to create your own recipe for success.</p> <p><strong>What will you be keeping an eye out for at the Collision?</strong></p> <p>I am so keen to listen to Geoffrey Hinton and other ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ co-founders <a href="https://collisionconf.com/schedule/cc23/timeslot/in-conversation-with-the-godfather-of-ai">talk about trends in artificial intelligence</a>. Iā€™m absolutely a believer that AI is going to bring so much more productivity improvement ā€“ or even disruption ā€“ to our ecosystem.</p> <p>Certainly, there are concerns around AI. But the history of technology shows that innovation always creates some friction in the beginning, but the long-term gains are beneficial to everyone.</p> <p>I want to hear from the people who are at the forefront of AI, and as importantly, see how their messages are received. How is the crowd reacting to what these influencers are saying? Because thatā€™s a good temperature check.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 26 Jun 2023 20:04:34 +0000 bresgead 302080 at Experts say $200-million grant awarded to ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ will drive ā€˜big scienceā€™ via the Acceleration Consortium /news/experts-say-200-million-grant-awarded-u-t-will-drive-big-science-acceleration-consortium <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Experts say $200-million grant awarded to ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ will drive ā€˜big scienceā€™ via the Acceleration Consortium</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/38-AccelerationConsortium-story_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=rWCOtWxl 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-05/38-AccelerationConsortium-story_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=v15S4ARR 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-05/38-AccelerationConsortium-story_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=CwGT6h_I 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/38-AccelerationConsortium-story_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=rWCOtWxl" alt="Researcher removes a vial of pre-dispensed reagent from an automated solid dispensing robot "> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-04-28T16:19:03-04:00" title="Friday, April 28, 2023 - 16:19" class="datetime">Fri, 04/28/2023 - 16:19</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>A researcher removes a vial of pre-dispensed reagent from an automated solid dispensing robot (photo by James Morley Ā© The Matter Lab / Acceleration Consortium, University of Toronto)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tabassum-siddiqui" hreflang="en">Tabassum Siddiqui</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/acceleration-consortium" hreflang="en">Acceleration Consortium</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institutional-strategic-initiatives" hreflang="en">Institutional Strategic Initiatives</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leah-cowen" hreflang="en">Leah Cowen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/self-driving-labs" hreflang="en">self-driving labs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-toronto-mississauga" hreflang="en">University of Toronto Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/vector-institute" hreflang="en">Vector Institute</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/women-and-gender-studies" hreflang="en">Women and Gender Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">The <a href="/news/u-t-receives-200-million-grant-support-acceleration-consortium-s-self-driving-labs-research">$200-million Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) grant</a> awarded to the University of Torontoā€™s <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/">Acceleration Consortium</a> will help build a world-leading centre for accelerated materials discovery and innovation.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The funding will support the consortiumā€™s work on ā€œself-driving labsā€ that realize the game-changing potential of AI by combining it with robotics and advanced computing to discover new materials and molecules in a fraction of the usual time and cost ā€“ from life-saving medications and biodegradable plastics to low-carbon cement and renewable energy.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">With equity, diversity and inclusion guiding project implementation and research design, the Acceleration Consortium ā€“ a ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ <a href="https://isi.utoronto.ca/">institutional strategic initiative</a> ā€“ will use the funding to commercialize ethically designed technologies and materials to benefit society and train todayā€™s scientists with the skills they need to advance the emerging field of accelerated materials discovery. It will also examine critical issues regarding the application of the technology, including from environmental and Indigenous perspectives.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œWe realized we need to take a cue from self-driving cars and extended that concept to a self-driving lab, which uses AI and automation to carry out more experiments in a smarter way,ā€ says Acceleration Consortium Director <a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/researcher/alan-aspuru-guzik"><b>AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik</b></a>, a professor in the departments of chemistry and computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science who is a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the <a href="https://vectorinstitute.ai/">Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">In particular, the funding will help the consortium rapidly create high-quality datasets to better train AI models and help validate the modelā€™s predictions in real time.</p> <p>Leaders and researchers from ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ and Acceleration Consortium spoke with <i>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ</i> about the impact the CFREF funding ā€“ the largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university ā€“ will have on the consortiumā€™s game-changing work and unique model of cross-sector collaboration.</p> <hr> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/leah-cowen-square.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Leah Cowen"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://moleculargenetics.utoronto.ca/faculty/leah-cowen">Leah Cowen</a></h3> <p><em>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives</em></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Materials and molecules are central to solving many of the world's pressing challenges, such as climate change, plastics, pollution and cancer. But it typically takes a very long time to develop new materials with new properties that can address those big problems.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">By contrast, Acceleration Consortiumā€™s approach combines AI, robotics and advanced computing to radically reduce the time and cost of bringing materials to market. Their autonomous labs predict, synthesize and test materials for key characteristics and can repeat and refine the process, which dramatically accelerates the timeline.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">This transformative capability has the potential to affect so many different parts of our lives and our planet. So, the consortiumā€™s focus on equity, diversity and inclusion in program delivery and research design, as well as its emphasis on environmental and Indigenous perspectives, is crucial. &nbsp;The CFREF grant allows us to do big science ā€“ through an interdisciplinary team-based approach with an incredible scope and potential for impact ā€“ in a way thatā€™s critical for Canada to remain competitive on the international stage.</p> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/210903-Melanie-Woodin-0770-square.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Melanie Woodin"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/about/glance/leadership-team/dean-faculty-arts-science">Melanie Woodin</a></h3> <p><em>Dean, Faculty of Arts &amp; Science; professor, department of cell and systems biology</em></p> <p>The Acceleration Consortium is already having an impact. Its second annual <a href="https://zr2z766pxls.typeform.com/accelerate23" target="_blank" title="https://zr2z766pxls.typeform.com/accelerate23">Accelerate Conference</a> this summer will showcase the latest methods, applications and research in accelerated materials and molecular discovery. But this funding will enable even greater breakthroughs. It will have a transformative impact on our researchers' ability to develop the cost-effective, high-performance, sustainable materials that are needed to solve the worldā€™s most pressing challenges.</p> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/image0-square.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://acceleration.utoronto.ca/researcher/alan-aspuru-guzik">AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik</a></h3> <p><em>Director, Acceleration Consortium; professor, departments of chemistry and computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science; Canada 150 Research Chair in Theoretical and Quantum Chemistry; CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence</em></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Our goal is to accelerate science ā€“ thatā€™s where our name comes from. To do that, we realized we need to take a cue from self-driving cars and extended that concept to a self-driving lab, which uses AI and automation to carry out more experiments in a smarter way. Weā€™ve essentially supercharged the process of scientific discovery ā€“ and this grant will help us to take that even further.</p> <p>We are already emerging leaders in the world of research excellence and we have a plan to keep building on that excellence. Weā€™ve also shown that weā€™re integrated with communities ā€“ including working closely with Indigenous communities ā€“ and have innovative plans to teach this technology to future generations.<b>&nbsp;</b></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3><strong>Acceleration Consortium Researchers</strong></h3> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/Cheryl-Arrowsmith_current-2022.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Cheryl Arrowsmith"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://medbio.utoronto.ca/faculty/arrowsmith">Cheryl Arrowsmith</a></h3> <p><em>Senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network; professor of medical biophysics at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine; director of the Toronto node of the <a href="https://www.thesgc.org/scientists/groups/toronto">Structural Genomics Consortium</a></em></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The CFREF funds will advance our self-driving lab (SDL) to tackle the early stages of drug discovery by taking an initial compound and developing it into a more drug-like molecule that modulates a protein of interest in a disease. This is a design-make-test cycle that is currently done in a very iterative, slow manner. The Acceleration Consortium approach can speed the process up to try to get to the biologically active reagent much more quickly.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">It has broad implications in a whole number of areas. Our SDL will complement another self-driving lab that is making engineered tissues that mimic human tissue or a disease state like a tumour ā€“ allowing one to test drugs or early-stage compounds in disease-relevant assays.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The self-driving lab concept condenses the time it takes to get to the answer you need ā€“ and does so more efficiently.</p> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/GoldfarbAvi2022-5495-crop.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Avi Goldfarb"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/Faculty/FacultyBios/Goldfarb.aspx">Avi Goldfarb</a></h3> <p><em>Professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management and Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare; chief data scientist at <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a></em></p> <p>This grant will allow us the freedom to invest in long-term planning for more ā€“ and more ambitious ā€“ projects. You learn more when you talk to people who have expertise that's different from your own. And the consortium has been an opportunity for me to learn from a different set of people with different knowledge than Iā€™m typically exposed to as an economist in the business school.</p> <p>It allows us to work with people to make new kinds of connections ā€“ and, hopefully over the course of the grant, develop entirely new, exciting ideas.</p> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/Michelle-Murphy-crop.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt=" Michelle Murphy"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://michellemurphy.net/">Michelle Murphy</a></h3> <p><em>Professor in the department of history and the Women and Gender Studies Institute in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science; co-director of the Indigenous-led <a href="https://technoscienceunit.org/people/lab/">Environmental Data Justice Lab</a> at the <a href="https://technoscienceunit.org/">Technoscience Research Unit</a>; Canada Research Chair in Science and Technology Studies and Environmental Data Justice</em></p> <p>No one person has all the skills to address the sustainability of new substances ā€“ we truly need much greater collaboration and a willingness to really think across difference. Insisting on Indigenous collaboration in defining sustainable substances is what marks the innovation of this work.</p> <p>This is a moment of the emergence of a new branch of chemistry ā€“ and, at the same time, its industrial application has been implicated in major environmental problems weā€™re facing. Part of what is appealing about this project is that itā€™s putting questions of sustainability and environmental justice as one of its crucial dimensions ā€“ and the decision to invest in Indigenous science and technology studies as part of science at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is vital.</p> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/florian_shkurti_1-square.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Florian Shkurti"> </div> </div> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><a href="https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/math-cs-stats/people/florian-shkurti">Florian Shkurti</a></h3> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><em>Assistant professor in the department of mathematical and computational sciences, ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Mississauga; UTM Robotics faculty adviser; director of the <a href="https://rvl.cs.toronto.edu/#/">Robot Vision and Learning Lab</a>; and Vector Institute faculty affiliate</em></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">What is unique about the AC is that over the last five years it has built a tightly knit and vibrant community that includes academic and industry researchers, as well as a global team of active and supportive partners in government, industry and entrepreneurial circles. Despite the seemingly disparate areas of expertise, they all work towards a common goal: to accelerate the science of advanced materials discovery in order to benefit society and our planet at large.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Together with my collaborators, Professors AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik and <b>Animesh Garg</b>, we are working on enabling general-purpose robots to perform as well as chemists in a typical chemistry lab. Having additional funding from the CFREF will help us to pursue more research efforts in enabling robots to visually perceive and autonomously manipulate granular materials, powders, liquids and transparent objects, which traditionally have been extremely challenging. It opens up so many opportunities for robots to be helpful in chemistry labs and work alongside human chemists to augment their capabilities.</p> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/Ilya-Yakavets-square.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Ilya Yakavets"> </div> </div> <h3><a href="https://scholar.google.ru/citations?user=QWVqV5MAAAAJ&amp;hl=ru">Ilya Yakavets</a></h3> <p><em>Bioengineering post-doctoral researcher in the <a href="https://sites.chem.utoronto.ca/chemistry/staff/EK/">Kumacheva Group</a></em></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The CFREF grant is a game-changer for researchers like me at the Acceleration Consortium.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">It's not just about the funding, but also about the opportunities it creates. Collaborating with the consortium has been incredibly valuable for my research project ā€“ working to create a microchip that can simulate the growth of cancer cells and test different drug combinations to see which are the most effective, using artificial intelligence.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">I'm fortunate to be collaborating with AlĆ”n Aspuru-Guzik and the Acceleration Consortium to accelerate the translation of promising multidrug anticancer therapies from the laboratory to clinics. It has been an excellent opportunity to learn from and work with a team of experts who share a common goal.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p> <div class="align-left"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-05/Laura-Matz-square.jpeg" width="150" height="150" alt="Laura Matz"> </div> </div> <h3>Laura Matz</h3> <p><em>Chief science and technology officer, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany</em></p> <p>Breakthroughs in AI-driven experimentation will revolutionize the process of discovering new molecules and materials for health care, life sciences and electronics. We see the Acceleration Consortium as uniquely positioned to bring the ecosystem together to drive cutting-edge</p> <p>advancement in the field of accelerated materials and drug discovery through self-driving labs.</p> <p>Because of this, we have become a founding member of the Acceleration Consortium. Through this collaboration, we look forward to developing and defining best practices in the area of AI algorithms and automation for materials and molecule discovery.<b>&nbsp;</b></p> <p><i>With files from Erin Warner</i></p> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-receives-200-million-grant-support-acceleration-consortium-s-self-driving-labs-research">Read more about the funding announcement</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 28 Apr 2023 20:19:03 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301485 at Presidentā€™s Impact Awards recognize far-reaching contributions of ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ researchers /news/president-s-impact-awards-recognize-far-reaching-contributions-u-t-researchers <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Presidentā€™s Impact Awards recognize far-reaching contributions of ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ researchers</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-crop.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=EDOzxlwz 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-crop.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=jlLfn7UO 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-crop.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=4iYcmr2H 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT85395_0424NewStock018-crop.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=EDOzxlwz" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-03-10T11:30:23-05:00" title="Friday, March 10, 2023 - 11:30" class="datetime">Fri, 03/10/2023 - 11:30</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/adina-bresge" hreflang="en">Adina Bresge</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/covid-19" hreflang="en">COVID-19</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leah-cowen" hreflang="en">Leah Cowen</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sinai-health" hreflang="en">Sinai Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/unity-health" hreflang="en">Unity Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institute-health-policy-management-and-evaluation" hreflang="en">Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/president-s-impact-award" hreflang="en">President's Impact Award</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mathematics" hreflang="en">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/women-s-college-hospital" hreflang="en">Women's College Hospital</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">From informing Ontarioā€™s pandemic response to shaping the fields of education, social policy, robotics and entrepreneurship, the University of Toronto is recognizing researchers for the impact of their work across Canada and beyond.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Among the winners of this yearā€™s <a href="https://research.utoronto.ca/honours-awards/presidents-impact-award-academy">Presidentā€™s Impact Awards</a> ā€“ which honour individual ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ faculty members and teams for research that has led to significant impacts beyond academia ā€“ are 13 leaders of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The group was recognized as a team for ā€œoutstanding contributions and dedication to supporting evidence-informed decision making and response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario and nationally.ā€</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Fahad-Razak-C-0110_crop.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 150px;"><em>Fahad Razak</em></p> </div> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><b>Fahad Razak</b>, who served as the Science Tableā€™s scientific director, says he is grateful to be celebrated alongside his colleagues, noting that it was only through their collective expertise and efforts that the Science Table was able to provide transparent scientific analysis and evidence-based, equity-minded guidance in response to an ever-shifting crisis.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œI'm really happy that University of Toronto has recognized that much of the consequential work that is done is not done by individuals ā€“ it's done by teams,ā€ says Razak, an internist and epidemiologist at St. Michaelā€™s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto and an assistant professor in the department of medicine in ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and at the Dalla Lana School of Public Healthā€™s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME).</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œThat multidisciplinary composition of our table was one of the critical drivers of success of putting out modelling scientific briefs or other recommendations that were thoughtful and comprehensive about the effects that could happen across society.ā€</p> <p><strong><span style="vertical-align:baseline">The other Science Table members sharing the honour with Razak are:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline"><b>Peter JĆ¼ni</b>, an affiliate scientist at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Unity Health, who was the tableā€™s scientific director and a professor of medicine and epidemiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and IHPME before leaving for University of Oxford in 2022.</span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Co-chairs <b>Adalsteinn Brown</b>, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, <b>Brian Schwartz</b>, a professor in the department of family and community medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and <b>Upton Allen</b>, the head of infectious diseases at the Hospital for Sick Children and a professor of pediatrics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and at IHPME.<img alt src="/sites/default/files/Science-Table-ImageWeb-SQUARE.jpg" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: right; width: 200px; height: 200px;"></span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Assistant scientific directors <b>Nathan Stall</b>, a physician at Sinai Health and an assistant professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and <b>Karen Born</b>, assistant professor of health administration at IHPME.</span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Director of communications <b>Robert Steiner</b>, assistant professor and director of the Dalla Lana Fellowship in Global Journalism at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.</span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Modelling consensus table co-chairs <b>Beate Sander</b>, a senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, University Health Network, and a professor at IHPME, and <b>Kumar Murty</b>, a professor of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Chair of the congregate care setting working group <b>Paula Rochon</b>,<b> </b>senior scientist at the Womenā€™s College Hospital Research Institute and professor in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine</span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Co-chair of the drugs and biologics clinical practice guideline working group <b>Andrew Morris</b>, medical director of the antimicrobial stewardship program at Sinai Health/University Health Network and professor of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.</span></li> <li><span style="vertical-align:baseline">Mental health working group chair <b>Linda Mah</b>, a senior clinician scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences Centre and an associate professor of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.</span></li> </ul> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><strong>The team joins four other ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ researchers recognized this year. They are:</strong></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><b><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Agrawal-PhotoWeb.png" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; width: 150px; height: 188px;">Ajay Agrawal</b>, professor of strategic management and Geoffrey Taber Chair in Entrepreneurship at the Rotman School of Management. He is recognized for his ā€œapplication of economic theory to the problem of market failures associated with transforming scientific inventions into scalable companies that benefit society,ā€ which inspired the founding of the <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a> ā€“ a model that has been adopted by business schools around the world.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><b><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Dei-PhotoWeb.png" style="width: 150px; height: 188px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left;">George Dei</b>,<b> </b>professor in the department of social justice education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Dei was recognized for his ā€œinfluential work advancing anti-racism, equity, anti-colonial thought and African Indigeneity in education and sustained impact on policies, practices and advocacy for inclusive schooling and Black youthā€™s educational success.ā€</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</p> <ul> </ul> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><b><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Sun-PhotoWeb.png" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; width: 150px; height: 188px;">Yu Sun</b>, a professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering and founding director of ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s <a href="https://robotics.utoronto.ca/">Robotics Institute</a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="text-decoration-line:underline">.</span> He is honoured for ā€œoutstanding contributions to robotics at micro-nano scales, whose far-reaching impacts include transformative infertility treatments for patients and materials characterization techniques for industry.ā€</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><b><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Peng-PhotoWeb.png" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; width: 150px; height: 188px;">Ito Peng</b>, a professor of sociology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and the Munk School for Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy. She is credited for global ā€œsocial policy leadership informing national and international policy bodies on issues of gender, the work of care and care migration.ā€ Peng, whose expertise has been sought out by policymakers across the globe, was also named the recipient of the <a href="https://alumni.utoronto.ca/events-and-programs/awards/awex/carolyn-tuohy-award">Carolyn Tuohy Impact on Public Policy Award</a>, presented annually to a faculty member whose scholarship has had a significant impact on public policy as part of the <a href="https://alumni.utoronto.ca/news-and-stories/news-and-articles/celebrating-winners-2020-utaa-awards-excellence">Awards of Excellence Program</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Winners of the Presidentā€™s Impact Award are designated as members of the <a href="https://research.utoronto.ca/honours-awards/presidents-impact-award-academy/presidents-impact-academy">Presidentā€™s Impact Academy</a>, which advocates for sustained excellence in research and innovation impact within and outside of the university.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œThese awards represent how ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s research community is coming together tackle some of todayā€™s toughest problems and making breakthroughs that result in real-world change,ā€ says <b>Leah Cowen</b>, ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œFrom global issues to micro-scale innovations, this yearā€™s laureates have shown themselves to be visionaries in their respective fields and consummate collaborators ā€“ working with scholars across disciplines and partnering with community members, public stakeholders, industry leaders and policymakers to address our current challenges and drive progress toward a brighter future.ā€</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 10 Mar 2023 16:30:23 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 180635 at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ-supported startup Xanadu aims to lead quantum computing sector /news/u-t-supported-startup-xanadu-aims-lead-quantum-computing-sector <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ-supported startup Xanadu aims to lead quantum computing sector</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Xanadu-Lab---3-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=H8_HElA6 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Xanadu-Lab---3-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=GYayk8EV 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Xanadu-Lab---3-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mKkkGcZs 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Xanadu-Lab---3-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=H8_HElA6" alt="woman working in xanadu's lab in toronto"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>siddiq22</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-03-09T13:14:23-05:00" title="Thursday, March 9, 2023 - 13:14" class="datetime">Thu, 03/09/2023 - 13:14</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Toronto-based Xanadu is racing to build the worldā€™s first photonic-based, fault-tolerant quantum computer ā€“ a machine that could have applications in everything from drug discovery to climate change mitigation (photo courtesy of Xanadu)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tabassum-siddiqui" hreflang="en">Tabassum Siddiqui</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship-week" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship Week</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/quantum-computing" hreflang="en">Quantum Computing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/rotman-school-management" hreflang="en">Rotman School of Management</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p style="margin-bottom:11px">Quantum computing is one of the <a href="/news/u-t-brings-together-researchers-and-policymakers-discuss-how-gta-can-advance-canadas-quantum">fastest-growing tech sectors</a> in the world ā€“ and Toronto startup <a href="https://www.xanadu.ai/">Xanadu Quantum Technologies</a> is among the companies leading the way.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Founded by former University of Toronto post-doctoral physics researcher <b>Christian Weedbrook</b>, Xanadu is working on building the worldā€™s first photonic-based, fault-tolerant quantum computer.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Quantum computers harness the unique properties of subatomic particles to deliver an exponential increase in computational power. Unlike systems that require temperatures colder than those found in deep space, Xanaduā€™s method involves firing lasers at room temperature, enabling light particles to generate quantum effects on computer chips (Xanadu's architecture still requires cryogenics, but the demands are lower than for rival systems).</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">While that may sound complex, what it boils down to is an end goal of making quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere, says <b>Ilan Tzitrin</b>, a lead quantum architecture scientist at Xanadu.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œWeā€™re trying to build a photonic, scalable full-tolerant quantum computer ā€“ those might sound like buzzwords, but basically all it means is that weā€™re trying to build a device thatā€™s capable of solving certain things faster in principle than the worldā€™s fastest supercomputer, something thatā€™s not attainable using the rules of classical physics,ā€ says Tzitrin, a ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ PhD graduate who got his start at Xanadu by doing an internship at the company while still a student.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Xanadu, an alumnus of the <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a> seed-stage accelerator at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s Rotman School of Management, recently <a href="/news/quantum-computing-startup-xanadu-receives-40-million-federal-funding-globe-and-mail">received $40 million in federal funding</a> to support its leading quantum computing technology, lauded by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as ā€œcutting-edge not just in Canada, but around the world.ā€</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">The company announced last year that its system, called Borealis, had <a href="/news/toronto-startup-xanadu-achieves-quantum-computing-feat-globe-and-mail">achieved a key milestone</a> by demonstrating ā€œquantum advantageā€ ā€“ the ability of a quantum computer to outperform any supercomputer in the world at a specific task.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œWe were&nbsp;working on near-term experiments that are designed to solve a specific problem provably faster than our current best algorithm run on the world's fastest supercomputer,ā€ Tzitrin says. ā€œBorealis was one such demonstration, and we were very excited about that ā€“ there was a lot of hard work leading up to it.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œWe were able to essentially build a quantum computer ā€“ not fault-tolerant just yet, but some quantum device that was able to solve a particular math problem designed to demonstrate quantum advantage, orders of magnitude faster than any other computer. Iā€™m talking doing something in microseconds versus 9,000 years.ā€</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><img alt src="/sites/default/files/vlcsnap-2023-03-08-13h39m35s439.png" style="width: 750px; height: 422px;"></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><em>Ilan Tzitrin, a lead quantum architecture scientist at Xanadu, says the company is trying to&nbsp;make quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere</em><em>&nbsp;(photo by Johnny Guatto)</em></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Some of the practical applications of Xanaduā€™s work include the discovery of new pharmaceutical drugs, financial risk modelling and climate change mitigation. The company also leverages its quantum expertise through corporate and research partnerships, including recent work with automotive giants <a href="https://twitter.com/XanaduAI/status/1508824337712926721?s=20">BMW Group</a>, <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xanadu-and-rolls-royce-to-build-quantum-computing-tools-with-pennylane-301723158.html">Rolls-Royce</a> <a href="https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2022/10/volkswagen-group-and-xanadu-establish-quantum-simulation-program.html">and Volkswagen</a> as well as the <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xanadu-and-korea-institute-of-science-and-technology-partner-to-expand-industrial-use-cases-of-quantum-computing-301717293.html">Korea Institute of Science and Technology</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">In his role, Tzitrin helps support both the software and hardware teams, iterating toward the ultimate goal ā€“ or the ā€œHoly Grail,ā€ as he calls it ā€“ of improving every component until they build the device they hope to ultimately achieve.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">He credits his education at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ ā€“ where he studied math and physics in undergrad under a National Scholarship and went straight into a PhD in physics ā€“ for his path toward joining an innovative startup like Xanadu.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œThe field I was in, quantum information, was directly relevant to the work we do at Xanadu. ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is very strong on the quantum optics front, so my knowledge from taking quantum optics courses and from doing research on photonic quantum repeaters was directly transferable and related to my current role with the company,ā€ Tzitrin says.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">He notes that his supervisor <a href="/celebrates/hoi-kwong-lo-awarded-2022-cap-ino-medal-outstanding-achievement-applied-photonics"><b>Hoi-Kwong Lo</b></a> ā€“ a professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering who is cross-appointed with the department of physics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science ā€“ also advised Xanadu CEO Weedbrook during his time at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œWe continue to have a lot of nice collaborations with ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ through the <a href="https://www.mitacs.ca/en">Mitacs program</a> ā€“ tangible research assistance to further Xanaduā€™s goals ā€“ which has been a big help,ā€ Tzitrin says. ā€œWe've&nbsp;also received support from talented faculty at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ from professors such as <b>John Sipe</b> and Hoi Kwong-Lo.ā€</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">As one of Xanaduā€™s earliest employees, Tzitrin has had a front-row seat to the companyā€™s rapid growth ā€“ when he joined, the startup only had 30 staffers, but now has more than 160. The recent federal funding will go toward hiring new people and purchasing hardware as the company pursues its mission to build a cloud-based universal quantum computer.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Xanadu, which has historically been <a href="https://www.xanadu.ai/research">open about its research</a>, will continue to publish the results of its ongoing experiments in a bid to remain transparent and also help advance the growing sector ā€“ recently bolstered by a new $360-million <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/national-quantum-strategy/en">national strategy</a> to advance quantum technologies.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">Tzitrin, who considered a career path in academia before joining Xanadu, has some straightforward advice for those taking part in ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s <a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/events/entrepreneurship-week/">Entrepreneurship Week</a> and exploring a potential startup journey: stay open to possibility ā€“ and take advantage of the exceptional expertise the university and its partners have to offer.</p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px">ā€œDo your own research and see whatā€™s out there, but itā€™s very helpful to have a mentor to guide you ā€“ in my case, somebody in academia who knows about industry; or it could be somebody from industry that you seek out,ā€ he says. ā€œ<a href="/news/u-t-signs-14-million-deal-mitacs-fund-global-research-opportunities">Programs like Mitacs</a> are also an excellent way to get your foot in the door ā€“ they really give you a sense of what itā€™s going to be like working in the area youā€™re interested in.ā€</p> <h3 style="margin-bottom: 11px;"><a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/events/entrepreneurship-week/">Learn more about ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Entrepreneurship Week</a></h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="media_embed" height="422px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="422px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VlS2N5xSphM" title="YouTube video player" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 09 Mar 2023 18:14:23 +0000 siddiq22 180600 at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ startup Genecis scales up effort to commercialize ā€˜the holy grail of plastic replacementā€™ /news/u-t-startup-genecis-scales-efforts-commercialize-holy-grail-plastic-replacement <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ startup Genecis scales up effort to commercialize ā€˜the holy grail of plastic replacementā€™</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/DSC04070-55-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=YI4bU9dL 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/DSC04070-55-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=fIajSCuC 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/DSC04070-55-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=cBeQE1bB 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/DSC04070-55-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=YI4bU9dL" alt="a person pours liquid into an Erlenmeyer flask at Genecis "> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>bresgead</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-03-06T11:38:10-05:00" title="Monday, March 6, 2023 - 11:38" class="datetime">Mon, 03/06/2023 - 11:38</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Genecis Bioindustries uses highly engineered bacteria to turn food waste into biodegradable natural polymers that can be used to make a range of environmentally friendly products ā€“ from T-shirts to flip flops (photo by Matt Volpe)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/adina-bresge" hreflang="en">Adina Bresge</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship-week" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship Week</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hub" hreflang="en">The Hub</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship-hatchery" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship Hatchery</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/startups" hreflang="en">Startups</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Remember those carrot peels you threw in the compost? If <a href="https://www.genecis.co/">Genecis Bioindustries</a> has its way, you could soon be wearing them.</p> <p>The clean-tech company is using highly engineered bacteria to turn food waste into biodegradable natural polymers called polyhydroxyalkanoates ā€“ or PHAs ā€“ that can be used to make products ranging from soft T-shirt fibres to squishy flip-flop soles.</p> <p>With more than $20 million in funding raised, Genecis plans to become the first company to commercialize the food-waste-to-PHA production process, which it says would allow it to compete with synthetic plastics in both performance and cost ā€“ all without taking a toll on the environment.</p> <p>ā€œWeā€™re moving very quickly,ā€ says Director of Fermentation <b>Andrew Chiappetta</b>, one of several University of Toronto alumni who work at the company.</p> <p>ā€œThe plan is to be at full commercial scale in the next few years.ā€</p> <p>At a research facility in downtown Toronto, fermenters churn a cream-coloured brew where the microbial magic happens. First, the bacteria consume the carbon in organic matter and convert it into building blocks called monomers. This intermediate is then fed to another set of bacteria, which are deprived of specific nutrients to spur the production of PHA, which is stored in the cells as an energy source. Then, the PHA is extracted from the cells, collected, purified and processed into different formulations.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="media_embed" height="422px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="422px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OrjWy47H2yo" title="YouTube video player" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Genecis got its start in a University of Toronto Scarborough lab when founder and CEO <b>Luna Yu </b>ā€“<b> </b>who earned a bachelorā€™s and masterā€™s degree at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ in four years ā€“ and her collaborators demonstrated their nascent technology using rice cookers. The startup went on to receive early support from ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Scarboroughā€™s <a href="https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/research/hub-idea-startup">the Hub</a>, the Rotman School of Managementā€™s <a href="https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/EducationCentres/CreativeDestructionLab">Creative Destruction Lab</a> and <a href="https://hatchery.engineering.utoronto.ca/">the Hatchery</a> at the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ also provided Genecis with space for its lab researchers to refine their approach.</p> <p>ā€œThe University of Toronto has supported Genecis in many different stages of our development,ā€ says Chiappetta, noting the company now has more than 40 employees.</p> <p>ā€œThe education alone at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is great, and students can also take advantage of all the resources and programs that they have available for entrepreneurs.ā€</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/2018-09-24-genecsis-resized_0.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>Genecis founder and CEO Luna Yu and her team originally demonstrated their technology in a ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Scarborough<b>&nbsp;</b>lab<b>&nbsp;</b>(photo by Don Campbell)</em></p> <p>With the support of Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator, government funds and venture capital financing, Genecis has since expanded its operations to two full research labs, as well as a pilot facility in Scarborough.</p> <p>The company has also partnered with London, Ont.-based <a href="https://www.stormfisher.com/">StormFisher Biogas</a> to demonstrate the potential of its technology at scale.&nbsp;</p> <p>Chiappetta, who graduated from ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s master of biotechnology program, says Genecis can fine-tune its PHAs to take on a wide range of properties ā€“ from soft and flexible, to hard and rigid.</p> <p>He says this versatility could make PHAs ā€œthe holy grail of plastic replacementā€ in categories including packaging, medical tools, car parts, textiles and other commercial products.</p> <p>While synthetic plastics can take centuries to degrade and pollute waterways with microplastics, PHA products that wind up in the landfill can safely degrade both on land and in water.</p> <p>And when properly discarded, these bioplastics can be composted and upcycled into something new, Chiappetta says.</p> <p>ā€œThis creates a circular end-of-life,ā€ he says. ā€œOur polymers, no matter where they end up, can be composted and fed back into the front-end of the process.ā€</p> <p>Addressing two global challenges ā€“ food waste and plastic pollution ā€“ might seem like a daunting proposition, but Chiappetta urged community members taking part in ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s <a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/events/entrepreneurship-week/">Entrepreneurship Week</a> to aim high and not get discouraged.</p> <p>ā€œThe big thing is to be curious, work hard and if things donā€™t work ā€“ keep trying,ā€ he says.</p> <p>ā€œOftentimes, things donā€™t work out the first time, and I think you learn most from the failures as opposed to the successes.ā€</p> <h3><a href="https://entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca/events/entrepreneurship-week/">Learn more about ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ&nbsp;Entrepreneurship Week</a></h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:38:10 +0000 bresgead 180477 at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ brings together researchers and policymakers to discuss how GTA can advance Canada's quantum sector /news/u-t-brings-together-researchers-and-policymakers-discuss-how-gta-can-advance-canadas-quantum <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ brings together researchers and policymakers to discuss how GTA can advance Canada's quantum sector</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Xanadu-Chips---4-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=14pJg1uo 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Xanadu-Chips---4-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=V4Ni_epD 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Xanadu-Chips---4-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=34hGS8jX 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Xanadu-Chips---4-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=14pJg1uo" alt="A close-up of one of Xanadu's chips on a test bench"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>siddiq22</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-02-14T13:46:52-05:00" title="Tuesday, February 14, 2023 - 13:46" class="datetime">Tue, 02/14/2023 - 13:46</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo courtesy of Xanadu Quantum Technologies)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/tabassum-siddiqui" hreflang="en">Tabassum Siddiqui</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institutional-strategic-initiatives" hreflang="en">Institutional Strategic Initiatives</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/creative-destruction-lab" hreflang="en">Creative Destruction Lab</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innovation-entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mathematics" hreflang="en">Mathematics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/physics" hreflang="en">Physics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/quantum" hreflang="en">Quantum</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>With quantum technologies rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing advanced sectors globally, experts and policymakers recently gathered at the University of Toronto to discuss Canadaā€™s new <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/national-quantum-strategy/en">National Quantum Strategy</a> and the universityā€™s role in supporting it.</p> <p>Attended by federal and provincial government stakeholders, the discussion drew on <a href="https://gro.utoronto.ca/our-advocacy/canadas-quantum-hubs-a-foundation-for-global-quantum-advantage/">the findings of a recent report</a> commissioned from Deloitte Canada that compared Canadaā€™s centres of quantum research. The GTA was the countryā€™s strongest quantum hub, supported by ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s global research leadership, the report found.</p> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/TimothyChan-crop.jpg" alt><br> <em>Timothy Chan</em></p> </div> <p>ā€œQuantum research at the University of Toronto places the university among the worldā€™s leading producers of impactful knowledge in this domain,ā€ said <strong>Timothy Chan</strong>, associate vice-president and vice-provost, strategic initiatives&nbsp;and a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>ā€œThe quantum ecosystem is strong here&nbsp;ā€“&nbsp;not just because of our world-leading quantum expertise, but because we have the best scientists in other fields that will integrate quantum technologies and their applications.ā€</p> <p>In January, the federal government <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/innovation-science-economic-development/news/2023/01/government-of-canada-launches-national-quantum-strategy-to-create-jobs-and-advance-quantum-technologies.html">launched the $360-million National Quantum Strategy</a> to support the sector in an increasingly competitive global market. It aims to boost research, talent and commercialization in quantum and solidify Canadaā€™s position in the field.</p> <p>A rapidly emerging and economically promising field, quantum science and its applications draw on the unintuitive principles of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for everyday computers.</p> <p>By 2045, quantum applications ā€“ including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, medical imaging and many more ā€“ are projected to be a $138-billion market, leading to more than 200,000 jobs in Canada, <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/national-quantum-strategy/en/canadas-national-quantum-strategy">according to a study</a> commissioned by the National Research Council of Canada.</p> <p>The findings from the Deloitte report were presented during the ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ event, which was hosted by the <a href="https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a> as part of its New Frontiers series, which promotes dialogue between decision-makers and ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ researchers on how to advance public policy priorities. The reportā€™s analysis of Canadaā€™s centres of quantum research ranked the country fourth in the world in the strength of its research in quantum science and technology.</p> <div class="image-with-caption right"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="media_embed"> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" height width> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Canada is ranked No. 4 in the world in the impact of its research on quantum science. Thanks to the policymakers, researchers &amp; startups who came together today to think about how to turn that advantage into economic growth. <a href="https://t.co/PHHlVWaALA">pic.twitter.com/PHHlVWaALA</a></p> ā€” ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ Government Relations Office (@uoftgro) <a href="https://twitter.com/uoftgro/status/1620844593012146177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async charset="utf-8" height src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" width></script></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <p>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is a key contributor to Canadaā€™s performance, with the universityā€™s research impact in quantum-related sciences ranked fifth globally.</p> <p>The breadth of expertise across quantum fields is one of the universityā€™s strengths, said <strong>Anna Dyring</strong>, quantum strategic initiative lead at ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s <a href="https://cqiqc.physics.utoronto.ca/">Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control</a> (CQIQC).</p> <p>CQIQCā€™s activities, which promote research collaborations in the sector, encompass ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻā€™s departments of chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, as well as the departments of electrical engineering and materials science in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering.</p> <p>ā€œQuantum computing is a field where you need many different types of thinkers and knowledge in order to innovate and lead,ā€ Dyring said.</p> <p>³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ and partners such as the Vector Institute are leading in AI, data sciences, regenerative and precision medicine, climate change, pandemic preparedness and advanced materials ā€“ just some of the fields the university is supporting through its <a href="https://isi.utoronto.ca/">Institutional Strategic Initiatives</a>, Chan told attendees. ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ's <a href="https://srinstitute.utoronto.ca/">Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society</a> also convenes and facilitates research on how these technologies improve human lives.</p> <p>ā€œOur approach is interdisciplinary because the challenges Canada and the world face cannot be solved by remaining within our disciplinary boundaries. We aim to transform how we solve problems, and to work at the frontiers of knowledge ā€“ that is where quantum research currently resides.ā€</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/20170825---Creative-Destruction-lab-sign.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>(Photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)</em></p> <p>Other countries are making major investments in the quantum sector as the field becomes increasingly competitive globally, the discussion heard. Large companies in Europe, Asia and the United States are interested in research and development and in being early adopters, while there has been more caution about quantum tech adoption in Canada.</p> <p>However, Canada remains a strong location for startups ā€“ and the GTA boasts the largest number of quantum companies in the country. ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ is behind many of these successful startups, thanks to initiatives such as the Rotman School of Managementā€™s <a href="https://creativedestructionlab.com/">Creative Destruction Lab</a> (CDL) ā€“ the only dedicated early-stage quantum incubator in the country.</p> <p>"CDLā€™s mission is to enhance the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind. Our objectives-based mentorship process has the potential to positively impact a startup's trajectory at the very early stages of their journey,ā€ said <strong>Sonia Sennik</strong>, CDLā€™s executive director.</p> <p>CDLā€™s graduates include Xanadu Quantum Technologies ā€“ founded by former ³Ō¹Ļ±¬ĮĻ post-doctoral physics researcher <strong>Christian Weedbrook</strong> ā€“ which <a href="/news/quantum-computing-startup-xanadu-receives-40-million-federal-funding-globe-and-mail">recently received $40 million in federal funding</a> to support its cutting-edge quantum computing technology. Xanadu is one of Canadaā€™s unicorn companies, valued at over $1 billion.</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/GettyImages-1241439025-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO of Xanadu,&nbsp;at the Collision tech conference in 2022 (photo by Lukas Schulze/Sportsfile for Collision/Getty Images)</em></p> <p>ā€œThe GTA is a great place for innovative companies to start and grow because all the ingredients are here: talent, investors, public and private partners, customers and support networks,ā€ said David Asgeirsson, manager of research partnerships and intellectual property at Xanadu.</p> <p>To stay competitive in the sector, Canada will need further investments to create quantum-literate talent, including funding for graduate students and the scaling of successful partnerships with industry to integrate quantum-ready talent into existing companies.</p> <p>ā€œItā€™s critical that we have the funding to recruit top researchers to the quantum hubs in Canada,ā€ Dyring said. ā€œHaving strong faculty to continue adding new courses in this emerging field ā€“ and to ensure students have opportunities to work on research at the graduate level ā€“ is important in growing the field, because we will need more people trained in this area going forward. And weā€™re seeing that thereā€™s growing interest from students to explore studies and research in quantum.ā€</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 14 Feb 2023 18:46:52 +0000 siddiq22 180015 at