Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Chemistry

Computer Science

Entrepreneurship Hatchery

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Law

Geoffrey Hinton

Global

Research and Innovation

Canada’s artificial intelligence sector is fuelling innovation, job creation and private sector investment – and University of Toronto researchers and entrepreneurs are playing a central role in that success, according to a report based on data compiled by Ottawa’s Global Advantage Consulting Group.

The report, prepared by �Թϱ��, found that Canada’s unique combination of public investment, private capital, research capacity and talent has generated over 50,000 jobs and attracted nearly $3 billion in investment since 2010, with the number of active AI firms in Canada doubling to more than 670 since 2015.

�Թϱ�� alone has produced 81 active AI startups, according to Global Advantage, a research and analytics firm that provides ecosystem mapping and analysis services to private and public sector clients. In total, AI-powered startups connected to �Թϱ�� have raised $183 million in funding and created over 600 jobs in the last five years, the report says.

Vivek Goel, �Թϱ��’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, says the report offers further evidence of the success of the federal government’s Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, launched in 2017 with a $125-million commitment over five years.

“Canada, and Toronto in particular, have long been recognized as global hubs of AI research thanks to the pioneering work of people like [�Թϱ�� University Professor Emeritus] Geoffrey Hinton, but in the past many people trained in �Թϱ��’s machine learning group ended up going abroad to work for big tech companies,” says Goel.

“This report shows that the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy has helped create the conditions necessary to retain that talent in Canada – presenting opportunities to be involved in further research and training – so we can have the talent supply needed to fuel Canadian research, innovation and application in business sectors.”

As an example, Goel cites the impact of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, launched three years ago with $50 million in support from the government of Ontario and another $80 million from industry partners, in “taking what was happening in the university, connecting it with the business community and getting it out into the marketplace before people in other countries could do it.”

The investment in Canada’s AI research foundation is now yielding important applications and advances in the fight to contain and treat the COVID-19 virus. A few of the research projects detailed in the report – titled Canada’s AI Ecosystem: Government Investment Propels Private Sector Growth – include:

At the Vector Institute, researchers are working on tools to treat the virus and help governments manage the public health impacts. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a professor in �Թϱ��’s departments of chemistry and computer science, is using AI to identify molecules that can be used therapeutically to target SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
�Թϱ�� startup DNAstack adopted its biomedical research software to create COVID Cloud, a tool for scientists to share and track the genetic development of the virus.
BenchSci, co-founded by �Թϱ�� PhD students and developed at �Թϱ�� through the Entrepreneurship Hatchery, H2i (Health Innovation Hub) and the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) uses machine learning to help scientists find and purchase antibodies for their experiments, saving time and money. BenchSci is now using their technology to identify novel reagents to study the COVID-19 virus.

Health-related AI applications have drawn particular interest from private sector investors, with over 15 per cent of AI-related private investment between 2015 and 2019 going to companies operating in health care and related areas like cloud computing and cybersecurity.

Deep Genomics, an AI-powered drug discovery startup co-founded by �Թϱ�� Professor Brendan Frey of the Edward S. Rogers Sr. department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, is one of many AI startups in the health-care space. The company has so far raised $61 million, including a recent $40-million Series B financing, as it works to develop a drug candidate for Wilson disease, a rare and potentially fatal genetic disorder, based on calculations performed by its systems.

Brendan Frey of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering co-founded Deep Genomics, which has so far raised $61 million as it works to develop a drug candidate for a rare and potentially fatal genetic disorder (photo by Johnny Guatto)

�Թϱ�� startups are also applying AI to a variety of other problems, from medical imaging to quantum computing and consumer research. The report underlines that Canada is an innovation leader in the AI sector, producing the most AI patents per million people among the G7 countries and China, while Toronto “has attracted the densest cluster of AI startups in the world.”

Blue J Legal, a Toronto startup co-founded by three members of �Թϱ��’s Faculty of Law, uses AI to predict the outcomes of tax and employment law cases. The company launched its Canadian tax law product in 2017 and employment law offering in 2018. In 2019, it expanded into the U.S. tax law market, where it has already secured more than a dozen law firms as clients.

Both Blue J Legal and Deep Genomics emerged from �Թϱ��’s expansive entrepreneurship ecosystem, having received early support from CDL and UTEST – two of �Թϱ��’s many startup accelerators.

Several of �Թϱ��’s AI startups will be in focus this week during Collision at Home, the online edition of one of the world’s fastest-growing tech conferences, which draws speakers, entrepreneurs, inventors, investors and business leaders from around the world. The event is being held virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But �Թϱ�� entrepreneurs, researchers and students will still have a major presence, with more than two dozen �Թϱ�� startups scheduled to participate.

A rendering of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre on College Street (rendering by Weis/Manfredi)

In all, �Թϱ��’s AI programs attracted $244 million in research funding between 2015 and 2019 – a period that saw substantial increases in funding for AI research from the federal government. This, in turn, has allowed Canada to outperform many countries in two key metrics: field-weighted citation impact of AI research publications and academic-corporate collaborations, the report says.

The report also notes that the expanding AI ecosystem around �Թϱ�� is attracting philanthropists in addition to investors. That includes a $100-million gift to �Թϱ�� from business leaders Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz. The money is being used to construct the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre, a 750,000 square foot complex that will anchor �Թϱ��’s cluster of AI and biomedical researchers, as well as entrepreneurs and their startups. It will also be home to the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, which will explore the social implications of AI and other emerging technologies.

“If you look at the most successful innovation ecosystems, they always have an anchor academic institution – a leading global university; they always have anchor multinational corporations and they have a thriving startup ecosystem,” Goel says.

“We have all those pieces coming together around the AI and tech sector here.”

Vivek Goel to step down as �Թϱ��’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 13:53:26 +0000

Vivek Goel to step down as �Թϱ��’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 06/16/2020 - 09:53

Cutline

Vivek Goel, who led �Թϱ��'s extensive research operation for the last six years, will take on a new role as a special adviser to �Թϱ��’s president and provost, helping to guide the university’s COVID-19 planning efforts (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Topic

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

School of Cities

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Entrepreneurship

Medicine by Design

Meric Gertler

Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research

Vivek Goel

After leading the University of Toronto’s extensive research operation for the last six years, Vivek Goel is stepping down as vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives so he can devote more time to guiding the university’s pandemic response, as well as that of the wider community.

Goel, who is among the experts serving on the federal COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, will leave his current position on July 1 and take on a new role as a special adviser to �Թϱ��’s president and provost, helping to guide the university’s COVID-19 planning efforts.

He will continue to serve as co-chair of the university’s COVID-19 Incident Leadership Team and lead its recovery and restart activities.

“I’m just trying to do what I think is best for the university and the country, and spend my time where I can focus on big public health issues,” said Goel, a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“If I were a trained forest-fire fighter and there were forest fires burning, and I’m working away at something else, I think I’d probably say at some point: ‘If things are raging out of control, maybe I should go back and do what I was originally trained to do.’”

He added that he hopes to be able to return to his research, including an in-progress study of the impact of a prolonged pandemic shutdown on overall health.

In his time managing a key university portfolio, Goel paved the way for greater multi-disciplinary collaboration, forged closer ties between �Թϱ�� and industry leaders and oversaw major investments in the university’s research, innovation and entrepreneurship efforts, among other achievements.

More recently, Goel helped spearhead �Թϱ��’s response to COVID-19 and shared his public health expertise with a broad audience beyond the �Թϱ�� community by hosting a regular podcast on the pandemic that explained everything from contact tracing to the process for developing a vaccine – even whether it was safe to go for a run.

�Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler said Goel’s expert perspective has been sought out by both the public and private sectors.

“As a public health physician, founding President and CEO of Public Health Ontario and faculty member in our Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Vivek is uniquely well-qualified to contribute to public health policy and practice at this critically important juncture,” President Gertler said.

“In relinquishing his role as Vice-President, he will have more time and latitude to apply his remarkable expertise and experience to these important discussions, locally, provincially and nationally.”

As vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, Goel oversaw implementation of several major �Թϱ�� projects that cemented the university’s reputation as one of the world’s leading research institutions. They included the creation of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, which was established thanks to a $130-million gift from the Rogers family in 2014 – then the largest monetary donation ever made to a Canadian health-care initiative – and Medicine by Design, an initiative supported by a $114 million investment from the federal government to undertake transformative research in regenerative medicine.

In the spring of 2019, �Թϱ�� announced a $100-million gift from philanthropists and business leaders Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman to establish a new innovation centre and an institute dedicated to the study of the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. The university broke ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre last fall.

“Looking back over the past five years, we've had three of these $100-million-dollar-plus types of initiatives,” Goel told �Թϱ�� last summer. “They're really where the exciting scholarship is at, and it’s where faculty and students want to be working.”

Other major initiatives Goel helped create were �Թϱ��’s School of Cities and, externally, the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Goel said another one of his priorities as vice-president was to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in research.

“I think we know there’s still lots of work to be done in society, and the last few weeks have really emphasized that for us,” he said.

Entrepreneurship also blossomed on Goel’s watch. In recent years, �Թϱ�� has become a North American leader in the creation of research-based companies – a feat Goel has attributed to students and faculty becoming increasingly engaged with the university’s innovation network. That includes signature events such as �Թϱ��’s Entrepreneurship Week and programming by the various incubators and accelerators on all three campuses.

“I think it becomes a self-perpetuating type of process as more and more people get excited about the opportunities,” Goel told �Թϱ�� last year. “I think we have been very fortunate that there's been interest from our faculty and students in doing this, and that we have been able to support them with the resources we've created.”

The renowned public health leader obtained his medical degree from McGill University before continuing his studies in public health at �Թϱ�� and Harvard University.

“One of the things I realized as I went through my training and worked as a primary care physician was that you're often getting to people at a very late stage,” he previously told �Թϱ��. “That's what led me to go into public health, which is about preventing disease and working with entire populations.”

He joined �Թϱ�� in 1991 and stepped into progressively more senior roles, including a four-year stint as vice-president and provost. In 2008, he became the founding president and CEO of Public Health Ontario, which was formed in response to the SARS crisis years earlier. Before returning to his current role he served as chief academic strategist for Coursera.

Beyond the pandemic, President Gertler said Goel will continue to contribute to a number of specific institutional strategic initiatives where he has a particular expertise and interest.

He thanked Goel for his continued service.

“On behalf of the entire University of Toronto, let me thank Vivek for his extraordinary service as Vice-President, and express my sincere appreciation for his willingness to fulfill this important advisory role.”

�Թϱ�� faculty, alumni and other members of university community named to Order of Canada

geoff.vendeville — Sat, 28 Dec 2019 16:13:26 +0000

�Թϱ�� faculty, alumni and other members of university community named to Order of Canada

geoff.vendeville Sat, 12/28/2019 - 11:13

Cutline

(photo by Sgt Johanie Maheu, Rideau Hall, OSGG-BSGG)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Alumni

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Economics

Hospital for Sick Children

Faculty of Medicine

Innis College

John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture

Mount Sinai Hospital

Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Order of Canada

Political Science

St. Michael's College

�Թϱ�� Mississauga

Victoria College

A pioneering zoologist who championed gender equality. A church minister and politician who was part of Canada’s early LGBTQ movement and performed one of the country's first same-sex marriages. And a professor in the Faculty of Medicine who's known around the world for his expertise on diabetes.

These are just a few of the University of Toronto community members – faculty, alumni and supporters – who recently joined or were promoted within the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honours.

The latest appointees to the Order, and promotions within it, were announced today by Governor General Julie Payette – herself a �Թϱ�� alumna. The long list of honourees with ties to �Թϱ�� include alumnae such as Anne Innis Dagg, a zoologist and feminist, and Cheri DiNovo, a reverend and former MPP. It also includes faculty such as Bernard Zinman, a professor in the department of medicine and a clinician-scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute who was promoted to Officer of the Order “for his contributions to diabetes research and for his development of advanced preventative therapies.”

Prominent supporters of the university and its partners were recognized, too.

Heather Reisman, the founder, chair and CEO of Indigo, was promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada “for her contributions to Canadian book publishing and children's literacy, and for her transformational philanthropy.” Reisman and her husband Gerald Schwartz earlier this year donated $100 million to �Թϱ�� – the largest gift ever in the university’s history – to establish the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre and the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society.

Heather Reisman, the founder and CEO of Indigo, was promoted to Officer. She and her husband Gerry Schwartz earlier this year donated $100 million to �Թϱ�� to establish the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre and the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Current and former faculty

In addition to Zinman, the list of current or former �Թϱ�� faculty who were named or promoted within the Order is lengthy. It includes:

Donald Dingwell, a world-renowned volcanologist, was named an Officer of the Order for his contributions to the field of volcanology and for promoting scientific involvement in public policy. Now teaching in Germany, Dingwell began his academic career at �Թϱ��.

Mark Henkelman, a professor emeritus in the department of medical biophysics in the Faculty of Medicine, was named an Officer of the Order for his pioneering contributions to the field of medical imaging. He's a senior scientist emeritus at the Hospital for Sick Children, director of the Mouse Imaging Centre and a past winner of the Killam Prize for his substantial contributions to the health sciences.

Mel Watkins, a professor emeritus in the department of economics, was named a a Member of the Order for “his contributions as a political economist and for his advocacy of social justice.” He was the chief author of the 1968 federal report, known as the Watkins Report, on the costs and benefits of foreign ownership of the Canadian economy.

Josef Svoboda with crew taking measurements, circa 1980s-90s (photo courtesy of Steve Jaunzems/University of Toronto Mississauga)

Josef Svoboda, a professor emeritus of biology at �Թϱ�� Mississauga and an expert on Arctic ecology, was named an Officer of the Order for “his pioneering research on tundra ecosystems and for his lifelong mentorship of scientists studying the Arctic.”

Ken Greenberg, an urban designer, teacher, writer and former adjunct professor in the master of urban design program in the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, was named a Member of the Order.

Anthony Miller, a professor emeritus in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health who has also donated to funds supporting research at �Թϱ��, was named a Member of the Order for his contributions in cancer epidemiology, as well as cancer control policies and practices.

Robin McLeod, a professor of general surgery in the Faculty of Medicine, was named an Officer of the Order for her contributions to surgical oncology and innovations in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics.

Shoo Lee, a professor in obstetrics and gynaecology who is cross-appointed to pediatrics in �Թϱ��'s Faculty of Medicine, was also appointed an Officer of the Order for his contributions in neonatal medicine.

Alumni

A number of prominent �Թϱ�� alumni were also named to the Order, or promoted within its ranks, in the latest round – but perhaps one of the more familiar names to the �Թϱ�� community is Innis Dagg, who was named a Member of the Order.

The daughter of Harold Innis, a political economist, communications studies pioneer and namesake of �Թϱ��'s Innis College, Innis Dagg obtained a master's in genetics at �Թϱ�� in 1956. Soon after, at 23, she arranged to stay at a farm in South Africa – using only her initials in correspondence to avoid discrimination – in order to study giraffes in the wild. She's credited with being the first to conduct system observations of a large mammal in the wild, even before Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey studied primates.

After returning to Canada and facing sexism in her field, she promoted gender equality on top of continuing her ground-breaking scientific work. In addition to being named a Member of the Order of Canada, she's the subject of a recent documentary, The Woman Who Loved Giraffes.

Anne Innis Dagg, seen here at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago feeding a giraffe (photo by Elaisa Vargas)

DiNovo, another alumna, became involved in queer activism in the early 1970s. She served as an MPP for Parkdale – High Park for 11 years until leaving politics to return to the church. The first LGBTQ critic in the history of the Ontario legislature, she was named a Member of the Order “for her contributions to provincial politics and her lifelong advocacy of social justice.”

Other �Թϱ�� alumni were recognized for contributions to everything from health care to the arts and gymnastics.

Alumnus Larry Rosen, chairman and CEO of the menswear chain Harry Rosen, was appointed a Member of the Order “for establishing one of Canada's most valuable retail brands.”

Duncan Sinclair, who received his master of science degree at �Թϱ�� and went on to assume senior academic positions at Queen's University, was appointed a Member of the Order for his contributions to health care.

�Թϱ�� alumna Cheri DiNovo was the first LGBTQ critic in the history of the Ontario legislature (Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Sister Sue Mosteller who received her bachelor's from St. Michael's College in 1968, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for her work helping people with intellectual disabilities.

Rev. James Scott, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Victoria College in religious studies, was named an Officer of the Order for his work in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and his advocacy of restorative justice.

Alumna Joyce Hisey was named a Member of the Order as a member for her contributions to figure skating as a judge, referee and mentor.

Alumnus Stuart McGill was named a Member of the Order for his contributions to understanding the biomechanics of the spinal column and the development of rehabilitation programs.

Slava Corn, who graduated from �Թϱ�� in 1967, was recognized for her contributions to gymnastics as a judge, administrator and volunteer (photo by Paul Cunningham/Corbis via Getty Images)

Wayne Fairhead, a graduate of the master in education program who has taught at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, was named a Member of the Order for his leadership of the Sears Drama Festival and for inspiring youth to take up the theatre arts.

Daniel Hays, an alumnus and lawyer who was named to the Senate by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1984, was made an Officer of the Order for his contributions to the province of Alberta and distinguished public service, including in the Senate.

Alumna Slava Corn was named an Officer of the Order for her contributions to gymnastics as a judge, administrator and volunteer.

Did we miss anybody? If you know of an Order of Canada honouree with ties to �Թϱ�� who was announced in this latest round but isn't mentioned above, please let us know at uoftnews@utoronto.ca.

Seven transformational things that happened at �Թϱ�� over the past decade

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 21:19:44 +0000

Seven transformational things that happened at �Թϱ�� over the past decade

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 12/20/2019 - 16:19

Cutline

(photo by Wei Fang via Getty Images)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

City & Culture

Indigenous Initiatives

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Black Grad

School of Cities

Boundless

Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Hatchery

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship

Health Innovation Hub

Impact Centre

Indigenous

Landmark

Meric Gertler

ONRamp

Rotman School of Management

Research and Innovation

Sustainability

Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre

Truth and Reconciliation

As we prepare to usher in a new decade, �Թϱ�� is looking back at some of the defining and impactful things that happened at the University of Toronto over the past 10 years.

The �Թϱ�� community has left an indelible mark on the 2010s by making groundbreaking achievements in artificial intelligence, taking strides toward Indigenous reconciliation and promoting sustainability throughout its operations – to name just a few. Many of these initiatives have set in motion ideas and actions that will pave the way for the university’s success for decades to come.

Here’s a list – admittedly a non-exhaustive one – of transformational things that happened at �Թϱ�� over the past 10 years:

Campus Transformation

The Myhal Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship on the St. George campus (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

The past decade has seen �Թϱ�� complete numerous construction and renovation projects as it continues to grow its campuses, expand the facilities available to students, faculty and staff, and lay the groundwork for more ambitious campus-building projects to come.

To take one, high profile example: The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering last year opened the Myhal Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, a building designed to foster multi-disciplinary partnerships, experiential learning and entrepreneurship opportunities. Named after alumnus George Myhal and his wife Rayla, the building features technology-enhanced active learning rooms, dedicated space for student clubs and state-of-the-art fabrication facilities for design projects.

�Թϱ�� also laid the groundwork for the Landmark Project, a major initiative to revitalize the historic core of the St. George campus and enhance sustainability and accessibility. The project will feature the expansion of pedestrian-friendly areas around King’s College Circle, Hart House Circle and Tower Road, and will replace parking spots for cars with green spaces, granite paths and an underground parking garage.

The Landmark Project will make the historic centre of St. George campus more pedestrian-friendly and add new green space (rendering courtesy of Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc.)

The St. George campus is also the proposed site of a 14-storey building constructed from engineered wood, which is prized as an innovative building material due its low carbon footprint, structural integrity, fire-resistant properties and aesthetic appeal. Another landmark building is proposed for 90 Queen's Park Crescent, providing a home to �Թϱ��'s School of Cities as well as numerous departments from the Faculty of Arts & Science.

At �Թϱ�� Mississauga, it’s been a similarly eventful decade for campus-building. In 2011, the campus unveiled the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex. In August, �Թϱ�� Mississauga acknowledged the Indigenous history of the land, the future of the campus and the university’s commitment to reconciliation by revealing the name of its newest building: Maanjiwe nendamowinan. Sitting on the site the former North Building, Maanjiwe nendamowinan is home to humanities and social sciences and features a six-storey atrium and event space, as well as 40,000 square feet of new classroom space that’s outfitted with cutting-edge technology and hundreds of new study spaces.

Maanjiwe nendamowinan at �Թϱ�� Mississauga boasts 40,000 square feet of new classroom space that’s outfitted with cutting-edge technology (photo by Drew Lesiuczok)

At �Թϱ�� Scarborough, national-level athletes, Varsity competitors and intramural sports participants alike can all take advantage of the state-of-the-art facilities on offer at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. After opening to the public in 2014, the facility hosted several competitions during the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games. It is now home to numerous national sport organizations and high-performance centres, while also offering �Թϱ�� Scarborough students top-notch fitness and wellness facilities.

Wheelchair basketball players practise inside the Toronto PanAm Sports Centre (photo by Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

�Թϱ�� Scarborough also opened the new Highland Hall building, creating a striking new gateway to the campus in addition to doubling the amount of space dedicated to students and adding faculty and administration space. And it unveiled the 500-metre Valley Land Trail, which was designed to offer accessibility and year-long enjoyment of the ravine abutting the campus.

Finally, the university recently completed comprehensive renovations of research labs across its three campuses. Driven by nearly $190 million in funding from the university, province and federal government, the upgrades increased the amount of space available for research activities, improved electrical and internet connectivity and will create utility savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability and climate action

The rooftop garden at �Թϱ�� Scarborough (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Sustainability has been a central theme of �Թϱ��’s efforts to revitalize and expand its three campuses.

One of the most ambitious initiatives is the planned installation of a massive geo-exchange field beneath Front Campus. The project, part of �Թϱ��’s Low Carbon Action Plan, will see boreholes drilled deep into the ground to allow for storage of surplus heat. It is projected to yield annual greenhouse gas reductions of 15,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2024.

Sustainable design is also a hallmark of �Թϱ�� Mississauga’s Maanjiwe nendamowinan, which has a 20,000-gallon rainwater re-use system, energy-efficient mechanical systems, green roof spaces and a green-cleaning initiative, and �Թϱ�� Scarborough’s Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, which boasts eco-friendly features including 1,854 rooftop solar panels and underground cisterns to collect rainwater.

Physical projects aside, the university has also taken steps to incorporate sustainability into all levels of academia including working on developing curriculum pathways for sustainability-minded undergraduate students across the university.

At an institutional level, �Թϱ�� has played a leadership role by engaging with the challenges posed by climate change on the world stage. In 2018, �Թϱ�� joined 12 other leading research universities in North America to form the University Climate Change Coalition, which aims to mobilize resources, expand research partnerships and leverage expertise to help businesses, cities and regions implement research-driven climate solutions.

This year, President Meric Gertler attended the inaugural U7+ Alliance in Paris, where he briefed French President Emmanuel Macron on the alliance's commitment to sustainability. �Թϱ�� has also hosted numerous speeches, conferences and symposia to further dialogue on climate change.

Artificial intelligence

�Թϱ�� University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton has been described as the “godfather of deep learning” (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Many predict that artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize everything from transportation to medicine – and some of the most exciting work is taking place at �Թϱ�� thanks to pioneers like University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, a Turing Award-winner who is known as the “godfather of deep learning.”

In bid to build upon its early lead in the field, �Թϱ�� partnered with government and industry to launch the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence in 2017 and is now attracting several of the most promising AI researchers from around world. Toronto, in turn, is benefiting from the arrival of global tech companies keen to establish an AI footprint in the city. For example, Google, Uber, Samsung and NVIDIA have all established or expanded AI labs in Toronto that are headed by �Թϱ�� researchers.

�Թϱ�� is also addressing AI through a multi-disciplinary lens following the launch of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. Set to be housed in the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre, the institute leverages �Թϱ��'s unique strengths across a wide range of fields to explore the role of humanities, social sciences, public policy and law in a rapidly changing technology landscape.

A global, inclusive student experience

Students at �Թϱ�� were the first in Canada to organize a Black Grad event in 2017 (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

By embracing diversity and expanding its international presence, �Թϱ�� over the past decade has continued to further its reputation as an inclusive institution with a truly global outlook.

�Թϱ��’s student body has played a proactive role in this regard. For example, in 2017, �Թϱ�� students organized Black Grad, Canada’s first ever graduation celebration for Black students. Black Grad has since gone on to become one of the most highly anticipated convocation-related events on the calendar. After two years of being held at Hart House on the St. George campus, Black Grad 2019 was hosted at �Թϱ�� Mississauga in June and organizers say the first Black Grad of the new decade could be held at �Թϱ�� Scarborough.

The year 2017 also saw the launch of the Lester B. Pearson International Student Scholarship, which brings some of the most talented and driven students from around the world to �Թϱ��. The 2019 cohort comprised 36 students drawn from 27 countries.

�Թϱ�� has also continued to expand its international footprint by way of research agreements with academic and industry partners around the world. Meanwhile, the university’s commitment to equity and diversity has also been formalized in the Institutional Strategic Research Plan, which aims to ensure an inclusive environment and increase the presence of marginalized groups such as Indigenous Peoples, racialized persons, LGBTQ individuals and persons with disabilities.

Truth and Reconciliation

Skahendowaneh Swamp, a chair of Indigenous knowledge at the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies at Trent University, is flanked by �Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler (right) and Kelly Hannah-Moffat, vice-president of human resources and equity (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)

In early 2016, �Թϱ�� President Gertler and Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr established �Թϱ��’s Truth and Reconciliation Steering Committee in response to the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s call to Canadians to engage in ongoing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.

The report produced 34 calls to action focusing on the following areas: Indigenous spaces; curriculum; students and co-curricular education; faculty and staff; research ethics and community relationships; and institutional leadership and implementation.

Since then, �Թϱ�� has moved forward with a range of initiatives including the creation of the Master in Social Work, Indigenous Trauma and Resiliency program at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work; organizing an Indigenous Mentoring Day to match Indigenous job-seekers with employers at the university; and the appointment of academic advisers for Indigenous research and Indigenous curriculum and education.

The university is also launching an Indigenous Landscape project, to be installed on 4,500 square metres of Hart House Green, in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Committee's call for a “prominent, visible space at the very centre of the St. George campus be dedicated as an Indigenous space.”

“Indigenous students will be able to walk through campus and see an outdoor space and know it was created for them, with them and with their needs in mind,” said Shannon Simpson, �Թϱ��’s new director of Indigenous initiatives and co-chair of the Indigenous Landscape project.

The project is being planned on the basis of in-depth consultations with Indigenous groups at �Թϱ�� and First Nations communities with historic ties to the area.

Innovation and entrepreneurship

�Թϱ��’s ONRamp co-working and collaboration space opened to entrepreneurs in 2017 (photo by Kenneth Cheung)

Over the past decade, �Թϱ�� entrepreneurs have created more than 500 startup companies that have secured over $1.5 billion in investment and helped establish the university as an engine of Toronto’s thriving innovation scene.

�Թϱ�� alone is home to more than 10 campus-linked accelerators that cater to startups at various stages of development. They include the Creative Destruction Lab, which was founded at the Rotman School of Management and has since expanded to seven other locations in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.; the Entrepreneurship Hatchery, which serves entrepreneurs in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering; ICUBE, based in the Institute for Management and Innovation at �Թϱ�� Mississauga; and �Թϱ�� Scarborough’s The Hub. Others include: UTEST, DCSIL (Department of Computer Science Innovation Lab), H2i (Health Innovation Hub), Impact Centre and InnovED.

Many entrepreneurs from �Թϱ�� and partner universities work out of �Թϱ��’s ONRamp, a 15,000-square-foot space that opened in 2017 and offers co-working and collaboration spaces – not to mention ready access to downtown Toronto’s vibrant business community.

Unprecedented community support

The soon-to-be-built Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre will accelerate innovation in Toronto and Canada by creating the country’s largest university-based innovation node (rendering by WEISS/MANFREDI)

In March, �Թϱ�� received $100 million from Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman – the largest single donation in its history. The funds are being used to support construction of the new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre that will anchor �Թϱ��'s growing cluster of AI scientists, biomedical experts and entrepreneurs.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to supporting the university over the past decade.

Spanning a period of seven years, �Թϱ��’s Boundless campaign raised $2.6-billion from more than 104,000 donors in nearly 100 countries. The generous contributions from individuals, families, corporations and charitable organizations will go towards an array of initiatives aimed at accelerating research and educational opportunities, enriching the student experience and transforming the university’s three campuses to leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.

What's more, the campaign saw endowments for student aid and student support cross the $1-billion mark for the first time in the university's history.

In an interview with �Թϱ�� this past summer, David Palmer, �Թϱ��'s vice-president, advancement, said the Boundless campaign’s success suggests the best is yet to come.

"People ask me all the time: 'Have we exhausted the capacity of our donors and the time and efforts of our volunteers?' And I have to say we all feel we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of what we are capable of together, and what our donors and volunteers are so generously willing to do for us," Palmer said.

"We think there’s a very, very exciting future ahead of us right now."

�Թϱ�� donor Heather Reisman walks BNN Bloomberg through her vision to make Toronto an innovation leader

rahul.kalvapalle — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:47:15 +0000

�Թϱ�� donor Heather Reisman walks BNN Bloomberg through her vision to make Toronto an innovation leader

rahul.kalvapalle Fri, 11/29/2019 - 11:47

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Heather Reisman operates a backhoe during the groundbreaking ceremony for �Թϱ��'s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre, made possible through a $100-million donation by Reisman and her husband Gerry Schwartz (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Cities

Humanities

The donors behind the University of Toronto’s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre saw the project as a “once in a lifetime chance” to be involved in something that could be a force for good in the 21^st century.

That’s according to business leader and philanthropist Heather Reisman, who told BNN Bloomberg the $100-million donation given to �Թϱ�� by her and husband Gerry Schwartz was prompted by the ambitious vision articulated by President Meric Gertler and other �Թϱ�� leaders.

“They laid out the dream of what they had in mind, and it was so compelling," Reisman said. "It resonated with everything Gerry and I believe in."

Reisman said she’s especially proud of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, which will be devoted to exploring what she described as “the intersection between galloping technology and who we are as human beings.”

The overarching mission of the new buildings and the institute, Reisman said, will be “to cross over philosophers, legal people, economic people, sociologists, who will mix it up with the AI scientists and the advanced technology scientists – to really lead with humanity.”

Watch the interview on BNN Bloomberg

Canada's AI boom must be leveraged for social good, writes Schwartz Reisman Institute director in legal magazine

rahul.kalvapalle — Thu, 28 Nov 2019 17:01:11 +0000

Canada's AI boom must be leveraged for social good, writes Schwartz Reisman Institute director in legal magazine

rahul.kalvapalle Thu, 11/28/2019 - 12:01

Cutline

(photo courtesy of Gillian Hadfield)

Topic

City & Culture

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Faculty of Law

Global

As technologies like AI, robotics and social media transform our societies and economies, it’s crucial that social and legal structures keep pace – an understanding that’s at the heart of the University of Toronto’s new Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society.

That’s the message of an op-ed in The Lawyer’s Daily by Gillian Hadfield, a professor in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law and the inaugural director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society. She writes that Toronto’s status as a technology hub and an inclusive, dynamic city behooves researchers and innovators to work toward ensuring the social sciences and humanities aren’t left behind as technology races forward.

“We are a place where nobody thinks that technology owns the future, and where people have not given up on the idea of smart policy or smart governance to ensure no one is left behind in this revolution,” writes Hadfield, who is also the inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society.

Multi-disciplinary institutes like the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Creative Destruction Lab have played a vital role in building Toronto’s vibrant technology ecosystem, Hadfield notes, and now the Schwartz Reisman Institute is poised to be a research and thought leader on how social norms, culture and regulations can be better incorporated into technological progress.

“The mission of the institute is to help guide responsible and responsive technology, not just for Toronto and Canada but for the planet,” Hadfield writes.

Read the op-ed in The Lawyer’s Daily

University breaks ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus

noreen.rasbach — Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:21:44 +0000

University breaks ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus

noreen.rasbach Tue, 11/12/2019 - 10:21

Cutline

Philanthropist and business leader Heather Reisman operates a backhoe during this week's groundbreaking of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus on College Street (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Meric Gertler

Startups

Subheadline

The campus will anchor �Թϱ��’s cluster of world-leading artificial intelligence scientists and biomedical experts, create an unprecedented concentration of research-based startups and advance �Թϱ��’s standing as a global innovation powerhouse

Philanthropists and business leaders Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman joined University of Toronto President Meric Gertler, Chancellor Rose Patten, Vector Institute President and CEO Garth Gibson and other university and community leaders to break ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus on College Street on Tuesday.

Designed by WEISS/MANFREDI, one of North America’s leading architectural firms, the iconic campus will create a new gateway for the university, steps from Queen's Park and at the centre of Ontario’s innovation ecosystem.

The $100-million investment from Mr. Schwartz and Ms. Reisman, announced in March 2019, is the largest donation in U of T’s history and the largest gift ever to the Canadian innovation sector. In addition to the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, the gift has also enabled U of T to create the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, which launched in June.

“U of T is home to leading thinkers in AI and biomedicine who are advancing innovation in these fields and addressing their role in society,” said Ms. Reisman and Mr. Schwartz in a statement. “Creating the campus and the institute will supercharge the university’s ability to recruit and inspire the best talent in the world in these and related fields.”

The striking, glass-clad, 750,000-square-foot complex will anchor U of T’s unique cluster of world-leading artificial intelligence scientists and biomedical experts, its world-class entrepreneurship network and the country’s largest concentration of student- and faculty-led startups.

The campus will be constructed in two phases over the next few years. The first phase will erect the 12-storey west tower, creating 250,000 square feet that will focus on AI and innovation, and provide a new home for the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and the Vector Institute, as well as other leaders of innovation. The second phase will build the larger, 20-storey west tower, which will provide 500,000 square feet of space for life-saving biomedical innovation.

Taking part in the groundbreaking were (from left) Scott Mabury, vice-president, operations and real estate partnerships; Jane Pepino, vice-chair of the Governing Council; Rose Patten, chancellor; business leaders and philanthropists Heather Reisman and Gerald Schwartz; �Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler; David Palmer, vice-president, advancement; Vivek Goel, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives; Garth Gibson, Vector Institute president and CEO; and Gillian Hadfield, inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society (photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Once complete, the campus will feature vertical gardens, soaring atria and collaborative spaces that promote intellectual exchange and invite the public to take part in events and interact with scholars and innovators. The building’s engaging spaces will host thousands of researchers, investors, industry partners and international visitors each year.

“The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus will be a magnificent architectural landmark and a new focal point for Canada’s leading innovation ecosystem,” said President Gertler. “It will gather in one place U of T’s world-leading artificial intelligence scientists and biomedical experts, and integrate them into our dynamic entrepreneurship network. Thanks to Gerry and Heather’s outstanding generosity and vision, this new campus will confirm to the world that Toronto and U of T are global leaders in AI and biomedical innovation.”

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society draws on U of T’s signature strengths in the sciences, humanities and social sciences to ensure that technologies and social structures work together to improve all aspects of life. The university appointed Professor Gillian Hadfield as the inaugural director of the institute, as well as the inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society in July. Professor Hadfield is already engaging researchers in the institute’s work and drawing on her broad background – in economics and law, humanities, business and technology – to shape the institute’s direction for the next few years.

“The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus will be a stunning new building in the heart of Toronto, housing the new institute alongside the city’s most dynamic innovators and researchers. I am excited to be a part of this new vanguard in effective, cross-disciplinary research and concrete solutions to some of our biggest challenges,” said Professor Hadfield.

A rendering of the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus on College Street

Universities play a crucial role in Canada’s competitiveness: �Թϱ��'s Ted Sargent in the Hill Times

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:17:43 +0000

Universities play a crucial role in Canada’s competitiveness: �Թϱ��'s Ted Sargent in the Hill Times

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 09/10/2019 - 16:17

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Ted Sargent, �Թϱ��'s vice-president, international, outlines how research efforts, industry partnerships and international collaborations fostered at institutions like �Թϱ�� have helped create jobs and spur innovation (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Topic

Global

Ted Sargent

Canada’s competitiveness on the world stage can be linked increasingly to the research breakthroughs, innovations and talent in its universities, and it's more important than ever for researchers to adopt a global mindset to expand the reach of Canadian scholarship.

That is the thrust of a Hill Times op-ed by Vice-President, International Ted Sargent that outlines how research efforts, industry partnerships and international collaborations fostered at institutions like the University of Toronto have helped create jobs, spur innovation and generate a pipeline of world-class talent to strengthen the Canadian economy.

The op-ed cites as an example Canada’s reputation as a global artificial intelligence hub, thanks in part ot University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton’s pioneering work on deep learning and neural networks. It also notes �Թϱ��’s strength in attracting private sector support such as the $100-million donation to build the Schwartz-Reisman Innovation Centre, which is poised to attract to Toronto top experts from fields ranging from computer sciences to the humanities.

Sargent also hails the impact of government initiatives such as the Canada Research Chairs and Tri-Council research fund, and noted that continued support and investment will go a long way toward ensuring that Canada remains at the forefront of building connections with scholars around the world.

Read Sargent’s op-ed in the Hill Times

Gillian Hadfield appointed inaugural director of �Թϱ��’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 26 Jul 2019 16:23:00 +0000

Gillian Hadfield appointed inaugural director of �Թϱ��’s Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 07/26/2019 - 12:23

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In her new role, Gillian Hadfield will draw on her varied background – in economics and law, humanities, business and high tech – to help ensure technological innovation is implemented fairly and equitably in society (photo courtesy of Gillian Hadfield)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Biotechnology

Computer Science

Economics

Rotman School of Management

Faculty of Information

Regenerative Medicine

Robotics

Social Sciences

Facial recognition technology. Algorithms that decide who is a good candidate for a loan or medical procedure. Interactive robots in workplaces and seniors’ homes.

These are just a few examples of the many new and emerging technologies that promise to reshape society in profound and, perhaps, unexpected ways – often raising thorny ethical questions in the process.

As the inaugural director of the University of Toronto’s new Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and the inaugural Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society, Gillian Hadfield will draw on her varied background – in economics and law, humanities, business and high tech – to help ensure technological innovation is implemented fairly and equitably in societies around the world.

“Technologies are a means to an end,” says Hadfield, who is a �Թϱ�� professor in the Faculty of Law and the Rotman School of Management.

“And the end must be a world that is better, safer, kinder, fairer for us all.”

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society draws on �Թϱ��’s across-the-board strengths in sciences, social sciences and humanities to help foster cross-disciplinary solutions to the profound challenges spawned by rapid technological shifts. The institute was established thanks to a landmark $100-million donation – the largest in �Թϱ��’s history – by business leaders and philanthropists Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman. The gift will also be used to help break ground on the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre at the northeast corner of College Street and University Avenue, a new space for students and faculty innovators working in business, computer science and biotechnology, among other fields.

Learn more about the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

“�Թϱ�� researchers are leaders in fields as diverse as machine learning, regenerative medicine, philosophy, and culture and communications,” says �Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler.

“The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society will leverage these strengths to help us understand the impact of technology on society – and, indeed, on humanity itself. The work of the institute will also explore the ways in which public policy, politics, and culture can shape the development and application of technology to serve societal ends.

“It is an ambitious and important mandate, and we are thrilled to welcome Professor Hadfield to her new role as the institute’s inaugural director and chair.”

Hadfield re-joined �Թϱ��’s Faculty of Law last year after teaching for 17 years at the University of Southern California. She was originally on faculty at �Թϱ�� between 1995 and 2001.

The native of Oakville, Ont. has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a law degree and a PhD in economics from Stanford University. She clerked for Chief Judge Patricia Wald on the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, and has held visiting professorships or fellowships at Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, and Stanford.

Hadfield was a fellow at Stanford’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, an experience she says has influenced her vision for �Թϱ��’s new institute. As an example of the serendipity that can happen when scholars of a wide variety of fields come together, she recalls hearing a talk by an art historian on the complex geometry of Gothic architecture during her fellowship that meshed with her own ideas on economies and how they pass down knowledge. The lecture focused on how much of the know-how needed to reproduce intricate Gothic buildings was bound up in practice rather than in plans and sketches.

“The complexity was rooted in simplicity and it was knowing what steps to take – rather than the math of the whole – that generated the result,” she says. “When masters stopped building the buildings, the knowledge was lost. I remember this point converging with my own thinking about how economies find and transmit knowledge, and how that can also be rooted in practices and not just theory.”

She hopes researchers at the Schwartz Reisman Institute will similarly find inspiration and points of connection in each other’s work, sparking new ideas and maybe even whole new branches of knowledge.

�Թϱ�� is a particularly suitable home for such collaboration because it boasts world-leading scholars in a wide spectrum of disciplines, she adds.

“The University of Toronto is a top-flight research university in so many different fields,” she says. “Our ambition for the institute is to knit together research across the sciences, social sciences, the humanities and other fields to find new, concrete solutions to make sure our emerging and powerful technologies go in the direction we want them to go.”

Vivek Goel, vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, points out that �Թϱ�� is one of the few universities in the world that ranks among the top schools in a wide range of subjects.

“�Թϱ��’s broad strength across disciplines makes it the ideal place to encourage a cross-pollination of ideas,” says Goel.

“It’s our job to find innovative ways to break down silos between disciplines so these different ideas and perspectives have the opportunity to collide and, hopefully, yield new avenues for research and scholarship, including for graduate students.”

The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society is just one example of how �Թϱ�� is seeking to encourage interdisciplinary approaches, having recently created a new senior administrative position tasked with seeding and scaling such initiatives.

Hadfield’s research spans different disciplines and addresses questions ranging from the philosophical to the mathematical. She has called for reforms to the legal system to reduce fees and other barriers faced by the roughly 80 per cent of people who go to court without a lawyer. She expanded on those ideas and the twin challenges of globalization and digitization in her 2017 book, Rules for a Flat World: Why Humans Invented Law and How to Reinvent it for a Complex Global Economy (a reference to Thomas Friedman’s bestseller The World Is Flat.) She has taught a course based on her book at �Թϱ�� and co-led the Legal Design Lab (with her husband Dan Ryan, a professor at �Թϱ��’s Faculty of Information), an incubator-workshop bringing together students in law, engineering, business, design and information studies to come up with innovative solutions to problems involving access to justice. At Rotman, she teaches about AI and how to ensure its responsible development with the Creative Destruction Lab and the new Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence-affiliated Master in Management Analytics.

In addition to research and teaching, Hadfield brings experience as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Agile Governance, which focuses on “adaptive, human-centered, inclusive and sustainable” policy-making in the face of technological advancement. She is also deeply engaged in questions about rules and governance surrounding artificial intelligence as a policy adviser for Open AI in San Francisco, an adviser to courts and tech companies, and as a faculty affiliate at the Vector Institute.

One of her early goals as director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society and Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society will be to build a “truly integrated, team-based approach to problem solving” by connecting researchers in different disciplines.

“One of the first things we will be doing is looking for people who are really interested in engaging with, and respectful of, approaches in other disciplines,” she says. “The first thing we can do is find those people and start to build that community of collaboration. That’s something that takes thoughtfulness and care.”

In the future, she wants the institute to be known around the world as the go-to place to learn about the technological challenges facing society and to convene to work on their possible solutions.

“I think it’s a great ambition that in 10 years, we’ll have generated new fields of research,” Hadfield says. “I’ll be asking, ‘Have we really created something where we have broken down the silos between disciplines and created truly cross-disciplinary approaches?’

“I’d like to see us being part of inventing a new way to do intellectual work. And with that, to have invented new ways to make sure that our powerful technologies develop in ways that serve humanity well.”

Vivek Goel re-appointed �Թϱ��'s vice-president of research and innovation, takes on expanded role

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 12:47:39 +0000

Vivek Goel re-appointed �Թϱ��'s vice-president of research and innovation, takes on expanded role

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/27/2019 - 08:47

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“The really big challenges that we face as a society – in climate change, international migration, you name it – require people working across disciplines,” Goel says of �Թϱ��'s growing number of interdisciplinary projects (photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society

Diversity and Inclusion

Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation

School of Cities

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Entrepreneurship

Hospital for Sick Children

Medicine by Design

Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research

University Health Network