Media Releases
Below is a selection of recent press releases. For all the latest news please visit www.utoronto.ca/news
General Inquires +1 (416) 978-0100 Email media.relations@utoronto.ca
We (can’t) Chat: “709 Crackdown” Discussion Blocked on Weibo and WeChat
Toronto, ON – Researchers at the Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, published a report today that reveals how discussions about a nationwide government crackdown on rights lawyers and activists in China are censored on WeChat and Weibo, two of the leading social networks in China. The crackdown is dubbed “709 Crackdown” as the first enforced disappearances of targeted individuals took place on July 9, 2015, and has since affected over 250 Chinese…
Engineering students tackle eight problems nagging Toronto communities
Toronto, ON – First-year students in U of T Engineering are stepping up to take on some of the Greater Toronto Area’s most persistent problems, from diagnosing infant epilepsy to finding lost arrows at a local archery range. This Wednesday, April 12, students at the University of Toronto are hosting a day-long event to showcase their engineering solutions, from the technically complex to the stunningly obvious, to some of the GTA’s stickiest situations with a wide variety of prototypes, renderings,…
The New Urban Crisis
Toronto, ON – The numbers don’t lie. In 2013 the Pew Research Center conducted a study that found that 61 percent of Americans felt that the current economic state favored the rich over the poor. That’s no wonder considering the stark gap that has grown between the different groups in the United States. The U.S. middle-to-upper class is made up of approximately 40 million people, accounts for a third of the U.S. work force, and is responsible for considerably shaping…
Infants show racial bias toward members of own race and against those of other races
Toronto, ON – Two studies by researchers at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto and their collaborators from the US, UK, France and China, show that six- to nine-month-old infants demonstrate racial bias in favour of members of their own race and racial bias against those of other races. In the first study, “Older but not younger infants associate own-race faces with happy music and other-race faces with sad music”, published in Developmental…
ModiFace invests in augmented reality, artificial intelligence talent at U of T
Toronto, ON – Augmented reality startup ModiFace will make a major announcement Tuesday, aimed to accelerate development of augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) talent at Canada’s top-ranked engineering school. The company, founded by Professor Parham Aarabi of The Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, uses AR and AI to build advanced facial visualization software for the beauty and medical industries. ModiFace technology powers over 100 AR applications by Fortune 500 brands including Sephora, L’Oreal,…
Indigenous leaders in sexual diversity named recipients of 2017 University of Toronto Bonham Centre Awards
Toronto, ON – The Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto has announced the recipients of their 2017 awards, which will be presented at a gala ceremony at Hart House in Toronto on April 26. “This year’s Bonham Centre Awards recipients have been chosen to highlight the history and leading contributions of Indigenous people in recognizing sexual and gender diversity. As Canada prepares to celebrate 150 years since confederation we thought it crucial to focus…
Rotman Finance Professor Receives Governor’s Award from the Bank of Canada
Toronto, ON – A finance professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management received the Governor’s Award from the Bank of Canada. Mikhail (Mike) Simutin, an assistant professor of finance, will receive the award for 2017. The award recognizes outstanding academics at a relatively early stage in their careers, who are working at Canadian universities in areas of research important to the Bank’s core functions. The award provides annual funding of $25,000 for a term of up to two…
Government of Japan establishes its first-in-Canada chair and centre in Japan studies at the University of Toronto
Toronto, ON – At the Japan-Canada Summit Meeting in May 2016, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe noted that Japan wished to support Japanese studies at Canadian universities in order to promote mutual understanding between the two countries. Today, based upon this commitment, the Government of Japan is conferring US$5 million on the University of Toronto to establish an endowed chair in Japanese politics and global affairs, and to launch a Centre for the Study of Global Japan. The University of Toronto…
Thinking about the Future of Work at the Rotman School of Management
Toronto, ON – More than 150 students with expertise in design thinking from across the United States, Europe and Canada will be competing in the annual Rotman Design Challenge at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management on April 1 and 2. This year’s challenge is to support TELUS, the lead sponsor, in its Future of Work culture evolution. The challenge is being tackled by 28 teams of problem solvers, thinkers and innovators in masters-level business and design programs, who…
Rotman Finance Professor Honoured as an Outstanding B‑School Professor
Toronto, ON – A finance professor who excels in the classroom as well as in his research on financial economics at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management has been named as one of the Most Outstanding Top 40 Under 40 B-School Professors in the annual feature published by the business education site Poets&Quants. Mikhail (Mike) Simutin, an assistant professor of finance, teaches a first-year finance course in the Rotman Full Time MBA program, while also conducting world-class research. “The…