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By Sheridan Cunningham McLaughlin Planetarium. Syeda Rizvi/THE VARSITY The University of Toronto recently announced plans to construct a new Centre of Civilizations and Cultures. The building will be built at 90 Queen’s Park Crescent, replacing the location’s current resident, the decommissioned McLaughlin Planetarium. Scott Mabury, U of T vice-president, university operations, emphasized the value of the project to both the university and the global community. “This is a great combination of academic faculties [and] academic superstars… Bringing them together will advance the conversation,” he said. The centre will house the departments of History and Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, along [...]

Michael Kurts with files from Krisha Ravikantharaja Located in the Gerstein Science Information Centre, the Green Beet offers exclusively vegan and vegetarian options Nothing’s more likely to generate a spirited discussion than food options at a university. For the University of Toronto’s Monica Dairo, food is simply fuel. “I make sure I have enough to sustain myself during the two-hour commute, both to and from school,” said the fourth-year environmental studies undergrad. “I eat before or during, so I am less likely to fall asleep during the commute. “When I’m at home, food is comfort and food is family. But [...]

by Terry Lavender (U of T Bulletin) Two of North America’s leading architectural firms will be designing the University of Toronto’s new Centre for Civilizations and Cultures, to be located at 90 Queen’s Park Crescent. Toronto’s Architects Alliance and New York-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro will collaborate on the project, which will be located just south of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), beside the U of T faculties of Law and Music, said Scott Mabury, U of T’s vice-president of university operations. “This site will act as a dramatic new gateway connecting the university and the city,” Mabury added.  “These [...]

The Green Ribbon Awards recognize outstanding achievements in campus sustainability. Each year, one award to an individual or group is made in each of the five categories: Student Faculty Staff External Honourary   In celebration of the Sustainability Office’s 10th year, a new category was added – The Beth Savan Honourary Green Ribbon Award. Beth Savan, Senior Lecturer Emeritus, School of the Environment, has been an integral part, not only of the formation of the Sustainability Office, but of general sustainability on campus. Awards are made for the nominee’s direct contribution to the minimization of negative impacts on the environment, the conservation [...]

By Devika Desai, The Varsity Published: 2:20 am, 18 January 2016 MaRS building on College Street. Yassine Elbaradie/THE VARSITY The collaboration between Johnson & Johnson Innovation incubation(Jlabs) and the University of Toronto to build biotech startups, is coming to fruition. After receiving $18.3 million out of the $19.4 million that the Ontario government agreed to invest in the project, U of T has commenced the process of fitting a floor in the MaRS west tower. Jlabs primarily focuses on supporting early-stage companies by offering resources that range from core research facilities to opportunities for venture capital funding. “Our role is [...]

by Erin Vollick Kyle Battiston recently moved into new lab space at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research in the MaRS building (photo by Jeff Comber) From screws and plates for broken bones to metal hips and dental implants, every day thousands of people undergo surgeries to implant medical devices in the body. But sometimes their immune systems respond by attacking these foreign objects. For some patients, this inflammatory response can be controlled by drugs. Others will experience device failure. But what if there didn’t have to be an immune response at all? That’s the thinking behind University of Toronto researcher Kyle [...]

Energy savings on all three campuses are good for the climate, but also leave more money for academic programs By Nicolle Wahl Reducing greenhouse gas emissions at U of T’s three campuses is good for the environment, but it’s also a boon for academic budgets, as savings on energy bills can be applied to classrooms, labs and program improvements. At the St. George campus, for example, a recent energy retrofit of the Medical Sciences Building has resulted in savings of more than $1 million annually in energy costs, according to Ron Swail, the chief operations officer of Property Services and Sustainability for Facilities and Services, which oversaw the [...]

U of T embarks on a bold plan to restore, renew and beautify the historic St. George campus By Arthur Kaptainis What was old will be new again. And what is new will be harmonized with the old. After months of study and public engagement, the Landscape of Landmark Quality competition has selected a consortium of KPMB Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and Urban Strategies to restore, renew and beautify the central spaces of the University of Toronto’s historic St. George campus. “This was a difficult decision owing to the great imagination shown by the entrants,” says Scott Mabury, [...]

Five campus chefs faced off at the University of Toronto’s annual mac-and-cheese ‘Smackdown.’ By: Jonathan Forani Staff Reporter, Toronto Star, Published on Wed Dec 09 2015 There’s no better way to bring a campus together than doling out the most stereotypically “student” meal you can think of — mac and cheese. But this isn’t your roommate’s Kraft Dinner Easy Mac. How about a pan-seared squid ink pasta topped with salmon and Sriracha pearls? Crushed chestnuts over three varieties of blue cheese? Or five kinds of mushrooms on asiago cheese? These were just three of the options at the University of Toronto’s Mac ‘N [...]

Dealing with post-surgery recovery can be stressful. But recent U of T grad Dr. Joshua Liu wants to ease that for patients. His company, SeamlessMD, helps people prepare for and recover from surgery using their mobile devices and home computers. And SeamlessMD is already getting a lot of attention from the likes of WIND Mobile founder Anthony Lacavera and BioWare co-founder Dr. Raymond Muzyka. Read more.