Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Work of Nobel Prize-winner John Polanyi celebrated in �鶹��Ƶ exhibit

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 28 May 2024 18:48:11 +0000

Work of Nobel Prize-winner John Polanyi celebrated in �鶹��Ƶ exhibit

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 05/28/2024 - 14:48

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University Professor Emeritus and Nobel laureate John Polanyi said he is "deeply humbled and grateful” for the new permanent exhibit, which honours his seminal research and his advocacy for responsible science (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

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Department of Chemistry

Faculty of Arts & Science

John Polanyi

Nobel Prize

Subheadline

The department of chemistry also recently renamed the research wing of the Lash Miller building in Polanyi's honour

The groundbreaking work of University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi, celebrated chemist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986, is the focus of a new permanent exhibit at the Lash Miller building, home of the department of chemistry in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Through still images, video and equipment, the dynamic exhibit tells the story of Polanyi's career including his seminal work in the field of reaction dynamics – a branch of chemistry that investigates what happens during chemical reactions.

The centrepiece of the exhibit is a replica of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry medal awarded to Polanyi (photo by Diana Tyszko)

The display includes original equipment used in Polanyi’s early research, a reproduction of the lab notebook used by his graduate student to document their experiments and a video chronicling the process of discovery – along with a replica of his Nobel Prize medal.

"It’s been my good fortune to be surrounded by brilliant colleagues and other supporters throughout my life and career," Polanyi said. "I'm deeply humbled and grateful for this marvelous display and ongoing recognition of my life’s work.”

“John Polanyi holds a revered place in the history of the University of Toronto and his legacy is an inspiration for all of us,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Meric Gertler. “This installation is a compelling expression of his achievements. All those responsible deserve our thanks and congratulations.”

The exhibit includes a reproduction of the notebook in which Polanyi’s graduate student Ken Cashion documented the results of the experiment that delivered the groundbreaking discovery (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Polanyi came to �鶹��Ƶ from Princeton University in 1956, and not long after, made his seminal discovery: his detection of infrared radiation released upon the collision of hydrogen and chloride molecules was the first observation of energy produced from the vibration of new molecules immediately after their formation.

His work went on to influence the development of advanced instrumentation in domains like pharmaceutical research, medicine and chemical manufacturing – including the development of the first chemical lasers.

“The university made a significant investment in me, a young scholar,” said Polanyi. “The environment and the resources I received enabled me to pursue a new and unknown direction in chemical physics.”

In 1974, he was named a University Professor – the highest academic honour bestowed by the university on its faculty members – and in 1994, the John C. Polanyi Chair in Chemistry was established.

The exhibit tells the story of the Nobel Prize-winning discovery in the field of reaction dynamics, and University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi’s advocacy for nuclear disarmament and the responsible use of science (photo by Diana Tyszko)

In tandem with the new exhibit, the department of chemistry also recently renamed the research wing of the Lash Miller building in his honour.

“The John Polanyi research wing and this new display will serve to permanently highlight John's legacy for current and future young scholars,” said Professor Mark Lautens, chair of the department of chemistry. “John has brought great visibility and prestige to the University of Toronto through his groundbreaking studies and his contributions that go well beyond scientific discovery. We are equally grateful [for] and proud of his advocacy for science, for peace and for a better world.”

Inspiration for the exhibit came after Polanyi donated some of his equipment to the department of chemistry upon his retirement in 2020. A special celebration was held in his honour at Massey College in the fall of 2022, after which Professor Robert Batey, then department chair, with support from the Faculty of Arts & Science dean Melanie Woodin and the Offices of the President and the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, led the development of the exhibit to celebrate Polanyi’s impact and legacy.

“John has made tremendous contributions to the world of science as well as society at large through his advocacy for nuclear disarmament," said Batey. "We are proud to be able to celebrate his work this way in the place that has been his professional home for so many years.”

“This display is a fantastic tribute to Professor Polanyi's remarkable career as a scientist, a teacher and a global citizen,” said Woodin. “It is a fitting acknowledgement for someone who has engendered a network of excellence that stretches across countries and continents.”

University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi (pictured second from the right) was joined in viewing the exhibit by (l to r) department of chemistry chair Mark Lautens, portrait painter Brenda Bury and former department chair Robert Batey (photo by Diana Tyszko)

The department of chemistry and Toronto-based communications and design firm Snack worked closely with Polanyi on the development of the display, drawing from his extensive archive of memorabilia and donated equipment.

The exhibit also captures Polanyi’s advocacy for the responsible use of science and a keen social conscience that compelled him to campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons throughout his career. “A great university that invests in science must also strain to warn of the accompanying risks to humanity," he said.

New Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism will be a hub for scholarly inquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 17:27:17 +0000

New Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism will be a hub for scholarly inquiry and interdisciplinary collaboration 

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 01/17/2024 - 12:27

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(photo by University of Toronto)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Our Community

Antisemitism

Trevor Young

Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies

Faculty of Arts & Science

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

A new lab at the University of Toronto’s Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies (CJS) will be a hub for scholars from across disciplines to examine the persistence of antisemitism in a global context.  

“Antisemitism has emerged in the global public discourse on a level that has not been seen in generations,” says Anna Shternshis, director of the CJS and the Al and Malka Green Professor of Yiddish Studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science. “By offering a space for convening and intellectual conversation, we hope to generate new insights on antisemitism as a phenomenon, and new responses for tackling its insidious pervasiveness around the world.”

Shternshis is a distinguished scholar with an international reputation for her expertise in Jewish culture in Russia and the Soviet Union, oral history as well as Yiddish music. Recently awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on Nazi-occupied Ukraine, she lectures widely around the world and her work has been featured in print media in 45 countries in 22 languages.

The new Lab for the Study of Global Antisemitism will be housed at the CJS, and its inaugural director will be Ron Levi, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the department of sociology who is a Distinguished Professor of Global Justice. Levi’s research focuses on aspirations to law and justice, and on how we address crime, violence and atrocities during turbulent times. This includes a collaborative project studying hate and counter-hate speech that’s funded by the University of Toronto-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Research & Innovation Alliance. Levi is director of the Global Justice Lab in the Munk School, which works with justice systems under stress, and a recipient of the Ludwik & Estelle Jus Memorial Human Rights Prize. 

“There is a long history of expertise on issues relating to antisemitism, across fields of study, within and beyond the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies,” says Levi, “and I am eager to strengthen these connections, to learn from each other, to inquire, and to build our collective understanding of antisemitism and global responses to this challenge.”

The goals for the new lab include bringing together scholars and students whose work connects, directly or indirectly, with the study of antisemitism. Among the lab’s first initiatives will be to convene an international scholarly lecture series on antisemitism across a wide range of fields of study, opening new opportunities for collaboration among researchers worldwide. The lab will develop research, teaching and study partnerships with other centres of knowledge for the study of antisemitism globally.

“The University of Toronto is well situated for this scholarship,” says Trevor Young, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-president and provost. “Our academic community has long-standing reach and expertise on the social and cultural issues of societies worldwide. Within the Canadian context, the University of Toronto offers the opportunity to study antisemitism as a global and comparative phenomenon, thereby offering a unique academic perspective within the field.” 

Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, says “it’s imperative that we continue to invest in scholarship in this area, and the connection to racism and exclusion broadly.”

She adds that she is committed to bringing together expertise within the faculty and beyond, and foresees that the lab will also help the faculty grow its research and other scholarly activities in relation to the state of democracy. 

In addition to the expertise within CJS, Woodin sees great opportunities for the lab to pursue academic collaborations – such as with the Systemic Islamophobia Research Lab (SIRL) in the Institute of Islamic Studies and the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, which has an area of focus on the future of democratic societies and is soon to launch a new series of talks on the Middle East conflict. 

“It’s an understatement to say we are seeing a rise in antisemitism and other forms of hate, not just in places of higher learning, but in all facets of society,” says Woodin. “In search of any solutions, we must delve into the complexities before us and openly collaborate to examine how antisemitism continues to permeate the world around us.”

�鶹��Ƶ breaks ground on a new home for the Acceleration Consortium

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:14:37 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ breaks ground on a new home for the Acceleration Consortium

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 11/15/2023 - 09:14

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A rendering of the Lash Miller building expansion (image courtesy of Mikkelsen Arkitekter AS / Cumulus Architects)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Our Community

Acceleration Consortium

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Artificial Intelligence

Chemistry

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

The expansion of the Lash Miller building also includes upgrades to department of chemistry labs, classrooms and other spaces

The University of Toronto recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the expansion of the Lash Miller building on the St. George campus – a place that will serve as the new home of the Acceleration Consortium while providing improved facilities for the department of chemistry.

An institutional strategic initiative launched in 2021, the Acceleration Consortium fuses artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering and chemistry to accelerate the design and discovery of new materials.

Using self-driving laboratories powered by AI, the consortium works to discover materials needed to build a more sustainable, prosperous and healthy future.

“The research being done at the Acceleration Consortium is a cutting-edge approach to materials discovery,” said Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “Now, more than ever, we need such new technologies to help solve the world's most existential and intractable problems, from climate change to plastics pollution to cancer.

“This expansion is truly about advancing the university’s mission of research and teaching excellence.”

From left to right: Mark Lautens, chair of the department of chemistry, Alán Aspuru-Guzik, director of the Acceleration Consortium, Anna Kennedy, chair of Governing Council, Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, and Robert Batey, former chair of the department of chemistry (photo by Diana Tyszko)

The university earlier this year received a grant of $200 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) – the largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university – to support the Acceleration Consortium’s research.

“Developing such innovative technologies is made possible by the federal government's visionary investment. This grant allows us to do big science, ensuring Canada remains competitive on the international stage,” said Woodin.

The building expansion will also include renovations to the department of chemistry, with upgrades being made to labs, classrooms and faculty and administrative space to provide students and scientists with enhanced facilities for research, learning and innovation.

“I've watched the plans emerge from both the department and the Faculty side, and it's really an amazing project,” said Mark Lautens, chair of the department of chemistry. “The self-driving labs are the cornerstone of the AC, but there will be new lecture theatres and some amazing meeting spaces for chemistry that will figure very prominently in the design.

“Our students will be prepared for the future, regardless of how that future unfolds.”

Robert Batey, former chair of the department of chemistry, also reflected on the origins of the project, the founding of the Acceleration Consortium and the initial success in enlisting Alán Aspuru-Guzik, director of the consortium, to lead �鶹��Ƶ’s efforts in the emerging field of machine learning-guided materials development.

Faculty, staff and members of the design and construction teams gathered for a recent groundbreaking event (photo by Diana Tyszko)

“This project really has been a long time in gestation. In 2017, we saw an opportunity to take advantage of a nascent and emerging field of science and technology, which is AI and machine learning, and how it might be applied to, and enabled by, chemistry and automation,” Batey said.

The revolutionary work being done at the Acceleration Consortium will be key in positioning Canada as a world leader in materials discovery, with a state-of-the-art space that will not only house this important work, but also attract top tier talent.

“The AC building represents a new global era where countries are looking inward while at the same time collaborating with each other,” said Aspuru-Guzik. “We're building a team of people who are going to be able to take advantage of this new space and of the federal grant to move the needle and make Canada the leader in materials discovery.”

A rendering of the interior of the Lash Miller building’s expansion (Image courtesy of Mikkelsen Arkitekter AS / Cumulus Architects)

The Acceleration Consortium considers and includes contributions from several other disciplines of study in its work.

“We are very excited that this project is also integrated with Canadian society in such areas as Indigenous scholarship, social sciences and economics,” said Aspuru-Guzik. “Materials discovery has to do with everything, and impacts society in a very complex way.”

Anna Kennedy, chair of �鶹��Ƶ’s Governing Council, acknowledged the impact the consortium has already made at the university.

“Since its launch, and under the expert guidance of Alán and other brilliant scholars, the AC has solidified itself as one of the university’s most impressive institutional strategic initiatives and as the embodiment of the University of Toronto’s capacity to support large-scale, high-impact interdisciplinary research.”

Woodin also noted the importance of philanthropy in leveraging the historic support from the federal government and investment by industry partners.

“Inspired giving by donors will enable us to build a contemporary space that will attract talent that's needed to advance the goals of the Acceleration Consortium, which will have major economic benefits for the Greater Toronto Area and for Canada,” she said.

The Lash Miller building expansion is set to be completed in the spring of 2026. The complex project is being delivered through an integrated design team led by the university’s Planning, Design & Construction (UPDC) portfolio and a collaboration between Canadian firm Cumulus Architects and Danish firm Mikkelsen Architects, among other firms specializing in key areas of the project design and technical specifications.

The construction will be completed by Urbacon.

A cancer survivor, �鶹��Ƶ grad Malia Robinson strives to support others on their healing journeys

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 18:29:41 +0000

A cancer survivor, �鶹��Ƶ grad Malia Robinson strives to support others on their healing journeys

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 11/08/2023 - 13:29

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Malia Robinson came to �鶹��Ƶ as a mature student via the Transitional Year Programme (supplied image)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2023

Transitional Year Programme

Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work

Faculty of Arts & Science

Women and Gender Studies

Woodsworth College

Malia Robinson had to overcome an array of challenges to become a University of Toronto graduate. Arriving as a mature student amid a period of uncertainty and self-doubt, Robinson went on to complete an honours bachelor of arts degree in women and gender studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, with minors in Buddhism, psychology and mental health, and contemporary Asian studies.

Along the way, she traveled to Central America for an experiential learning opportunity that altered the trajectory of her studies, volunteered at Women's College Hospital – having previously undergone surgery to treat cancer there – and won Woodsworth College's prestigious Brookfield Bronfman Gold Scholarship.

Now starting graduate studies in �鶹��Ƶ's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Robinson recently spoke about her journey.

You came to �鶹��Ƶ through the Transitional Year Programme as a mature student – what made you want to study here?

I learned about �鶹��Ƶ’s Transitional Year Programme at a difficult point in my life where I felt like I had hit rock-bottom and had zero prospects for the future. Seeing post-secondary as an opportunity to start over and build a brighter future, I swallowed my fear and made the decision to apply. Looking back, I can honestly say it was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Why did you choose women and gender studies?

I wanted to learn as much as I could about the histories, systems and policies that contributed to the pain and dysfunction I was seeing in the world.

As I studied about the social determinants of health, gendered biases in medicine, colonialism in the Canadian context, systemic violence, and the social, cultural, physiological and mental impacts of intergenerational trauma, I felt overwhelmed by the depth of suffering in the world and was compelled to use my lived experiences and education to alleviate that suffering in some way.

I also realized that I needed to broaden my understanding of the world to be able to meet people where they are at. To do so, I enrolled in contemporary Asian studies and took courses in Latin American studies, which helped me understand colonialism and neoliberalism in different regional contexts. This introduced me to the different ways diverse cultures have reclaimed their languages and spaces, and decolonized their food systems, educational systems and healing practices.

In turn, these courses compelled me to deepen my understanding of healing trauma on an individual and societal level. To facilitate this, I enrolled in Buddhism, psychology & mental health, which gave me the skills needed to care for my own embodied trauma and inspired me to train in somatic therapies.

What personal challenges have you overcome during your studies?

The biggest challenge I faced was my limiting beliefs about what I was capable of achieving. With the immense support I received from the Transitional Year Programme, Woodsworth College, Accessibility Services, First Nations House, my professors, peers and partner, I was able to step outside of my comfort zone, make mistakes, learn from my failures and challenge myself in new and exciting ways.

Looking back, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow. And I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to make my Uncle Yogi proud and honour my Métis roots.

How did your studies take you to Central America?

In the summer of 2019, I participated in an experiential learning opportunity via the Dean's International & Indigenous Initiatives Fund, where I studied issues pertaining to Indigeneity and food sovereignty in Belize. This experience was one of the highlights of my undergraduate experience and was so impactful it changed the trajectory of my studies.

During this trip, I was inspired by the painstaking work that Indigenous Belizians undertook to revitalize the physical, emotional and generational health of their communities, and I came to the realization that I wanted to spend my life working in a similar capacity.

I really appreciated the guided tour of a local farm and getting the chance to learn about Mayan land rights, food systems and development initiatives. I believe that food is a powerful medicine and remember feeling inspired and humbled by the efforts locals undertook to protect their lands and traditional crops, and transmit their knowledge to the younger generations.

How did you become connected with Women’s College Hospital?

At the beginning of the pandemic, I underwent surgery at Women’s College Hospital to stop cervical cancer in its tracks. When I was in recovery, I was looking for a virtual opportunity to support folks during the crisis when I stumbled across New College’s Community Engaged Learning Program, which was looking for volunteers to help the Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health draft a proposal to build a medicine garden at Women’s College Hospital.

At the time, I was struggling with the existential crisis that comes with anything cancer-related and felt like this was an incredible opportunity to channel my energy into building something meaningful that would support others who are at different stages of their healing journeys. I learned a lot during my placement and was excited to see the efforts of everyone involved give rise to a rooftop garden which officially opened this summer.

You started a master of social work at �鶹��Ƶ – what would you like to do in the future?

Once I’m qualified to offer counseling and work with trauma, I want to help people resolve their complex trauma issues and reconnect to their body’s inherent capacity for restorative sleep, health and wellness.

Given my incredibly positive personal experiences with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE), I wholeheartedly believe that somatic therapies – therapy that aims to treat PTSD and other mental and emotional health issues through the connection of mind and body – are the future of trauma therapy.

Because these therapies are still prohibitively expensive, I strive to provide accessible and affordable therapy to the people who need it most – and want to dedicate my life to supporting people on their healing journeys.

�鶹��Ƶ hosts Palette Skills as they build a national ecosystem for upskilling

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:35:43 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ hosts Palette Skills as they build a national ecosystem for upskilling

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 04/27/2023 - 14:35

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Palette Skills, a national not-for-profit organization developing employer-led upskilling programs, is hosted by the University of Toronto (photo by PeopleImages/iStock)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Arts & Science

Meric Gertler

Building on a shared commitment to developing a workforce that meets the needs of a changing Canadian economy, the University of Toronto is the host institution for Palette Skills, a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping Canada’s most innovative companies meet their talent needs by accessing untapped talent through industry-led rapid upskilling programs.

As host institution, �鶹��Ƶ is leading the post-secondary community to demonstrate the importance of creating a national ecosystem for upskilling. The partnership will see �鶹��Ƶ engage in collaboration around developing upskilling program models and knowledge transfer, aligning with �鶹��Ƶ’s mission of teaching and advancement of knowledge.

“The University of Toronto is proud to be the national host institution for Palette Skills,” said President Meric Gertler. “Technological advancements are rapidly creating new employment opportunities, with major implications for all parties involved in shaping Canada’s workforce. We support the mission of Palette Skills to develop a national ecosystem to foster upskilling, and to establish new partnerships and talent pipelines that meet labour market needs.”

�鶹��Ƶ will host Palette Skills in a space provided by the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“The collaboration will facilitate connections with industry leaders and other institutions in the development of the tools, training and support needed to make a direct and lasting impact on the Canadian economy, further improving the lives of Canadians,” said Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science and a member of the Palette Skills board of directors. “The development of powerful new insights will help identify the best ways to adapt to changing economies and will demonstrate the importance of rapid upskilling that serves the needs of every Canadian and of the country.”

Recently, Palette Skills launched Upskill Canada, a new initiative to help the country make the most of its talent advantage while building a more inclusive economy in the process. Upskill Canada is a national talent platform that helps fast-growing companies access the talent they need to compete and succeed globally while creating new career pathways for workers to rapidly transition into high-demand roles.

“We are excited to continue working with the University of Toronto,” said Rhonda Barnet, CEO of Palette Skills. “Our collaboration with the University of Toronto, and the broader post-secondary community, is invaluable. Sharing lessons learned and best practices on upskilling approaches, employer engagement, equity, and diversity and inclusion (EDI) best practices helps unlock our talent advantage and ensures that Canadian industry can continue to compete and win in the global economy.”

Palette Skills will begin accepting proposals from post-secondary institutes, industry and business associations and community organizations for launch-ready upskilling programs through its Upskill Canada initiative on April 28, 2023. �鶹��Ƶ units interested in becoming a program delivery partner should contact the Office of the Vice-Provost, Academic Programs, which is co-ordinating submissions.

Consider long-term effects before employing 'genetic welding' in natural populations: �鶹��Ƶ expert

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 16:33:57 +0000

Consider long-term effects before employing 'genetic welding' in natural populations: �鶹��Ƶ expert

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 04/25/2023 - 12:33

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(photo by CRAFTSCI/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Our Community

Ecology & Environmental Biology

Faculty of Arts & Science

Genetics

With CRISPR-Cas9 technology – a specific and versatile gene editing technology that can be used to modify, delete or correct precise regions of DNA – humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations.

In an opinion paper published recently in the journal Trends in Genetics, University of Toronto evolutionary geneticist Asher Cutter says we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of this “genetic welding” before we put it into practice.

Asher Cutter

“The capability to do genetic welding has only taken off in the last few years, and much of the thinking about it has focused on what can happen in the near term,” says Cutter, a professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“Ethically, before humans apply this to natural populations, we need to start thinking about what the longer-term consequences might be on a time scale of hundreds or thousands of generations.”

In classical Mendelian genetics, genes have a 50-50 chance of getting passed from parent to offspring – but this isn’t always the case. In a natural phenomenon known as “genetic drive,” some genes are able to bias their own transmission so that they are much more likely to be inherited.

Genetic welding is the human-mediated version of this: introducing genes that have an unfair advantage when it comes to heritability in natural populations. Because these genes spread easily and rapidly through populations, they result in much faster evolutionary change than the usual slow plod that we see from natural and artificial selection.

In contrast to natural selection, genetic drives and genetic welding can perpetuate genes that don’t necessarily benefit the organisms that carry them – making them an attractive potential method to control problematic and invasive disease-bearing species.

For example, genetic welding has been proposed as a tool to control disease-bearing mosquito populations and invasive species. It could also be used to genetically engineer endangered species to be resistant to infectious pathogens that threaten them with extinction.

“It raises the question of how much should humans intervene into processes that are normally beyond our control,” Cutter says.

“If ethicists, medical practitioners and politicians decide that it is acceptable in some cases to edit the ‘germline’ of humans – the population of cells that pass on their genetic material to offspring – then that would open the possibility that genetic welding could be used as a tool in that regard. This would open a much bigger can of worms by virtue of the fact that genetic welding could change the entirety of a population or species – not just a few individuals that elected to have a procedure.”

Though it might be difficult to experimentally assess the long-term implications of genetic welding, Cutter says that thought experiments, mathematical theory, computer simulations and conversations with bioethicists could all play important roles, as could experiments in organisms with short lifespans and rapid reproduction.

Cutter’s research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

With files from Cell Press

Detailed map of matter in the cosmos confirms Einstein's theory of general relativity, astronomers say

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 15:45:24 +0000

Detailed map of matter in the cosmos confirms Einstein's theory of general relativity, astronomers say

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 04/11/2023 - 11:45

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A new map of the sky showing dark matter was made with observations from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope. The orange regions show where there is more mass; magenta where there is less (image by ACT Collaboration)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Breaking Research

Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Research & Innovation

Space

Researchers from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration have submitted a set of papers to the Astrophysical Journal featuring a groundbreaking new map of dark matter distributed across a quarter of the entire sky and extending deep into the cosmos.

The result confirms Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity – which predicts how massive structures grow and bend light – with a test that spans the 14-billion-year life of the universe.

“We have used the cosmic microwave background (CMB), the oldest light in the universe emitted soon after the Big Bang, to measure how dark matter – the invisible stuff that makes up the majority of the matter in the universe – is distributed on large scales,” says Adam Hincks, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope in the Chilean Andes (photo by Debra Kellner)

“The distribution agrees very well with theoretical predictions. It's a really satisfying result scientifically because it shows we have a robust understanding of how our universe grows and evolves. The fact that we can successfully explain how our cosmos works with this level of precision is amazing.”

In addition to Hincks, the international collaboration includes fellow �鶹��Ƶ astrophysicists Richard Bond from the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) and Renée Hložek from the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The �鶹��Ƶ team also includes post-doctoral researcher Yilun Guan (Dunlap Institute and David. A. Dunlap department), who played a leading role in pre-processing and calibrating the raw data of the telescope; post-doctoral researcher Zack Li (CITA) who worked on models of how different astronomical objects appear at our wavelengths that were heavily used to ensure that our results were not contaminated by other signals from the sky. Several students also participated.

“I started working on ACT as a graduate student in 2008 while at Oxford University, and am really excited to come full circle, supervising and working with talented students and post-doctoral researchers on ACT,” says Hložek.

“We saw the first detection of small-scale lensing from the ground with ACT in 2011 and now have a pristine measurement of these tiny deflections caused by the matter between us and this last scattering surface of the CMB. It is such a privilege to have worked with this data for almost 15 years and to do so with so many expert colleagues and the support of Canadian institutions like CIFAR and the Digital Research Alliance.”

Although dark matter makes up roughly 85 per cent of the matter in the universe and has shaped its evolution, it has remained hard to detect because it doesn’t interact with light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation. As far as astronomers know, dark matter only interacts with gravity.

To track it down, the more than 160 collaborators who have built and gathered data from ACT in the high Chilean Andes observed light emanating following the dawn of the universe’s formation – the Big Bang, when the universe was only 380,000 years old.

Cosmologists often refer to this diffuse light that fills our entire universe as a “baby picture of the universe.” The team tracked how the gravitational pull of large, massive structures – including those comprising dark matter – warps the CMB on its 14-billion-year journey to us, in the same way a magnifying glass bends light as it passes through the lens.

The measurements show that the “lumpiness” of the universe and the rate at which the cosmos is expanding after 14 billion years of evolution are just what you’d expect from our standard model of cosmology based on general relativity.

New insights into 'the crisis in cosmology'

The results also provide new insights into an ongoing debate referred to as “the crisis in cosmology.” The crisis stems from recent measurements that use a different background light – one emitted from stars in galaxies rather than the cosmic microwave background. These have produced results that suggest the dark matter was not lumpy enough under the standard model of cosmology and led to concerns that the model may be broken. However, the team’s latest results from ACT were able to precisely assess that the vast lumps seen in this image are the exact right size.

“This quite different path to the cosmological parameters from CMB science is spot-on with what we got with the Planck satellite – another collaboration with significant �鶹��Ƶ contribution – and with ACT. That the results are so accurate using this lensing method is amazing,” Bond says.

“It also feeds into a major set of much-debated cosmological topics that may indicate that inferences about the universe from CMB and other early time observations don’t agree with more nearby measures with different data sets.”

�鶹��Ƶ’s contribution to the ACT collaboration also included the expertise and enormous computing power to process a vast amount of raw data and turn them into maps of the sky. The Niagara supercomputer, located at the SciNet supercomputer centre at �鶹��Ƶ, was an essential resource for these results. SciNet is funded by the CFI under the auspices of Compute Canada, the Government of Ontario, the Ontario Research Fund–Research Excellence and �鶹��Ƶ.

ACT operated for 15 years before being decommissioned in September 2022. Further papers presenting results from the final set of observations are expected to be submitted soon and the Simons Observatory will conduct future observations at the same site with a new telescope slated to begin operations in 2024. This new instrument will be capable of mapping the sky almost ten times faster than ACT.

“In cosmology, as in all of science, having independent measurements that test the same theoretical model is really important,” says Hincks.

“Not only is our result at the forefront of sensitivity in using the Cosmic Microwave Background to probe the largest structures in the universe, it is complementary to measurements that look at different periods in the universe's history using different techniques. What we're finding is that the overall picture we have about the evolution of the cosmos is consistent. At the same time, our increasingly better measurements are allowing us to scrutinize the details of that picture when these different probes show apparent discrepancies.”

The research was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and a Canada Foundation for Innovation award.

With files from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope collaboration

�鶹��Ƶ prof to offer experimental course taught with AI tools like ChatGPT

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 18:36:36 +0000

�鶹��Ƶ prof to offer experimental course taught with AI tools like ChatGPT

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 04/10/2023 - 14:36

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Paolo Granata, associate professor and program coordinator in the Book & Media Studies program at St. Michael's College, has developed a new course that explores the ethics and impact of AI tools (supplied image)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Our Community

Experiential Learning

Academics

Artificial Intelligence

Faculty of Arts & Science

St. Michael's College

Technology

A new experimental University of Toronto course will be taught with artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The advanced fourth-year seminar, AI as a Classroom, will be offered in fall 2023 by the Faculty of Arts & Science as part of the book and media studies program at St. Michael’s College.

The seminar will address a variety of issues concerning artificial intelligence and its growing influence on society, including the ethics of AI and its impact on culture and media.

The course is the brainchild of Paolo Granata, an associate professor and program coordinator in the book and media studies program who has a history of engaging in experimental pedagogy.

During the pandemic, Granata – who is also the founder of the Media Ethics Lab and leads the Toronto School Initiative and the 3D Gutenberg Lab – used virtual reality technologies to foster experiential learning. He sees the new AI course as a way of expanding these explorations of new media and the learning space.

“This is an exciting opportunity for students to explore the cutting edge of AI and its potential for education,” Granata said.

The seminar will also engage with provocative questions about the role of the professor in the creation and curation of the learning experience – and in the potential of AI to enhance learning and promote proactive thought.

Using the most advanced technologies in the field, including generative AI and large language models – an AI system that uses a vast amount of training data to process and generate human-like language – the course will feature a customized version of ChatGPT that has been expressly trained on course research questions.

Throughout the course, students will develop skills in the use of artificial intelligence in order to develop cutting-edge critical analyses of AI from a variety of ethical, practical and philosophical perspectives.

Based on the late philosopher and �鶹��Ƶ professor Marshall McLuhan’s adage “the medium is the message,” the course will provide an innovative context through which to investigate the potential for AI to enhance human agency in previously unimaginable ways, Granata said.

“By experimenting with AI tools in the classroom, we hope to provide our students with a unique and enriching learning experience that will prepare them for the challenges of the 21st century, where AI literacy is key.”

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Researchers' model could help avert global helium supply crisis

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 13:59:39 +0000

Researchers' model could help avert global helium supply crisis

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 03/03/2023 - 08:59

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A tube of helium glows in the presence of a plasma ball (image courtesy of Oliver Warr, University of Ottawa; AEL AMS Laboratory)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Breaking Research

Faculty of Arts & Science

Research & Innovation

A new theoretical model developed by earth scientists at the University of Oxford, University of Toronto and Durham University may help alleviate a global supply shortage of helium – a naturally occurring gas critical for a wide range of medical, scientific and industrial applications, from cooling the magnets of MRI scanners to filling non-combustible balloons.

Barbara Sherwood Lollar (photo by Perry King)

In a study published Nature, lead author and Oxford post-doctoral researcher Anran Cheng and colleagues explain for the first time how helium-rich gas fields form just beneath Earth’s surface and could help in locating untapped reservoirs around the world. Cheng completed this research as part of her doctoral work at Oxford, supervised by study co-authors Chris Ballentine at Oxford and �鶹��Ƶ University researcher Barbara Sherwood Lollar.

“Helium is in critically short supply worldwide, and current production methods are associated with significant carbon emissions that are contributing to climate change,” says Sherwood Lollar, University Professor in the department of Earth sciences in �鶹��Ƶ’s Faculty of Arts & Science. “These results may enable the identification of alternative, carbon-free sources of helium that are accessible due to natural processes – and may lead us to new hydrogen sources, as well.”

Helium escapes from deep in Earth’s crust through bubbles of nitrogen gas diffusing from subsurface water. The process can take hundreds of millions of years, but when it happens these bubbles rise towards the surface due to helium’s buoyancy until they hit a rock type through which they can’t pass. According to the new model, the helium-rich gas bubbles then collect beneath the seal and can form a substantial gas field in the porous rock space beneath Earth’s surface.

By factoring in the presence of high concentrations of nitrogen gas – looking for nitrogen to find helium – the researchers for the first time used the model to determine the geological conditions necessary for the accumulation of nitrogen to become high enough to result in these helium-rich deposits. When the researchers applied the model to an example system – Williston Basin, a large sedimentary basin in North America – using expected nitrogen concentration values, the model predicted the observed nitrogen and helium proportions.

“This model provides a new perspective to help identify the environments that slow helium gases down enough to accumulate in commercial amounts,” says Cheng.

Helium is a US$6-billion market, with the gas being essential for the operation of MRI scanners, computer chips and fibre optic manufacture, as well as state-of-the-art nuclear and cryogenic applications. A current global shortage has pushed supplies nearly to a crisis point, with prices skyrocketing in recent years. The situation has been escalated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the new Amur gas-processing plant in Russia was to supply 35 per cent of the global helium demand.

In addition, almost all of today’s helium is a by-product of methane or carbon dioxide natural gas production. This carries a significant carbon footprint and hinders ambitions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions globally by 2050. In contrast, the naturally occurring nitrogen and helium-rich gases that were the focus of this study contain no methane or carbon dioxide, so tapping them does not release carbon emissions.

The model also suggests regions where large amounts of hydrogen gas may accumulate underground since the radioactivity that generates helium also splits water to form hydrogen.

“This new understanding of helium accumulation provides us with the critical start of a recipe to identify where significant amounts of geological hydrogen, as well as helium, might still be found,” says study co-author Jon Gluyas, professor at Durham University and executive director of the Durham Energy Institute.

With a global market of US$135 billion, hydrogen is used to create fertilizer and to produce many compounds essential for the food, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. Virtually all hydrogen gas is currently produced from coal and natural gas, and this alone accounts for 2.3 per cent of global carbon emissions. Hydrogen-rich underground deposits could provide an alternative carbon-free source.

“The amount of hydrogen generated by the continental crust over the last one billion years could power society’s energy needs for more than 100,000 years,” says Ballentine.

Sherwood Lollar adds, “Much of this hydrogen has escaped, been chemically reacted or used up by subsurface microbes – but we know from studying the gas in deep locations in the subsurface around the world that some of this hydrogen is indeed stored underground in significant quantities.”

The work was funded by the China Scholarship Council, the UKRI Oil and Gas DTP, the University of Oxford department of Earth sciences, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and CIFAR.

With files from the University of Oxford and Jon Gluyas.

Canadian researchers will have access to next-generation radio astronomy observatory

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 15:10:58 +0000

Canadian researchers will have access to next-generation radio astronomy observatory

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 01/27/2023 - 10:10

Cutline

A composite image of the future SKAO telescopes co-located in Australia and South Africa, blending what already exists on site with artists’ impressions (photo courtesy of SKAO)

Faculty of Arts & Science Staff

Topic

Global Lens

Leah Cowen

Astronomy & Astrophysics

Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Global

Research & Innovation

Space

Canada intends to proceed to full membership in the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), a next-generation radio astronomy observatory bringing together nations from around the world to build and operate cutting-edge radio telescopes.

SKAO will operate two telescopes – one in Australia and one in South Africa – with headquarters in the United Kingdom. The facility will enable discoveries that will advance our understanding of the universe, the fundamental laws of physics and the prospects for life on other planets. Membership in the SKAO will allow Canada to develop strong scientific, technical and industrial capabilities and collaborations well into the future.

The decision to proceed with full membership, announced this week by Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François‑Philippe Champagne, is expected to provide Canadian astronomers with a six per cent use-share of the SKAO and support establishing a domestic regional centre. The centre will provide direct connections to data collected with the SKA telescopes and science support to enable ground-breaking discoveries.

Bryan Gaensler

“This is tremendously exciting news,” says Bryan Gaensler, director of the University of Toronto’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Faculty of Arts & Science and former science director of the Canadian Square Kilometre Array, a global radio observatory. “Canadian membership in the SKAO was one of the marquee priorities in the Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan for 2020-2030. Membership will open new opportunities for University of Toronto leadership at an international scale.”

With full membership, �鶹��Ƶ envisages significant involvement in a Canadian SKA Regional Centre as part of its recently established Data Sciences Institute.

“The SKAO is a key part of �鶹��Ƶ’s Strategic Research Plan for 2018 - 2023 and an important institutional priority,” says Leah Cowen, �鶹��Ƶ’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “It is a brilliant example of a high-impact, interdisciplinary research collaboration that is a reflection of our incredible research community.”

�鶹��Ƶ also leads the $10-million Canadian Initiative for Radio Astronomy Data Analysis (CIRADA), a consortium of six Canadian universities, the National Research Council Canada and many international partners, whose goal is to establish Canadian capability for processing, archiving and sharing the enormous scientific data sets anticipated for the SKA.

“I’m thrilled to congratulate everyone at �鶹��Ƶ for their work over many years in bringing us to this historic commitment,” says Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “It’s rewarding to know that the SKAO involves researchers from five Arts & Science units: the Dunlap Institute, the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, the Department of Physics and the Department of Statistical Sciences.”

The initial phase of the SKAO consists of 197 radio dishes located in South Africa and 131,072 antennas located in Australia. Construction on Phase 1 began in June 2021 and is expected to be completed by 2029.

Canada was one of six founding members of the initial SKAO consortium in 2000 and has maintained substantial involvement and engagement in the SKAO project to date. Canadian astronomers are playing leading roles in designing marquee SKA science programs – including tests of gravity, low-frequency cosmology, cosmic magnetism, dark energy and detecting transient systems. They have multi-wavelength expertise in galaxy evolution, multi-messenger astronomy and planetary system formation.

“Canada's commitment to the SKA secures our position at the forefront of astrophysics for the next few decades. Everybody at �鶹��Ƶ that has the slightest interest in astronomy should prepare to get absolutely blown away by what the SKA is going to find,” says Roberto Abraham, chair of the David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics. “And what makes it extra exciting is that �鶹��Ƶ's leadership in the national consortium means that many of the most amazing discoveries will get made right here. What an exciting time to be an astronomer. To all the young people just getting into the subject: Hold on to your hats – it's going to be a wild ride!”

As well as working on many aspects of the SKA project itself, Canadian astronomers are developing a variety of new facilities and experiments aimed at testing the technology needed for the SKAO. Foremost amongst these is the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) of which �鶹��Ƶ is a member. CHIME is a unique radio telescope that can detect fast radio bursts and is making a three-dimensional map of the dark energy that is accelerating the expansion of the universe.

The NRC points out that for the SKAO, respecting Indigenous cultures and the local populations has been a key consideration from the start: “These core principles are fully aligned with the priorities of the Canadian astronomical community as expressed in the Canadian Astronomy Long Range Plan 2020-2030.”