��ݮ��Ƶ News - Research

Champions of change

Bernice Ma — Tue, 13 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Meet six world-class researchers, alumni and students who are applying boundary-breaking approaches to redefine sports, recreation and tourism

Dr. Michelle Rutty

As Canadians contend with climate-induced environmental changes like wildfires, flooding and melting glaciers, Dr. Michelle Rutty (MES ’10, PhD ’14) has been exploring the relationship between environmental changes and the global tourism sector.

Her research is among the first to use the power of virtual reality (VR) technologies to provide immersive, realistic experiences that enable communities to better understand their current and future climatic risks.

As director of the deTOUR Lab, Rutty supports the use of VR environments where users experience a destination before or after climate-related disasters impact it. “We’ve developed VR environments for ski resorts and golf courses that are experiencing record warm conditions and drought and are currently working on a VR simulation of glacial retreat in Jasper National Park,” Rutty said.

Recognizing that visual content is more persuasive than textual narratives for shifting emotional values, Rutty leverages VR as a public engagement tool to promote dialogue around climate-induced environmental change. “Visual media can both simplify the complexity of climate science while eliciting emotional responses,” she explained.

Rutty is committed to methodological innovation that accelerates environmental action in the tourism sector. Her scholarship has been recognized for research excellence with awards from around the world.

Greg Mittler

When a group of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) students pitched the idea of introducing video games and esports at ��ݮ��Ƶ back in 2018, few imagined it would grow to be the largest network of its kind in Canada.

Under the leadership of Greg Mittler (BA ’14), the first full-time esports coordinator at a Canadian university, the program has grown to approximately 60 esports athletes who compete in several collegiate-level titles across North America.

Intent on making space for inclusivity in the sports world, Mittler shared that the initiative is also one of the first to have a marginalized genders team.

“We’re expanding into the community at large, focusing on more comprehensive goals with the ��ݮ��Ƶ Region Esports Commission and the University’s Interdisciplinary Network for Esports. Our ambition is to grow to be a significant influence in the country,” he said.

Last year, in collaboration with Conestoga College, Mittler and his team hosted WaterLAN — an esports tournament — where 16 schools came to the region to compete. The two-day event generated more than $75,000 in economic impact.

In 2024, Mittler’s team more than doubled those numbers, with help from approximately 50 student staff and volunteers that organized programming for thousands of students.

Christina Sullivan

During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Christina Sullivan (BASc ’23) was introduced to the world of Formula 1 (F1) by her sister Veronica through the Netflix series Drive to Survive, and was instantly captivated by the sport. When her co-op term was cancelled due to the pandemic, Sullivan channelled her new passion into an academic project on F1 cars.

Shortly after, when her social media algorithm pushed an ad for an industrial placement at Williams Racing in the U.K., she applied and was thrilled to secure a one-year contract.

Today, as a full-time wind tunnel systems engineer with the company, Sullivan’s work ranges from designing and fabricating printed circuit boards and electrical harnesses to developing data acquisition systems and ensuring wind tunnel data accuracy.

“My main responsibility is the development and maintenance of our F1 wind tunnel model. All the aerodynamic developments that are seen on the car during races are first seen on this model in the wind tunnel,” she added.

Sullivan’s proudest achievement is leading the electrical design of the new wind tunnel model that Williams will test for the 2026 F1 season. She says that working with many multidisciplinary teams on bespoke systems and innovative control networks was an extremely rewarding experience.

Dr. Daniel Scott

The future of tourism and sports events like the Olympics are highly influenced by global change. That’s why Dr. Daniel Scott’s (MA ’93) research focuses on the transition of the tourism sector to a low-carbon economy and its adaptation to the complex impacts of a changing climate.

In a recent study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee to increase understanding of potential host cities in a warmer world, Scott’s research revealed that only 52 of 93 potential Olympic Winter Games host locations will remain climate-reliable by the 2050s and just 46 by the 2080s.

The outlook is more troubling for the Paralympic Winter Games, with only 22 climate-reliable sites by the 2050s and 16 by the 2080s. “Climate change is altering the geography of winter sports and is a growing threat to the cultural legacy of the Olympic Winter Games,” Scott said.

Still, believing that tourism can be a global force for good, he is committed to advancing global tourism that is compatible with planetary boundaries. As a leading scholar in the field, Scott’s research has been cited in more than 550 policy documents in more than 30 countries and by multiple international government organizations.

Haley Baxter

With her mom as her soccer coach and her dad a strong advocate for women’s sports, Haley Baxter’s (PhD in progress) research on women in volunteer sport coaching was greatly influenced by her parents.

Recognizing that there is little research in this field, her work aims to fill the gap. “My research looks at how to create and support pathways for young girls to become volunteer coaches,” Baxter explained.

Through meaningful engagement with club leaders, coaches and youth, her research highlights the lack of specific targets, strategies and gender-based initiatives for recruiting women and girls to coach.

Noting that club leaders recognize the need for intentional recruitment, she found they also feel unsupported by sports governing bodies, most of which prioritize high-performance coaching instead.

Baxter’s findings underscore the need for targeted recruitment strategies and better support systems to engage women and girls in volunteer coaching roles. She hopes her research helps the sport system recognize the importance of supporting gender-based initiatives at the community level of sport.

Dr. Kristine Dalton

Dr. Kristine Dalton (OD ’07, MSc ’10) is a distinguished leader in sports vision and concussion rehabilitation, with a remarkable track record in Paralympic winter sports.

In 2014, she founded the Sports Vision Clinic at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ to help athletes improve their performance. After seeing many athletes with vision problems after a concussion, Dalton teamed up with Dr. Tammy Labreche to launch a specialized service focused on treating patients with various brain injuries.

“Our team works collaboratively with physicians, optometrists, physiotherapists, athletic therapists and other health-care providers in the community to support the multidisciplinary care patients with brain injury need in their recoveries,” she said.

In 2015, Dalton pioneered a research project that focused on understanding how athletes use their vision to ski. Her research revolutionized classification rules for Para Alpine and Para Nordic skiing, ensuring fair competition for athletes with vision impairments.

In collaboration with the International Paralympic Committee, World Para Snow Sports and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, the groundbreaking work has expanded global eligibility for these sports.

Co-op and Experiential Education

Magazine

Research

Unlocking the mysteries of the universe

Bernice Ma — Tue, 13 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Using a global network of telescopes, ��ݮ��Ƶ researchers are bringing black holes into view for the very first time

When a group of 14 scientists came together in 2014 to discuss a collaboration, Dr. Avery Broderick knew it was the start of something exciting. What he didn’t know was that in just a few years, releasing the first-ever photos of a black hole would place them at the centre of a global phenomenon. 

Dr. Avery Broderick
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy

"I don’t think any of us knew exactly what would come from establishing the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration but looking around the room, I think we all knew we could achieve amazing things together that we couldn’t do alone,” said Broderick, a professor of physics and astronomy.

"It was also an exciting day for ��ݮ��Ƶ because we played a big role in getting everyone together to make it all happen.”

When the EHT released images of the black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy in 2019, they appeared on the front page of every major newspaper, and the world was captivated. In March 2024, new images showing the polarization of light in another black hole named Sagittarius A star (also known as Sgr A*) were shared and the world was drawn back in. 

Left: Black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy in 2019. Right: Black hole named Sagittarius A star (also known as Sgr A*) in 2024.

But what is it about black holes that captivates us? Simply put, they are one of the great mysteries of the universe – and everyone loves a great mystery.  

When Steven Hawking discovered that black holes could radiate, it highlighted a problem between the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Although general relativity works well for big things and quantum mechanics works well for small things, combining them has stumped scientists for decades. Understanding the fundamental disagreement between these two theories is critical to explaining what’s happening at the singularity at the heart of a black hole.  

The quest to solve this mystery has led to many modern theoretical physics developments in the past 100 years and is one of the reasons the EHT was created.  

“Our job is to find those observational clues that will tell us where to look for the loose threads that will reveal a grand tapestry of what comes next,” Broderick said. “We’re looking for the theory that unifies our expectations from general relativity and quantum mechanics. That’s what excites me about what I do.” 

Over the past 10 years, Broderick and the ��ݮ��Ƶ team have been a part of many exciting discoveries through their integral role in the EHT, largely as the theoretical physicists examining and analyzing data from all over the world. As Broderick says, ��ݮ��Ƶ is punching above its weight when it comes to its role in the collaboration. 

“��ݮ��Ƶ is the only Canadian partner institution with a formal role in the collaboration and we have a large footprint across the project,” Broderick said. “Many graduate and postdoctoral scholars from our team have gone on to have leadership roles within the larger EHT group. It shows the breadth of talent that has come out of ��ݮ��Ƶ and how important we are to the continued success of the collaboration.” 

Watch video on YouTube

As the EHT continues to grow, more affiliated organizations are joining to expand their reach. There are currently 11 telescopes involved with EHT, but they hope to grow it to 20 in the next decade.  

“Once we get to 20 telescopes, we will be able to produce exquisite images of M87 that will trace out the bottom 1,000M of the jet, basically tracing out a region that’s 100 times bigger than the field of view we’ve seen,” Broderick said. “We’ll be able to see a much larger view and span the distance between the event horizon [the boundary that marks the point of no return of a black hole] and the stars. This will enable us to test gravity from the event horizon of a black hole out to the stars.” 

As the group grows, so will the impact. “In this golden age of black hole research, we hope to nail down the general relativity side and identify where we cannot explore theoretically because we can already refute it,” Broderick explained. “Or maybe we’ll find something unexpected that points us in the direction that's going to resolve this problem. The possibilities are immense, but it is a problem we know the world needs answers to.” 

Science

Magazine

Research

Reshaping bone repair with 3D printing

Bernice Ma — Tue, 13 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

��ݮ��Ƶ researchers design 3D-printed bone grafts that promise safer, more effective treatments for patients

What if surgeons could replace damaged bone with a solution tailor-made to each patient?

That’s the question researchers at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ are seeking to answer as they develop a material that mimics the behaviour of human bone and is capable of being 3D printed with a high degree of accuracy.

Identifying a solution

Dr. Thomas Willett
Professor, Faculty of Engineering

Lead researcher Dr. Thomas Willett, from the Department of Systems Design Engineering, was influenced by his experiences working with orthopaedic surgeons at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

“I learned that the methods being used, though successful, were extremely complicated and required a lot of skill,” Willett said. “I thought we could do something with engineering, using 3D printing to produce a bone graft.”

Many surgical procedures require bones to be repaired and replaced. This is typically done using metal implants and donated tissue that acts as a framework for new bone growth. Doctors try to match available donated bones with the patient, but it can be hard to find an exact fit.

A material that is suitable for grafting but also 3D printable would enable surgeons to precisely match the geometry of the bone being replaced. This would make the process much easier and safer, with less likelihood of rejection or infection. “3D printing would also allow us to add engineered features that can hold the graft in place,” Willett said. “This would remove the need for the metal screws and plates that surgeons would normally use.

“We could have a material that you can fully customize to a patient, and that will have a big impact on the success of bone grafts and surgical outcomes.”

— Elizabeth Diederichs (PhD in progress)

Crafting a new material

Backed by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Willett and his collaborator Dr. Maud Gorbet, director of the Biomedical Engineering program, set out to make this material a reality.

The research group also benefited from the contributions of young researchers including Dr. Dibakar Mondal, Dr. Sanaz Saadatmand Hashemi and Elizabeth Diederichs (PhD in progress), who continues to work with Willett.

At the core of their work is a new nanocomposite material. It combines a triglyceride that is similar to fat with a nanoscale particle called hydroxyapatite.

Dr. Maud Gorbet
Professor, Faculty of Engineering

“The hydroxyapatite particles play a few roles,” Willett explained. “They provide mechanical reinforcement, making the material stiffer and stronger. They also create a favourable surface for the material to combine with bone cells.”

As the body repairs itself, the unique properties of this material allow new bone tissue to interact with and gradually replace the graft. A 2024 study published in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research confirmed that materials containing nanoscale hydroxyapatite particles are a viable potential alternative for grafting.

Optimizing for the future

Elizabeth Diederichs (MASc ’23)
Current PhD student

The researchers are now focused on refining their material to function both in the human body and through the 3D-printing process. “The challenge now is optimization,” Diederichs explained. “It’s a balancing act between all the different qualities we need.”

Diederichs’s work focuses on getting the material to be durable enough to withstand the pressures of the human body, while also being capable of slowly degrading to allow for new bone growth.

The team wants the material to be compatible with the highest accuracy 3D printers available, ensuring that grafts are precisely fitted to each patient.

“We can take CT scans and use computer-aided design to develop a model for the piece of bone that needs to be printed,” Willett said. “We could use this process for any bone that has lost a large piece or has complex geometry.” Printed bone grafts could also have applications for pets, reducing the need for amputations that impact quality of life.

Watch video on YouTube

This painstaking work has the potential to transform skeletal repair and reconstructive surgery by dramatically improving patient outcomes.

“I think it’s very exciting,” Diederichs said. “We could have a material that you can fully customize to a patient, and that will have a big impact on the success of bone grafts and surgical outcomes.”

Engineering

Magazine

Research

Statistical insights that can save lives

Bernice Ma — Tue, 13 May 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Shu (Joy) Jiang is designing a modelling tool to help patients better understand their breast cancer risk

Dr. Shu (Joy) Jiang (PhD ’18) first developed her unique approach to medical research as a PhD student at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ.  

Dr. Shu (Joy) Jiang (PhD ’18)
Professor, Washington University School of Medicine

“The real lightbulb moment was when statistics stopped being theory, and I realized that I could actually apply these models in the real world to help people,” Jiang said.  

Today, Jiang is an associate professor in the Division of Public Health at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, where she’s developing tools to help women screen for breast cancer before it’s life-threatening. The work earned her recognition as one of Forbes’s 30 under 30 in health care in 2023 — and it all connects to the biostatistics research she did as a ��ݮ��Ƶ student.  

With her mentor, Dr. Richard Cook, research chair in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Jiang collaborated with scientists from the University of Toronto’s Psoriatic Arthritis Clinic and used statistical methods to analyze patient data to understand the progression of the disease better. “When it comes to statistics, you can build the best model there is, but if you’re not building a bridge between theory and real-world applications, then it’s not very meaningful,” she said.  

That interdisciplinary experience also impressed upon Jiang the vital importance of improving patient access to information and tools. “We’re in an era right now where there are a lot of systemic disparities in the medical system, especially in the United States: between people of different races and ethnicities, between people who do or don’t have health insurance, and between people who live in rural versus urban areas.”

Those disparities are only exacerbated by the erosion of people’s trust in the medical establishment.

“The real lightbulb moment was when statistics stopped being theory, and I realized that I could actually apply these models in the real world to help people.”

— Shu (Joy) Jiang (PhD ’18)

That’s why Jiang is collaborating with her colleague, Dr. Graham Colditz, on a startup that will directly put the tools to understand breast cancer risk into patients’ hands. “We’re trying to inform women about their five-year breast cancer risk so that actions can be taken based on recommendations from the national guidelines for patients and their providers – such as getting MRIs or ultrasounds — based on a mammogram.”  

“��ݮ��Ƶ has this great culture of combining research with industry,” Jiang said. “My time there helped me realize that, for this tool to get into clinics — for women to be using this — it has to be out there, in the market.”  

Their research is based in part on work concerning breast density and cancer risk co-authored by Jiang, which landed her in The New York Times last year. The research analyzes breast density data gathered from 10,000 women over a 10-year period and suggests that women who would go on to develop breast cancer had a much slower decline in breast density than women who remained cancer-free.  

Since the publication of that research, Jiang and her team have worked on validating their model, applying it to different populations around the United States and in British Columbia to see whether it reflects larger trends. That validation process — which has included large populations of Black, Asian, Indigenous and white women — seems to demonstrate that their estimated five-year breast cancer risk is robust regardless of race and ethnicity.  

Still, Jiang says, convincing women to prioritize their breast health remains a challenge. Even in British Columbia, where the provincial government covers routine breast cancer screening, only about 60 per cent of women go in for their scheduled mammograms.  

Jiang has a personal stake in improving those numbers: a close friend and colleague at ��ݮ��Ƶ died of breast cancer at a young age.  

“One out of eight women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime,” Jiang said. “This is a disease that touches everyone.” 

Math

Magazine

Research

Clear waters, hidden toxins

Pamela Smyth — Mon, 12 May 2025 20:24:58 +0000

Study warns that viruses that kill toxic algae may actually increase risks for people and ecosystems

New laboratory research shows that when viruses attack a species that forms toxic algal blooms, those thick, blue-green slicks that choke waterways and that threaten ecosystems, drinking water, and public health, what results might be even worse than before the infection. The finding questions the long-held theory among scientists that the viruses help regulate the negative effects of these blooms.

A team of environmental microbiologists led by Dr. Jozef Nissimov, a professor at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, has shown for the first time experimentally that when viruses infect and kill Microcystis aeruginosa, a common species responsible for harmful algal blooms (HABs), they cause the release of high levels of the toxin microcystin-LR into the water from the infected cells. 

The microcystin-LR toxin, a known liver toxin, remained in the water at levels roughly 40 times higher than the recommended concentration for recreational waters for several days after the infected cells died, even when the water itself appeared clear. This finding is significant because water clarity is often a prime visual cue to trigger additional testing, which can ultimately determine the safety of water for drinking and recreational use. 

“Our research shows us that the relationship between viruses and toxic algae is more complicated than we thought,” Nissimov said. “We need to better understand these interactions before we can consider viruses as something that acts as a natural HAB-control strategy.

Victoria Lee, undergraduate student and first author, sampling virus-infected and non-infected cyanobacterial cells during the experiments for assessing concentrations of the microcystin-LR toxin. (University of ��ݮ��Ƶ)

Habs are a global concern. Depending on the type of species responsible for a bloom, exposure may result in skin rashes, stomach upset, liver damage and neurological problems. Pets and livestock can also develop health issues from exposure to contaminated water. In Canada, microcystins are the only algal toxins with national guidelines for water used for drinking and recreational activities, making this discovery particularly urgent for regulators and decision-makers. 

HABs can result in so-called dead zones, where oxygen in the water is depleted, posing a survival risk to fish and other aquatic organisms. Beyond these immediate effects, HABs often force the closure of beaches, fisheries, and nearshore recreational areas. In the Great Lakes, HABs caused by M. aeruginosa occur annually, with the most frequent and severe ones occurring in western Lake Erie.

The work opens the door to further studies, including investigating how climate change might influence the dynamics between viruses, algae, and toxin release. Temperature and nutrient pollution are key factors in making HABs more frequent and widespread globally. Another area for future exploration is how microcystin-LR and other HAB toxins get metabolised and reduced by other organisms in the environment, and how the virus infection that triggers their excess release from the infected cells can be countered.  

The researchers say their findings could support better forecasting and mitigation strategies for HABs, ultimately helping governments, municipalities, and water agencies make more informed, evidence-based decisions. 

"Viruses likely still have a very important role to play in controlling harmful blooms, but we need to ask the right questions, starting with whether the benefits of viral infection in our bodies of water outweigh its potential detrimental effects,” Nissimov said.

The study, Virus Infection of a Freshwater Cyanobacterium Contributes Significantly to the Release of Toxins Through Cell Lysis, was recently published in Microorganisms.

Photo credit for banner image: Dr. Steven Wilhelm/University of Tennessee

Expanding co-op options to benefit all

Elizabeth Rogers — Wed, 07 May 2025 19:58:00 +0000

Co-op for Social Good helps both students and community organizations thrive

If you’re a student with an eye on a career in the not-for profit sector, co-op job searches can sometimes feel a little challenging. A food bank, museum or community services centre might not have funds to hire a co-op student. At the same time, they could really use the extra energy and fresh ideas that a ��ݮ��Ƶ Arts student brings — and so many Arts students are driven by a passion to do good work. How to bring them together?

That’s where the Co-op for Social Good fund comes in. Donations big and small help support co-op positions in organizations with a mandate to benefit society. This way, donors to the fund double the benefit: not-for-profit organizations can hire co-op students to help them do great work for their cause, and Arts students get hands-on experience in the career of their dreams.

Help from an alum who’s been there

Raquel Paredes (Honours Arts and Business) was in her final co-op term search when she came across a listing from STEPS Public Art. It’s a Toronto-based charity and social enterprise that facilitates public art projects across Canada. “In my past co-op searches, I have wished more opportunities were in the Arts field,” she says. “So when I saw the posting to work at STEPS, I thought it would be amazing to use my marketing and communications skills for a public art organization.”

There was a ��ݮ��Ƶ connection on the other side of that posting, as well. Grace Lai is STEPS’s communications manager and a Global Business and Digital Arts graduate (2016). “I know how meaningful co-op experiences are for academic growth and career development,” she says. ��ݮ��Ƶ’s co-op team reached out to let Lai know about the grant last January, inviting STEPS to apply.

Building a not-for-profit skill set

With just nine employees working on projects nationwide, STEPS is small but mighty—and it’s hopping in the summer season. Among other things, STEPS connects artists with developers to decorate construction hoardings, assists cities developing cultural plans and programs, and helps BIAs build all kinds of community art projects, from murals to light installations to one very artistic mini-putt course. “I was never aware of the massive community that existed for public art!” says Raquel. As Communications Assistant, Raquel pitched in with social media and email marketing campaigns, digital storytelling, and other promotional activities throughout the summer. Grace praises her strong writing and creativity.

Work that feeds the community and the heart

Raquel says she learned how important it is to really love your work at a not-for-profit. “You have to be passionate about what you are doing because that shows through all you do,” she says, “whether it be interacting with followers on social media or hosting events for local communities.” One of her favourite parts of the job involved hearing directly from the artists themselves, as a contributor to the artist newsletter. “I could see the impact the organization was making on these artists. It is extremely fulfilling to know that your efforts are being put towards something meaningful, something that brings others and communities joy and support.”

From STEPS’s perspective, there’s meaning in helping the next generation of arts grads: “Having a co-op student is great because not only is the co-op student contributing to the organization through their day-to-day tasks and projects,” Grace adds, “it also feels rewarding to be able to provide a valuable learning experience for the student.”

That good feeling makes all the difference for co-op students who find work that feeds their passion for a cause. Raquel is particularly appreciative of the donors who make the Co-op for Social Good possible. “I’ve searched for a co-op position like this one since my very first co-op job search back in 2021,” she says. “I am very grateful that these opportunities are being given to Arts students so that they can gain job experience while being in a sector they love and giving back to communities.”

Banner image: Comm(uniti) in Bloom (2024) by Fuelled by Coffee Collective (Photo Credit: Stories at the Table)

On May 15, the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ will launch our first Giving Day. This event encourages you to support the ��ݮ��Ƶ initiatives you care most about — like helping young people achieve their educational dreams — and connect with other donors to increase the impact of your gift. Join us on Giving Day and help ��ݮ��Ƶ build a better tomorrow.

Oh, the places you’ll go!

Elizabeth Rogers — Wed, 07 May 2025 19:29:13 +0000

For Arts grad students, professional development means travel - and the Connect 4 Success fund can help

At the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, academic research crosses boundaries – disciplinary, but also international. For Psychology PhD candidate Jasmine Zhang’s research with the FamilyPsycle Lab on digital media effects on the well-being of children, caregivers, and families, she collaborates with scholars at the Centre of Excellence in Responsible Gaming at the University of Gibraltar.

So when Jasmine’s advisor emailed her about a summer school opportunity at the University of Gibraltar last year, she jumped at it – not only for the education, but also for the chance to finally meet her teammates.

There was just the little matter of the plane ticket: “Traveling to Europe is not a cheap process, especially with the conversion rates!” Jasmine points out.

The cost of planes, trains and automobiles

Opportunities – and expenses – like this are the reason ��ݮ��Ƶ Arts established the Connect 4 Success fund. For almost all graduate students, travel is essential to academic success: presenting papers, building professional networks, and conducting original research so often means hopping on a plane or a train. The Connect 4 Success Fund helps grad students bridge the financial gap at a point in their careers when a ticket to ride can be both critical to their progress and an out-of-reach expense.

For Jasmine, the University of Gibraltar’s Publishing in Addiction Science PhD Summer School, a five-day program to learn best practices in preparing papers for publication in the field, brought a wealth of enrichment: new skills and information, experience with world-renowned researchers, and a chance to network face-to-face with her peers. When she and her teammates finally had the chance to meet in person, new research ideas started brewing. “We’re hoping to put a few papers together,” she says.

Back at ��ݮ��Ƶ, Jasmine’s been sharing the knowledge she gathered abroad: “I’ve been able to pass down some of that information to undergrads I supervise: guidelines to follow, what editors expect to see, what to look out for when selecting a journal, those kinds of things.” With one year left plus residency to complete her PhD in clinical psychology, she’s looking ahead to professional life: “I’m hoping for a position that balances research and clinical work – so I can keep doing research, but keep working with children and caregivers and families.”

Jasmine wants donors to know they make all the difference to students like her. “These sorts of experiences are extremely enriching. The support makes such an impact. Being able to go to these kinds of workshops and conferences – it’s such a unique way to develop professionally that we aren’t necessarily going to get elsewhere. Every penny helps and it’s all being used for good work that will benefit society more broadly.”

From action movies to urban planning

Brian Caldwell — Tue, 06 May 2025 18:21:42 +0000

Researchers develop automated system to generate 3D computer models of buildings, cities

A research team led by ��ݮ��Ƶ Engineering has developed a faster, cheaper way to create large-scale, three-dimensional (3D) computer models of urban areas, technology that could impact fields including urban planning, architectural design and filmmaking.

The system can generate 3D models of entire cities using only 2D aerial photographs, automating a time-consuming manual process that previously required specially trained 3D artists and computer graphics programs.

“Think about all the time and labour involved in manually creating a digital 3D model of New York City for a new Spiderman movie,” said Kyle Gao, a PhD student in systems design engineering.

“With our system, it can be done using a few hundred aerial images – satellite images from Google Earth, for example – to train the model for a couple of hours in an automated process.”

Engineering doctoral student Kyle Gao (l) is supervised by Dr. Jonathan Li.

The technology is built upon a method known as Gaussian Splatting, which uses millions of tiny ellipsoids, each with their own colour and lighting detail, to automatically create 3D digital assets out of 2D aerial photographs.

“In the same way the human body is made up of tiny atoms, large-scale 3D objects are built from small 3D geometric ellipsoids,” said Gao. “Or you can imagine blobs of ink getting ‘splatted’ onto a 2D image.”

The technology is particularly well-suited to the production of computer-generated images and computer-generated graphics, including fast, photographic-quality images of urban environments.

Gao said an urban planner could use it to create 3D digital models of a neighbourhood to help study a development proposal or generate impressive fly-through video of the area to give residents at a public meeting an immersive look at the plan.

Researchers developed technology to create 3D computer models using only 2D aerial photographs.

Architects could use the technology to visualize and obtain measurements of buildings near a new project without leaving their desks or create a 3D model of an existing building as the starting point for design work.

The multidisciplinary research team, which included members from the engineering and environment faculties at the University ��ݮ��Ƶ, and Jimei University in China, is now considering commercialization possibilities and exploring the addition of data analysis capabilities to the system using geospatial artificial intelligence (AI).

“We are examining areas including traffic analysis, solar potential and electricity cost analysis, air quality analysis and weather forecasting,” Gao said. “We’re eager to find out what this can and can’t do.”

Gao is supervised by Dr. Jonathan Li, a cross-appointed professor of systems design engineering, and geography and environmental management, and the director of the Geospatial Intelligence and Mapping (GIM) Lab at ��ݮ��Ƶ.

A paper on the research, Enhanced 3D Scene Reconstruction and Point Cloud Densification using Gaussian Splatting and Google Earth Imagery, appeared in IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

Engineering

Environment

Research

Making virtual reality more accessible

Ryon Jones — Mon, 05 May 2025 20:37:42 +0000

New tool helps people with limited mobility play VR games like Beat Saber

A team of researchers from the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ have created a method that makes virtual reality (VR) more accessible to people with mobility limitations.

VR games like Beat Saber and Space Pirate Trainer usually require large and dramatic movements, such as raising one’s arms above the head or quickly side-stepping, which can be difficult or impossible for people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility. To decrease these barriers, the researchers created MotionBlocks, a tool that lets users customize the game’s controls to fit the movements they can do.

Diagram of motion primitives, geometric representations of movements in VR applications. (University of ��ݮ��Ƶ)

“VR games are a lot of fun, and they’re important social spaces, especially for younger generations,” said Johann Wentzel, a recent PhD graduate in Computer Science and the lead author of the research.

“However, VR technology relies on a lot of large movements, which creates a barrier for people who can’t complete them. As soon as you have an application that isn’t accessible to everyone, you’re functionally excluding people with disabilities from these social spaces.”

The team’s research took place over three phases. First, they invited 10 people with limited mobility to play games, share their frustrations and discuss possible solutions. The ��ݮ��Ƶ team then used those testimonials to create MotionBlocks, which modifies how VR game platforms understand controller inputs.

Pictures of control-space motion primitives: (a) Point primitives for 2D wrist rotation; (b) Plane primitives for 2D translation across the lap; (c) Sphere primitives for small 3D head and hand movements; (d) Right-hand sphere primitive mapped to a transfer-space primitive. (University of ��ݮ��Ƶ)

“It’s a bit like how traditional video games allow you to remap your controls, but our method is much more customizable and works in 3D space,” said Dr. Daniel Vogel, professor at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at ��ݮ��Ƶ.

“You pick a simple shape and tune it so it captures the kind of movements you can make, like a small circular range of motion on a desk. Then, you configure the kind of 3D movement needed in the VR application, like big hemispherical arm swings for BeatSaber. MotionBlocks figures out how to translate your movements to the ones prescribed by the game.”

Finally, the researchers tested MotionBlocks in collaboration with eight of the study’s participants. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with users reporting greater enjoyment, less fatigue, and a feeling that something was finally designed for people with disabilities.

The researchers have no current plans to sell or release MotionBlocks. Instead, they hope it will serve as a proof-of-concept for the VR industry. “I’d like to see a motion accessibility feature like this integrated into every VR system on the market,” Wentzel said. “Everyone deserves to be able to access VR in a way that works for their needs.”

The research, “MotionBlocks: Modular Geometric Motion Remapping for More Accessible Upper Body Movement in Virtual Reality,” was presented at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, held in Japan from April 26 to May 1, 2025.

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New partnership empowers AI innovation and operational excellence

Melodie Roschman — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:49:29 +0000

BASF and the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ are uniting their expertise to develop advanced AI systems that deliver real-time insights for business users

Chemical company BASF and the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ’s Data and Artificial Intelligence Institute (��ݮ��Ƶ.AI) are joining forces to advance AI applications through a collaborative research agreement that will run from 2025 to 2028. This partnership is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and develop advanced AI systems to drive operational excellence, enhance customer value, and streamline processes.

As part of BASF’s commitment to harnessing value and unlocking new potential through AI innovation, the partnership will leverage novel root cause analysis, forecasting, and optimization methodologies and integrate advanced graph structures and language and data models to deliver granular, real-time insights in complex situations. Through these innovative solutions, BASF and the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ will aim to empower business users with tools for analyzing and optimizing intricate structures and combine ease of use with transparency to maximize adoption and business impact.

“At BASF, we’ve been on a decade-long journey of AI innovation, and this collaboration with the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ is our next step forward. By applying advanced methodologies, we can better equip our teams with the tools needed to optimize complex global value networks,” said Jürgen Müller, global head of AI Innovation Center at BASF. “However, innovation thrives on collaboration, and partnering with university leaders, like the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ, underscores our commitment to operational excellence and a future powered by AI.”

The BASF AI Innovation Center is the key hub for technological advancement, strategically harnessing cutting-edge AI solutions to meet diverse business challenges while igniting future innovation. Designed to be BASF's dedicated innovation arm for AI, the center fosters a collaborative environment that spans various functions and product lines and partners with leading industry and research players like the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ to enhance research and development efforts.

“As one of Canada’s most innovative universities, we are pleased to partner with leaders like BASF to support the development of advanced AI systems,” said Dr. Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor at the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ. “Collaborating with industry provides both our students and researchers with an opportunity to unlock innovative solutions that will impact the world for the better.”

Through this partnership, BASF and the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ will contribute to reinforcing Canada’s position as a hub for digital innovation, leverage local funding opportunities, and provide research opportunities for post-doctoral fellows and graduate and undergraduate students at ��ݮ��Ƶ.AI. This will advance AI research while learning directly about industry applications spanning production, engineering, R&D, and management.

“With BASF’s support, we are excited to advance research in cutting-edge areas such as large language models, natural language processing, AI-driven optimization, and supply chain management,” said Dr. Stephen L. Smith, co-director of ��ݮ��Ƶ.AI. “This collaboration presents a unique opportunity to make fundamental advances in these fields and to work closely with BASF to integrate these technologies into AI systems that will transform their operations.”

BASF Canada, headquartered in Mississauga, is a subsidiary of BASF SE and an affiliate of BASF Corporation in North America. BASF has approximately over 1,100 employees in Canada and had sales of $2.6 billion in 2024. For more information about BASF Canada’s operations, visit their website.

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