News

Researchers developing advanced autonomy algorithms for cargo transportation on the moon

September 3, 2025

Autonomy algorithms developed by the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) researchers could one day make cargo transport on the moon safer and more efficient for astronauts. As part of a team led by MDA Space, Professor Tim Barfoot (UTIAS) and Alec Krawciw (UTIAS PhD student) are developing technology that will help […]

How two UTIAS grads are building community for women in robotics

August 13, 2025

Katie Allison (EngSci 2T0+PEY, MIE MASc 2T5) and Mia Thomas (UTIAS MASc 2T5) know that building robots is only part of the equation – building community is just as important.As graduate students in Professor Jonathan Kelly’s (UTIAS) lab, Allison and Thomas spent hours testing robot grippers and running code. And outside the lab, they […]

Toronto Robotics Conference at UTM

August 6, 2025

A voice-controlled vehicle. A shape-shifting probe designed to squeeze inside aircraft. A blood-suctioning surgical assistant. These were just some of the innovations on display at this month’s Toronto Robotics Conference, where more than 300 researchers, students and industry partners gathered at the University of Toronto Mississauga to explore the future […]

Aerospace PhD Student Tackles Transit Delays with Real-Time Subway Map

July 28, 2025

To Andrew Ilersich (EngSci 1T8, UTIAS PhD candidate), delays and slowdowns on the TTC subway have now become the expectation, not the exception. After mapping out a route and arriving on time to a station, he said he’d often be met with a delay that would eat into his estimated […]

How a PEY Co-op experience launched a U of T Engineering alumnus into space sustainability

March 26, 2025

Zayne Thawer (EngSci 2T0+ PEY) never imagined the career path his Professional Experience Year Co-op Program (PEY Co-op) at Safran Landing Systems would open up.   “My internship was incredibly enlightening. It introduced me to the world of industry beyond academia,” he says.    “As a systems engineering and architecture intern, I worked with a team of engineers […]

A road still strewn with obstacles on every street corner for autonomous cars

December 9, 2024

Will the streets of Toronto in 2050 be filled only with self-driving cars? Engineers and car manufacturers are working on this, even if there are still many technical, financial and political obstacles to be overcome. The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) warns on its website that experts estimate that fully autonomous vehicles […]

U of T Engineering remembers December 6th

December 6, 2024

An interactive sculpture designed and built by U of T Engineering students now stands on the front steps of the Galbraith building. It features 14 candles surrounding a central flame, with each candle representing the life of a woman who was murdered during the École Polytechnique massacre, which took place […]

From better batteries to cleaner fuels

November 26, 2024

New funding from the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence (ORF-RE) will advance five projects from across U of T Engineering, with applications ranging from sustainable aviation to next-generation electric vehicle battery systems.  Two of the five projects are based at U of T Engineering’s Thermal Management Systems (TMS) Laboratory and focus on […]

UTAT team set amateur rocketry altitude record at Launch Canada 2024

October 16, 2024

In late August, the University of Toronto Aerospace Team (UTAT) Rocketry division placed second in the advanced category— and cemented their place in the record books — at Launch Canada 2024. “Our rocket, Defiance Mk. IV, reached 30,000 feet, which is the Canadian amateur rocketry record for a rocket with a […]

U of T’s self-driving car team places first at 2024 AutoDrive Challenge™ II

July 26, 2024

U of T Engineering’s self-driving car team, aUToronto, has placed first at the 2024 SAE AutoDrive Challenge™ II. This is the team’s sixth first-place finish in seven years and a return to the top of the podium after placing second in last year’s competition.   Ten teams from universities across the United […]