Dr. Akira Yoshino at a celebratory reception following his distinguished lecture at U of T on November 10th, 2025. Dr. Yoshino, inventor of the first practical lithium-ion battery, is an honorary fellow of Asahi Kasei Corporation.
___________
U of T hosted a distinguished lecture by Dr. Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei Corporation, who provided his perspective on The Future Society Made Possible by Lithium-ion Batteries, his journey as a researcher, and the challenges leading to his Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
___________
Google has partnered with U of T to establish the Hinton Chair in Artificial Intelligence, a $20M investment to attract and support a leading-edge AI researcher with the ability to take AI to the next level.
U of T has launched the $24M Research Excellence Postdoctoral Fellows Program aimed at recruiting and retaining promising early-career researchers from Canada and around the world.
___________
The Canadian Government is investing $42.5M in AI infrastructure at U of T through the Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy to support Canadian researchers advancing health care, fundamental science, engineering, and other fields.
U of T's Data Sciences Institute is partnering with AstraZeneca to support the development of data science talent and to expose emerging data scientists to the real-world impact that cutting-edge computational innovations are having on the pharmaceutical sector.
Prof. Alex Mihailidis, U of T's Associate Vice-President, International Partnerships shares some partnerships successes and perspectives to the 200 plus attendees of U of T's 2025 Industry Partners' Reception.
___________
U of T hosted its annual Industry Partners' Reception on November 20th at the Faculty of Engineering's new event space known as The Hall in the Engineering Partnerships Office at 800 Bay Street. The event hosted over 200 industry, government and university representatives celebrating their joint successes and exploring opportunities for new collaborations.
___________
Over 2000 people attended ARIA 2025 on November 13th at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Hosted by U of T's Department of Computer Science, ARIA showcased research breakthroughs and technological innovations across the computing landscape.
___________
U of T's Next-Generation Precision Medicine initiative, PRiME, hosted theSwiss-Canadian Innovation Symposium on November 14th at U of T's Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus. The event brought together R&D and policy leadership to explore innovations in AI-driven precision oncology and drug discovery.
___________
EPIC, U of T's Emerging & Pandemic Infections Consortium, held its fourth annual Antimicrobial Resistance Symposium on November 18th and 19th at The Quay in downtown Toronto. Over 300 healthcare practitioners, academic researchers, government policy-makers, and industry innovators all participated under the theme Preserving Antimicrobial Effectiveness: Acting Today for Future Generations.
___________
The Bioeconomy & Sustainable Materials Institute and The Mass Timber Institute jointly hosted an Industry and Community Workshop at U of T on November 28th. Representatives from architecture firms, development firms, construction firms, government agencies, non-profit organizations, sector consortia, and a variety of community groups shared their perspectives on how to mobilize their assets and academic expertise to better serve the needs of Canadians.
___________
- UPCOMING -
Join the Data Sciences Institute Talent Showcase on January 22nd, 2026. The showcase will be highlighted by keynotes from Dr. Nardin Samuel, Founder and CEO of Cove Neurosciences, and Daniel Smedley, VP Innovation & Business Excellence of AstraZeneca Canada.
___________
- UPCOMING -
U of T's Next-Generation Precision Medicine initiative will be hosting The PRiME 7th Annual Symposium on February 20th, 2026. Come hear from academic, clinical, and industrial experts on the future of AI, gene editing, drug screening and diagnostics. Industry Keynote will be delivered by Alberto Nobili, Vice President and Head of Bayer Co.Lab Cambridge at Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
___________
- UPCOMING -
Meet with U of T-affiliated startups, investors, and innovators at U of T's Entrepreneurship Week. This flagship event will be hosted at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus in the heart of Toronto's Innovation District from March 2nd - 6th, 2026. Details and registration information will be posted under the “Events” tab on the U of T Entrepreneurship Portalearly in the new year.
Professor Kevin Golovin
Don't let Mechanical Engineering professor Kevin Golovin's obsession with surfaces fool you; his understanding of adhesion and repulsion at material interfaces is deep! The applications for his research are many-fold: Avoid ice-buildup on airplane wings? Check. Prevent biofouling on marine vessels? Check. Reduce microplastic release from textiles? Check. Improve soldier warmth, comfort, and safety? Check, check, and check.
If there's a thread that runs through the work Kevin does through his Durable Repellent Engineered Advanced Materials (DREAM) Laboratory, it's leveraging his knowledge of surface engineering to improve the safety, security, and sustainability of our society. It's for these reasons that you might be just as likely to see his name associated with creating forever-chemical-free pots & pans as you would with high-performance body armour.
This last stream of research is where Kevin might half-jokingly ask you about the overlap in interests between your local hot yoga studio and securing Canada's far north. It turns out that yogis and soldiers alike perform better when comfortable. So when Canadian apparel-maker lululemon approached Kevin to find a way to make waterproof clothes that are breathable and PFAS-free, he was keen to take up the challenge. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - also known as forever chemicals due to their resistance to organic degradation - have become both an industry standard in water-resistance and an environmental scourge for the way they build up in biological ecosystems. “I like hearing people say things can’t be done and doing them anyway” is something Kevin has been known to say, and the surface treatments his lab have pioneered show a pathway to eliminating PFAS for omni-phobic coatings!
Over the many years and multiple projects we’ve shared, Kevin has become a trusted and indispensable collaborator. Through his deep expertise, pragmatic approach, and sound judgement, he has been a reliable partner in both well-defined research tasks and more complex, exploratory endeavours, and has made a meaningful impact across multiple lululemon innovation initiatives.
Robert Gathercole, lululemon
Because of the diversity of applications his research impacts, Kevin maintains a unique roster of global, national, and local partners who inspire and are inspired by his DREAM Team's work. In addition to lululemon, companies like Boeing, Arc'teryx, PRE Labs, and Meltech Innovations Canada (among others), public agencies like Transport Canada and the Department of National Defence, and non-profits like Agewell have all come to understand how valuable a deep understanding of surfaces can be to their products, services and activities.
Kevin is open to adding to its roster of collaborators, be they new corporations, not-for-profits, government agencies, or academic institutions. Reach out viaThe Blue Door or directly with Kevin if you think you may want to collaborate with him and his team.
Here are some ways to get involved over the next few weeks, months, and years.
___________
U of T's Data Sciences Institute is offering two hands-on microcredential coursse aimed at working professionals on deploying AI models into the real world. The Deploying AI Microcredential course will run from February 9th, 2026, while the Genetic Data Analysis Toolbox Microcredential will run from February 24th, 2026. and will include perspectives from industry experts in the topic. The three-week session will require a 10-15 hour commitment per week. Find out more about the Data Sciences Institute.
___________
U of T's Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering is launching its Master of Engineering Co-op Program (MEng Co-op) for the incoming September 2026 cohort of Master of Engineering students. The program includes an 8-month placement and leverages tax incentives and matching programs (where eligible). MEng Co-op students in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, Civil & Mineral Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Aerospace Studies can participate in the program. Reach out to the Engineering Career Centre to learn about how your company can participate.
___________
The Master of Science in Applied Computing is a 16-month advanced degree in the fields of Applied Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, Computer Science, Data Science, Data Science for Biology and Quantum Computing. The program includes an 8-month applied research internship hosted by corporations, not-for-profits, and hospitals, among others. See how students from the MScAC program are engaging with industry to solvelocal and global challenges. Find out more about the MScAC program.
___________
U of T's Engineering Partnerships Office (EPO) at 800 Bay Street is a home base in Toronto's downtown Discovery District for companies looking to lease private office space or host an event. Boasting up to 4000 square feet of highly configurable office and dry lab space, the EPO is a great place from which companies can connect with U of T's talent, research, and entrepreneurial communities. For more information or to schedule a visit, contact the EPO.
___________
Become a partner to U of T's Grid Modernization Centre (GMC). The GMC is a world-class testbed and innovation hub empowering utilities, manufacturers and technology developers to validate and optimize clean energy innovations, including in renewable energy generation, energy storage, EV infrastructure, data centres, and microgrids. Learn more about the GMC.
Think you know all about U of T's history and historical artifacts? Take this quiz from the U of T Magazine to demonstrate your knowledge! Happy Holidays from the Blue Door team (image generation help from Microsoft Copilot 😉).
___________
We hope you enjoyed the Blue Door Quarterly. If you want to follow up on any of the above or learn about how you can form a partnership with U of T, reach out to us at bluedoor@utoronto.ca or visit us at bluedoor.utoronto.ca.
-The Blue Door Team
___________
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to the Blue Door Quarterly to get U of T partnerships updates delivered directly to your inbox.
