Innovation & Impact

TMU aligns collaborative, innovative research with the needs of industry, institutions and communities, from incubating entrepreneurial projects and startups to publishing groundbreaking findings.

Collaborations

Stefania Impellizzeri (Chemistry) was named the inaugural Jet Ice Research Chair in Sustainable Materials Chemistry at TMU to solidify proven scientific principles for sustainable ice-making and ice-painting.

John Marshall (Chemistry and Biology) researches the harnessing of liquid biopsies to identify low-abundance markers of diseases in patients’ blood. This research is being commercialized with YYZ Pharmatech, a long-term partner organization.

Scott Tsai (Mechanical, Industrial, and Mechatronics Engineering) and his research team developed tools, in partnership with researchers from Sunnybrook, to help improve the diagnosis of diseases in patient samples, guide treatment decisions and improve patient outcomes. This technology is actively being licensed after a provisional patent application. 

Amirnaser Yazdani (Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering) and his research team developed new power inverter technologies to increase efficiency and reduce the system complexity and cost of large solar panel installations. TMU supported the provisional patent application and is helping to commercialize the technology. 

Championing Entrepreneurs

With access to infrastructure and networks like Lab2Market and the Zone Learning ecosystem – 10 Zones, each with a different industry focus –  faculty and students transform their research and ideas into products and services that launch into the domestic and international marketplace, boosting the Canadian economy.

Lab2Market

Lab2Market is the first national-level program in Canada to fund and equip graduate students and their faculty supervisors with entrepreneurial skills to accelerate the commercialization of their university-based research innovations. 

David Raveenthrarajan, a master of science student, used organic chemistry principles to shorten the spirit-making process from three years to approximately four months. Working with professor Marc Adler (Chemistry and Biology), he launched the company VI SIX, several pilot programs with partner distilleries and recently struck a deal with Elora Distilling Company to produce whisky and rum products.

Zone Highlights

New School Foods, incubated in the Science Discovery Zone and founded by Chris Bryson, aims to revolutionize the food industry by launching the world’s first plant-based salmon filet. Their patented muscle fibre technology might have applications beyond fish and, if successfully developed, could have a major impact on food consumption around the world.

Fibra, incubated in the Innovation Boost Zone, Science Discovery Zone and Brampton Venture Zone, was founded by Parnian Majd to develop smart underwear, a non-invasive wearable device that allows women to access their fertility data through an accompanying app. 

Science Everywhere, an event and media production company incubated in the Science Discovery Zone, is how founder Anthony Morgan commercialized his passion for science busking. After performing eye-opening science demonstrations on Toronto streets for more than two decades, Morgan became the co-host of the TV show The Nature of Things.

By cultivating social enterprises, building capacity for social entrepreneurs and providing channels for innovative, on-the-ground research, the university strives to address income gaps and social inequality in communities across the globe.

Social Innovation & Social Enterprises

Innovation Circle Discovery Prize

Through the support of business and thought leaders, the Innovation Circle Discovery Prize is awarded annually to faculty researchers and graduate students to pursue innovative ideas that address social, economic and/or health inequities. 

The prize was awarded to the project “Challenging systemic inequities: Financing women entrepreneurs in the post-pandemic era,” led by PhD student Saifur Rahman in the Management program under the supervision of Ted Rogers School of Management professor and Diversity Institute founder Wendy Cukier. The project aims to close the gender gap in financial capital access for women entrepreneurs and business owners.

Knowledge Mobilization

Through conferences and symposiums, TMU researchers engage broad audiences to share the impact of their work on their fields and the lives of others.

Professor Idil Atak (Law) co-hosted the Disrupting Theory, Unsettling Practice: Towards Transformative Forced Migration Scholarship and Policy workshop to advance knowledge in transformative border studies, migration and human rights scholarship and policy from diverse critical and interdisciplinary perspectives in Canada and internationally.

Professor David Colangelo (Professional Communication) helped organize the Media Architecture Biennale 2023, a world-class, year-long series of outreach activities for architects, artists and designers with leading thinkers on urban design, key industry and government representatives, community members and the general public. The series focused on media architecture, urban interaction design and urban informatics.

Professor Sonya Fatah (School of Journalism) presented the Second Annual Live Journalism Gathering, featuring the performance Harmed in Hamilton, where community members’ stories about their experiences and knowledge of bullying, and research about organizations that support anti-bullying training in schools, were shared.

Publications & Citations

The influence and impact of TMU’s research continue to grow among scholars through the dissemination and citation of their findings in peer-reviewed publications. During the 2022–23 fiscal year, the university’s faculty saw an increase of 5.0% in publication citations over the previous fiscal year.

*Note: Academic publications include journal articles, conference papers and book reviews. Totals fluctuate as new information becomes available.