A&S scholars sharing their expertise in the media

From the discovery of massive stars that have been stripped of their hydrogen to solving the puzzle behind how big a table you need for your jigsaw puzzle, experts from a range of disciplines across the Faculty of Arts & Science are sharing their expertise on a variety of issues in the media.

Here’s some of what they had to say.

December 15, 2023

• Data Sciences Institute postdoctoral fellow Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher shares with CTV: Your Morning, Discover Magazine and the Daily Mail her calculations to determine the size of a table needed for a jigsaw puzzle.

December 16, 2023

• Department of Psychology Assistant Professor Taryn Grieder comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on a study suggesting that women are more likely to be addicted to their smartphones than men.

December 18, 2023

• Department of Sociology and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy Professor Ito Peng and sociology PhD candidate Izumi Matsuzaki comment for CTV News online on providing culturally sensitive health care to older adults.

December 19, 2023

• The Toronto Star (paywall) covers an intergenerational class in the health studies program at University College that brings together undergraduate students and older adults, and is taught by Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work sessional lecturer Raza Mirza.
• David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics Assistant Professor and Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics Associate Maria Drout shares with CBC Radio: Quirks & Quarks, National Post (paywall), Space, Salon and ScienceAlert her discovery of massive stars that have been stripped of their hydrogen.
• Department of Chemistry University Professor Mark Lautens writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) about the value international students and researchers bring to Canada.
• School of Cities Director and Department of Geography & Planning Professor Karen Chapple and School of Cities postdoctoral fellow Amir Forouhar share with The Washington Post (paywall) their post-pandemic downtown recovery research, where they analyzed foot traffic around Cleveland’s Public Square using anonymous location data.
• Faculty of Arts & Science students share with CBC Radio: Here and Now their reflections on 2023 as the fall term wraps up.

December 20, 2023

• Business Insider (paywall) highlights Department of Computer Science University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton as one of the world’s top leaders in AI policy, ethics and research.
• Department of History and Caribbean Studies Associate Professor Melanie Newton comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on the meaning behind the word “Sankofa,” in light of Toronto city council voting to rename Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square.

December 21, 2023

• Madeleine Bonsma-Fisher comments for the National Observer on the popularity of Montreal’s car-free streets.

December 22, 2023

• Human Biology Associate Professor Franco Taverna talks to Global News online about the importance of fostering social connections between older adults, and how he has created a platform called CompanionLink for this purpose.
• Karen Chapple talks to CBC News online about downtown Edmonton’s post-pandemic recovery.
• Department of Geography & Planning Professor and Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities Director Matti Siemiatycki comments for Global News online on the excessive cost of infrastructure projects in Burnaby, British Columbia, and how this is a common problem among municipalities.
• Department of History Professor Dimitry Anastakis talks to CBC News online about why it is difficult to find batteries for older electric vehicles.
• Psychology Today - UK highlights research by Department of Psychology alum Willis Klein and Psychology Associate Professor (teaching stream) Suzanne Wood about gaslighting in relationships.

December 24, 2023

• Melanie Newton comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s cost-saving proposal for renaming Yonge-Dundas Square.

December 27, 2023

• Department of Philosophy Professor Emerita Ingrid Leman Stefanovic writes in the National Observer about the lack of ethics in politics.
• John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at the Munk School’s Citizen Lab, comments for The Washington Post (paywall) on the spyware software found in tech used by human rights advocates in India.
• Department of Sociology Professor Scott Schieman tells The Globe and Mail (paywall) that more people are seeking side gigs to earn extra income or to supplement an insufficient income.

December 29, 2023

• The Logic votes Geoffrey Hinton Canada’s innovation leader of 2023.
• Department of Computer Science Professor Raquel Urtasun is recognized by Business Insider (paywall) and El Pais for her contributions to the advancement of AI and driverless vehicles.
• Department of Sociology Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Reitz, who was also cross-appointed at the Munk School, comments for CTV News online on the gradual rise in migration to Canada, especially among non-permanent residents.

December 30, 2023

• School of the Environment Director and Department of Computer Science Professor Steve Easterbrook explains to the Toronto Star (paywall) why nations should not give up on reaching climate targets.
• Cinema Studies Institute sessional lecturer Adam Nayman comments for Le Devoir on the work of American film critic Pauline Kael.
• University College sessional lecturer Shawn Micallef writes in the Toronto Star (paywall) about the reversal of the decision to develop Ontario’s Greenbelt.
• Department of Anthropology Professor Emeritus Marcel Danesi comments for The Atlantic (paywall) on how emojis could be used in court cases.

December 31, 2023

• Department of Psychology Professor Paul Bloom talks to KCRW Radio about the pleasures of suffering in the search for meaning.

January 1, 2024

• Michael Higgins, Distinguished Fellow at the University of St. Michael’s College, writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) about Pope Francis’s style and disposition.
• Matti Siemiatycki comments for Toronto Star (paywall) on U of T’s move to expand staff housing.

January 2, 2024

• Department of English Professor Sebastian Sobecki shares with University Affairs a rare fourteenth century manuscript acquired by the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library.
• Munk School Director and Department of Political Science professor Peter Loewen argues in the Toronto Star (paywall) that 2024 will be significant in the history of democracy.
• Aurel Braun, affiliated faculty at the Centre for European, Russian & Eurasian Studies at the Munk School, discusses on Newstalk 1010 new developments in the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars.
• Faculty of Arts & Science student Shane Gates writes in the Toronto Star (paywall) about the dangers of overcrowded TTC stations on New Year’s Eve.
• Department of Art History Associate Professor Kim Seung Jung writes in JoongAng about the systemization of time throughout history and the 2000-year success of the solar calendar system.

January 3, 2024

• Matti Siemiatycki shares insights with the Toronto Star (paywall) and Radio-Canada online on infrastructure plans for Toronto and Canada in 2024.
• Alán Aspuru-Guzik, Department of Chemistry professor and director of the Acceleration Consortium, is noted in New Scientist (paywall) for leading the consortium’s self-driving lab.
• Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources Associate Professor Greg Distelhorst comments for The Wall Street Journal (paywall) on H&M’s living wage for workers initiative.

January 4, 2024

• Karen Chapple receives continued coverage in CTV News Toronto for her post-pandemic downtown recovery research.
• Centre of Criminology & Sociolegal Studies Professor Scot Wortley comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on the automotive industry and the introduction of new car theft protection technologies.