A&S scholars sharing their expertise in the media this week

From the pressing concerns of the 49th G7 Summit held in Hiroshima, Japan to how the art world is responding to the climate crisis, 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 this week.

May 20, 2023

• For CBC News online, Department of Earth Sciences and School of the Environment Professor Miriam L. Diamond weighs in on a new government proposal to list PFAS chemicals as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
• Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies PhD student Jamie Duncan and Professor Emerita Mariana Valverde share insights with The Globe and Mail (paywall) on TTC security incident data.
• John Kirton, director of the G7 Research Group at Trinity College and Department of Political Science professor, discusses with The New York Times (paywall), South China Morning Post (paywall) and The Globe and Mail (paywall) issues concerning the G7 summit in Hiroshima.
• Department of Computer Science University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton is noted in the Toronto Star (paywall) and Forbes (paywall) for his resignation from Google and warnings of the dangers posed by AI.
• Jack Cunningham, program director of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History and fellow at Trinity College, talks to CTV News about the G7 finance meeting.

May 21, 2023

• Department of History and Caribbean Studies Associate Professor Melanie Newton discusses with the Toronto Star (paywall) why she’s working to rename Dundas Street.

May 22, 2023

• Department of Anthropology Professor Ivan Kalmar is noted in the Toronto Star (paywall) for his research on the Hungarian government’s use of a conspiracy theory about businessman and philanthropist George Soros to exploit antisemitism.
• School of Cities Director and Department of Geography & Planning Professor Karen Chapple’s research on pandemic recovery in major cities is covered by FOX Business and BNN Bloomberg. She also writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) that vacant office space can be reimagined for community benefit.
• Department of Chemistry University Professor Emeritus John Polanyi writes in The Globe and Mail (paywall) to compare AI warnings from Geoffrey Hinton of Computer Science to nuclear concerns.
• Department of Political Science Professor Emeritus Nelson Wiseman writes in the Hill Times (paywall) to question Harjit Sajjan’s impact as minister of international development.
• Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Assistant Professor Soren Brothers, who is also the Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the Royal Ontario Museum comments (ROM) in the Art Newspaper (paywall) on how the ROM is responding to the climate crisis.
• Department of Philosophy graduate student Kayla Wiebe’s research on medical assistance in dying is noted by the National Post (paywall).
• University of St. Michael’s College Distinguished Fellow Michael Higgins reviews in the Literary Review of Canada David Adams Richards’ book The Tragedy of Eva Mott.
• The Hill Times (paywall) highlights Department of Philosophy Professor Joseph Heath’s book Cooperation and Social Justice.
• Department of Geography & Planning Professor and Infrastructure Institute at the School of Cities Director Matti Siemiatycki comments for the Toronto Star (paywall) on the importance of renters’ votes in the upcoming Toronto mayoral race.

May 23, 2023

• Kevin O’Neill, professor in the Department for the Study of Religion and Director of the Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies, discusses with WGN Chicago the crisis of abuse in the Catholic church.
• Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies Professor Emeritus Anthony Doob and PhD student Tyler King argue in the Toronto Star (paywall) that bail reforms miss the mark.
• Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology PhD candidate Rachel Katz comments for Swagger magazine on self-guided and AI-based therapies for mental health conditions.

May 24, 2023

• Department of Philosophy Professor Emeritus Ian Hacking is remembered in The Globe and Mail (paywall) for his lasting contributions to his field, with comments from Philosophy University Professor Cheryl Misak and Professor Emeritus James Brown.
• Gabriel Eidelman, director of the Urban Policy Lab at the School of Cities and assistant professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, writes in the Toronto Star (paywall) about the dissolution of Peel Region.
• Munk School Professor Drew Fagan discusses on TVO: The Agenda why it seems more difficult to get infrastructure built in Ontario now than in years past.
• Political Science and the Munk School’s Asian Institute Associate Professor Lynette Ong comments in The New York Times (paywall) on the recent cultural crackdowns in China.
• Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies Professor Scot Wortley comments for CBC News on rising crime rates in Canada.
• Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Associate Professor David Evans is noted in Earth.com for discovering what could be a new species of pachycephalosaurus.
• Department of Psychology Professor Emerita Lynn Hasher is highlighted in Hindustan Times (paywall) for her research on the cognitive test performance of adults.
• Matti Siemiatycki talks to CTV News about how years of underinvestment has led to a downtown Toronto decline, even before the pandemic.

May 25, 2023

• Director of the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society Gillian Hadfield and policy researchers Isaac Gazendam and Maggie Arai write in the Hill Times (paywall) about AI regulation in Canada.
• Nelson Wiseman comments for Mississauga News on the dissolution of Peel Region.
• Department of Art History Professor Emeritus Dennis Reid is remembered in The Globe and Mail (paywall) for his work championing Canadian art.
• Citizen Lab Senior Researcher John Scott-Railton reports the first known case of Pegasus spyware weaponized in an armed conflict, as reported by The Guardian, Reuters (paywall), Forbes (paywall), NBC News, Le Monde, Bloomberg (paywall), Politico, Haaretz, Wired (paywall), Popular Science and TechCrunch.
• Department of Economics Professor Michael Smart is noted in SooToday.com for co-authoring reports for Ontario as part of the  Robinson Superior Treaty annuities trial process.