The Next Big Idea 10 concepts that could - University of Toronto ...

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Leading Edge The Fallen Three years ago, unhappy with Canada’s role in the Afghanistan war, artist Joanne Tod set herself a grim task: she would paint a portrait of every Canadian soldier who died in the conflict. The decision reflected her own mixed feelings about the war. On the one hand, Tod, who lectures in U of T’s visual studies department, wanted to honour the individuals who had lost their lives. But as a “staunch pacifist” she also strongly opposed Canada’s involvement. The result is “Oh, Canada – A Lament” – a series of 121 sixby-five-inch portraits painted on birch ply and mounted on a freestanding wall among segments of a Canadian flag. Tod says the fractured flag, which appears to have been blown into pieces, symbolizes a “weakened state.” The Canadian Heritage Warplane Museum in Mount Hope, Ontario, displayed “Oh, Canada – A Lament” between June and November. Tod hopes that a philanthropist will buy the piece for a museum – in which case, she says, she would donate the proceeds to a fund for families of soldiers who lost their lives. – Scott Anderson Iciclology 101 Most icicles have the same carrot shape. But differences in temperature, wind conditions and water composition affect their final form One morning in January of 1998, residents of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec awoke to find their world covered in ice. Icicles hung from everything – homes, trees, electrical wires – and more than a million people were left without power. Physics professor Stephen Morris is not interested in the atmospheric conditions that caused the ice storm, but is intrigued by the spectacular results – the icicles themselves. Are there physical laws that cause them to take the shape they do And are all icicles the same Morris is attempting to answer these questions in a chilly, closet-sized laboratory in McLennan Physical Labs. His interest in the subject is not purely whimsical. He points out that it’s important to know how ice forms on surfaces such as airplane wings, and says the physics behind icicle formation can be applied to other phenomena, such as how roads get ripples and how stalactites form in caves. In his lab, Morris and PhD student Antony Chen tested a mathematical model for the ideal or Platonic icicle (as theorists call it), an elegant set of formulas that predicts a universal shape for all icicles. Using a machine with a central rotating dowel, they created icicles and photographed them as they formed over 10-hour stretches. While most icicles are carrot-shaped and some are very close to the Platonic ideal, Morris and Chen found that differences in temperature, wind conditions and water composition affect their final form. Curiously, icicles grown in perfectly still air split at their tips, and water impurities can cause asymmetrical lumps. While the wide variety of icicle shapes they created was surprising, the physicists took greater interest in the mathematical aspects of the problem and the motion of ripples that form on the icicles’ surface. Morris added that theories about the patterns that emerged can be applied in fields as diverse as economics and, yes, weather. – Daniel Baird To watch a video of Morris and Chen’s icicle experiments, visit www.magazine.utoronto.ca. photo: Michael Cullen, Trent Photographics 24 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA
“I will achieve my goals. But I realize I can’t do it alone.” When you include U of T in your will, you’re helping students like Philiz Goh. Thanks to a generous gift from one U of T donor, Philiz can now pursue her chosen profession. And with nurses like Philiz working in healthcare, Canada will be that much healthier. To find out more, contact michelle.osborne@utoronto.ca or 416-978-3846. give.utoronto.ca Philiz Goh BSc in Nursing, 2010
Page 1 and 2: The Aviator Canada’s first pilot
Page 3 and 4: How an alumni perk Rupen Seoni MSc
Page 5 and 6: Contents Winter 2011 40 The Aviator
Page 7 and 8: $25O,OOO to pay off the mortgage $4
Page 9 and 10: Letters Canadian and aboriginal stu
Page 11 and 12: President’s Message Investing in
Page 13 and 14: Uof T Alumni Events / Exhibitions /
Page 15 and 16: “Social networks do not help you
Page 17 and 18: LifeonCampus Ephemera Fluorescent p
Page 19 and 20: LifeonCampus A Neural Network for a
Page 21 and 22: LifeonCampus Power Down Keeping a c
Page 23 and 24: “In hockey, banning all hits to t
Page 25 and 26: Leading Edge The Big Idea How Citie
Page 27: Leading Edge Q photo: istock.com As
Page 32 and 33: Computers That Understand Speech Ne
Page 34 and 35: Clean Power Solid oxide fuel cells
Page 36 and 37: Education for All Why do some immig
Page 38 and 39: Chris Spence, the director of educa
Page 40 and 41: will naturally predominate in a giv
Page 42 and 43: simple changes in kindergarten peda
Page 45 and 46: Aviator Brave, dashing and touched
Page 47 and 48: photo: city of toronto archives, fo
Page 49 and 50: photo: Sean Robertson his motor sto
Page 51 and 52: “By the time Gilbert and Sullivan
Page 53 and 54: All about Alumni top photo: courtes
Page 55 and 56: All about Alumni The Two of Us Ange
Page 57 and 58: University of Toronto Alumni Premie
Page 59 and 60: Our Thanks to You Because the world
Page 61 and 62: Margaret and Andrew Stephens J. W.
Page 63 and 64: In Honour The University of Toronto
Page 65 and 66: Lasting Legacies The University of
Page 67 and 68: Great Journeys April 10-18 Waterway
Page 69 and 70: Group home and auto insurance Insur

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