March 7, 2025
U of I System, University of Toronto launch collaborative research teams
The University of Illinois System and the University of Toronto this week awarded funding to four new interdisciplinary research teams that will drive innovations and advance collaboration between the universities. Selected from 21 applications, these are the first awards from an institutional partnership launched in 2024.
Building on talent, innovations and resources from the two universities, the initiative seeks to accelerate economic development through the development of innovative technologies. Funding for the program comes from U of T’s Office of the Vice-President, International and the U of I System’s President’s Office and the Office of the Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation.
The newly funded seed grant projects will focus on sustainable urban transportation in African countries, the future for archives as data, coupling large-scale transportation models with travelers’ decision-making science, and travel demand modeling in an era of autonomous and electric transport.
“This partnership, which has grown out of many conversations with our Canadian colleagues, adds to our portfolio of research and development programs across the world,” said Jay Walsh, the U of I System’s vice president for economic development and innovation. “We anticipate discoveries that will have impact near and far, improving quality of life for current and future generations. This seed grant program in particular is part of our strategic focus on growing partnerships with the University of Toronto, its faculty and its students.”
