Advanced Materials & Manufacturing

AC is a flagship initiative that leverages artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation to accelerate the discovery and deployment of advanced materials and molecules. Through AI-guided self-driving laboratories, AC researchers integrate machine learning, robotics, chemistry and engineering to identify materials critical for life-saving medicines, biodegradable plastics and renewable energy technologies.

A3MD is a partnership between U of T and McMaster University, the National Research Council and industrial partners. It applies artificial intelligence to the design of high-performance materials for clean energy and electronics. A3MD combines high-performance computing, machine learning and high-throughput experimentation to screen, fabricate and evaluate candidates.

CACT uses experimental, analytical and computational research in thermal spray coatings and plasma processing, covering deposition through to testing and characterization. The work of CACT researchers addresses surface tension, droplet impact and liquid atomization, and is carried out with industrial partners in aerospace, automotive and power generation.

CAN is Canada's first nanotechnology research centre, working across nanoscale materials, devices and characterization. CAN research spans the design and fabrication of nanostructures and their application in electronics and photonics.

CBBP pursues research and scale-up in biocomposites and biomaterials, from bioplastics and cellulose-based nanocomposites through to industrial biomaterials manufacturing and biomass technology. CBBP's processing equipment supports prototyping and performance testing for lightweight, sustainable products in the automotive and aerospace sectors.

CRAFT is a collaborative platform led by U of T, the National Research Council of Canada and Unity Health Toronto. CRAFT advances microfluidics—the precise manipulation of fluids at micron scales—for applications spanning diagnostics, organ-on-a-chip models, biofabrication and biodefence, supported by world-class facilities for device design, fabrication and characterization.

CEL deploys theory-guided discovery and synthesis of nanomaterials for energy, combining atomistic simulation, machine learning and high-throughput synthesis. CEL's work spans lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen storage, carbon dioxide capture and photovoltaics, identifying candidate materials computationally and then fabricating and testing them.

Cohesys is developing BoneTape, a single-piece, fully resorbable tape that holds fractures together without metal plates or screws. A U of T spinout supported by UTEST, it was one of two U of T ventures chosen in December 2025 for NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), which backs technologies that could strengthen the alliance’s defence and security.

CDL Defence is an objectives-based accelerator stream for founders developing dual-use technologies that improve mission capability, resilience and national security. It helps ventures align with real buyer needs, navigate government pathways, and build evidence for testing and procurement with allied partners.

DAIR is a collaborative innovation platform that connects industry, academia, and government across Canada’s aerospace ecosystem. As a funding partner, U of T contributes research expertise and participates in shared R&D initiatives focused on aeroacoustics, advanced materials, propulsion and next-generation aerospace systems. DAIR provides access to secure research space and state-of-the-art facilities, supporting advanced aerospace development and commercialization.

The Entrepreneurship Hatchery is a venture studio in U of T Engineering whose programs help students, faculty and alumni build startups, with funding that lets student founders work on their companies full-time. Its aerospace stream runs with Start@UTIAS, and it gave early support to Kepler Communications, now building secure satellite links between orbit and the ground.

NanoMorphix commercializes patented self-healing armour for military and security uses: transparent armour for vehicle and aircraft windows that must stop bullets and withstand blasts, and flexible armour that adds ballistic protection to textiles. Both are tested to NATO ballistic standards and made to fit existing manufacturing. The UTEST company was co-founded by U of T Engineering researcher Nello Sansone.

OCCAM is a materials analysis facility built around electron microscopy and surface characterization, with electron and ion beam instruments, X-ray and secondary ion spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Full-time scientific staff support academic and industrial users across chemical engineering and materials science.

TIAM brings together researchers in advanced materials manufacturing, processing methods, and knowledge-based manufacturing. It works with industry on additive manufacturing, smart and functional materials, and the processes that move a design into production, including translating lab-based technologies into commercial, scaled-up processes.

TNFC is an open-access cleanroom for micro- and nanofabrication, offering electron-beam and photolithography, deposition, etching, dicing, packaging, imaging and characterization. Academic and industrial researchers use TNFC for prototype development, including semiconductor and nanomaterials work.

UTEST is an accelerator for research-based startups founded by U of T faculty, students and staff, with investment capital, mentoring, incubation space and entrepreneurial training. Its portfolio includes TightBeam Photonics and Cohesys, chosen in 2025 for NATO’s DIANA, and NanoMorphix, ByteShape and CERT Systems. It runs in partnership with Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners (TIAP).

UTE connects the accelerators across U of T’s three campuses that help students, faculty and alumni turn research into companies, among them dual-use ventures that serve civilian and defence customers alike. Its “no wrong door” approach gives founders a way in at any stage or in any industry, with mentorship, funding and domain expertise.