June 15, 2015 — Three U of T Engineering professors have received Early Researcher Awards from the Government of Ontario. The ERAs provide as much as $140,000 for promising early-career scientists and engineers to build their teams.
“These awards recognize the important contributions three of our promising young professors are already making in their fields and will help them advance their ground-breaking research,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “I would like to extend my heart-felt congratulations to professors Donmez, Ekmekci and Fernandez-Gonzalez on this well-deserved honour.”
Learn more about the U of T Engineering professors who received ERAs:
Improving driver safety
Professor Birsen Donmez (MIE) is an expert in human adaptation to technology and designing feedback to guide operator behaviour. Her project will compare different types of in-vehicle technologies, such as dashboard displays, smartphones, smart watches and Google Glass, with respect to driver distraction. She will also investigate their potential to improve safety by providing relevant driving-related information. For example, an eye-tracker could be used to let drivers know if their eyes have been off the road for a certain number of seconds. Her students will be trained for careers in traffic safety.
