PROFILES OF COOL
Rahul Singh: As the founder of GlobalMedic, Singh has erected instant hospitals in more than a dozen countries, provided water purification and landmine clearance, and distributed drugs and training to local doctors around the world. GlobalMedic was recently on the ground helping refugees fleeing from the Islamic State group and currently has dozens of volunteers deployed on missions from eastern Ukraine to India.
Naheed Nenshi: As the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city, Nenshi has sought through two terms to make better the city where he was born. He has become a dynamic and diverse voice in Canadian and international conversations and was awarded the World Mayor prize last February for his vision and leadership. Geoffrey Hinton: The Toronto professor revolutionized artificial intelligence through his work with neural networks, which are modelled after the human brain. His artificial brains are able to recognize patterns and even learn. Such systems could one day understand what people are saying, what we mean to say and then do what we want.
Elodie Ghedin: Montreal-born Ghedin has studied parasites that cause deadly diseases, such as sleeping sickness, river blindness and elephantiasis, which afflict the poor around the world. Ghedin’s work aids in the development of drugs and proves that molecular genetics can provide a powerful tool for scientists working together around the globe. Dr. Stephen Scherer: Scherer has devoted his career to genome research and has led the world in seeking the key to solving the mystery of autism. A team led by Scherer created a “formula” for determining which mutations might lead to autism spectrum disorder and may help clinicians diagnose autism earlier in childhood, when intervention is most effective.
Gabriella Coleman: She’s the world’s only scholar on Anonymous, the mysterious online community that has led attacks on religious, government and corporate websites. An interpreter of sorts, Coleman “lived online” studying the group and explains their motives and actions to reporters and the wider world.
SNOLAB: Far beneath the frozen ground in Sudbury, Ont., lies SNOLAB. The underground science laboratory, located in a mine, specializes in neutrino research and houses the most sensitive dark-matter detector of its kind. The lab is connected with the SNO Experiment that won the Nobel Prize for physics last year and scientists hope SNOLAB will help them understand dark matter, one of the deepest mysteries of physics.
Molly Shoichet: The University of Toronto research rock star leads a lab that combines aspects of engineering, chemistry and biology to create new polymers, which can be injected into the body and have the potential to solve medical problems such as damaged spinal cords and nerve connections damaged by strokes. The Toronto-native also co-founded Research2Reality, a social media campaign that highlights research by Canadian scientists.