CRAM is a new free learning festival that gives the public a chance to learn about the ground-breaking research taking place within Toronto’s universities. It’s a night of new ideas and a diversity of voices.

See how U of T's talented researchers and students are collaborating across disciplines, and coming together to find innovative solutions to the complex challenges we face — in Toronto and globally.

Register today for free to experience one or more of the exciting talks below:

6:00 PM
The Greatest Story Never Told: A New Narrative on Climate Change
Andrea Most

It’s easy to feel helpless and despairing in the face of regular reports of encroaching doom. But environmental crisis has its roots in culture - in the values and beliefs that drive our actions. This is actually good news: we can alter our fate by changing our minds. In the environmental humanities, we argue for a new story about who we think we are in relation to the world around us. We create narratives of our relationship with our planet that spark imagination, change perceptions and shift our energy into positive action. Come and discover a powerful new story!

6:00 PM
How Can I Help You?: A Future with Social and Assistive Robots
Goldie Nejat

We introduce social and assistive robots and the exciting ways they might become a regular part of our daily lives. This interactive presentation and robot demonstration explores technologies being developed at U of T that have many ways of improving our quality of life and our health, as well as their potential to help society in the very near future.

7:00 PM
What Really Creates Better Mental Health?
Patricia O’Campo

About one in five Canadians experiences mental illness every year. It’s likely someone you know. New evidence points to innovative treatments for a variety of mental health disorders including the most common – depression. But there’s an even larger body of research that suggests solutions for preventing depression can be found in our own backyards! Come hear about these important findings that support changes in how we work, play, eat and sleep so we can achieve better mental health throughout our lives.

7:00 PM
Beyond the Business Case for Diversity
Sarah Kaplan

For decades, people making the economic case for diversity have paid lip service to the idea without it paying off. We’ve made limited progress in the numbers of women in STEM, on boards, and in leadership roles; of men taking parental leave; the inclusion of gender-diverse people, and so on. This talk argues that the business case for diversity is stacked. Our societal myth of meritocracy doesn’t acknowledge how the basic notions of this concept are already inherently gendered. Hear how new research suggests we can accelerate progress by taking a moral and social justice approach on diversity.

8:00 PM
Toronto the A.I. City – Fortune or Curse?
Panel Discussion

A.I. is on track to permeate almost every aspect of our urban life. Governments, industry and academia are pushing key transformative technologies (A.I., 5G, autonomous vehicles) as a foundation for sustainable innovation and commercialization. But as increasingly sophisticated A.I. systems are created and deployed more widely, their effects on city dwellers are coming under scrutiny and debate. This panel discussion explores the impact on arenas large and small - from labour markets and the workplace to privacy and our personal freedoms.

8:00 PM
Unravelling the History and Mysteries of Our Universe
Keith Vanderlinde

Can you imagine living in a house that’s so big you’ll never see it all? And even stranger - it keeps expanding! That’s the way it is with our home, the Universe. But there’s an enormous new telescope called CHIME that’s been built in western Canada. And its purpose is to trace the 4 billion years of our cosmic past. I’m hoping CHIVanderaNME will give us insight into the mystery of Dark Energy which is driving the Universe’s expansion. And perhaps it will uncover what’s behind more recent phenomena known as Fast Radio Bursts - massive bursts of energy occurring far beyond the Milky Way.

9:00 PM
Knock on Wood: The Stats and Science Behind Luck
Jeffrey Rosenthal

Some days you feel lucky, some days you don’t. Fortune is described as an invisible feeling or force. We may feel life is mysterious and random, yet we try to circumvent the uncertainty of existence by attributing events to fate, destiny, superstition, astrology, ESP, and divine intervention. But what about the science behind “luck”? Let’s explore mathematics and statistics as tools to figure out the puzzle of luck. Can they explain deep seated beliefs, surprising coincidences, and head-scratching situations that you may have encountered? Find out how good your chances really are in life.

9:00 PM
The Drama of Youth: A World of Stories
Kathleen Gallagher

What matters to kids today? We asked young people and they told us - in dramatic fashion. Our panel will discuss the discoveries we made from an international, collaborative project that brought together youth, teachers, artists, theatres and social organizations. Using theatre classrooms as research labs, we gained critical insight into the world as young people know it, and as they might wish it to be. We’ll share what everyone, regardless of age, can learn from young people’s experiences of hope, care, and the place of drama within them.

10:00 PM
Music of the Cosmos: Sonic Space Exploration Reveals the Voice of the Universe
Matt Russo

I used to think that music and astronomy had almost nothing in common and that I would eventually need to choose between my two passions to find a career. In 2017, the discovery of an exquisitely musical solar system proved me wrong and I've since become a sonic explorer of the universe. I'll show you some of the rhythms and harmonies I've found in the night sky that unites every one of us in every culture on this planet. It will give you a new perspective on our place in the cosmos.

10:00 PM
From the Streets to Solutions: Tackling Homelessness
Stephen Hwang

I have dedicated my career as a physician and research scientist to improving the health of people experiencing homelessness. Today, Toronto faces an ongoing crisis of homelessness. What are the limits of approaches that focus on homeless individuals, rather than the systemic problems that create homelessness? What health care and social interventions are effective in helping people who are homeless get off the street? Do we have the will and the means to solve this problem? Please join me to explore these challenges and the actions that are necessary to resolve this major issue facing our city.