Clockwise from top left: Professor Gillian Hadfield, Professor M. Murphy, University Professor David Jenkins, Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik and Associate Professor Yvonne Bombard
Five researchers recognized with 2024 President’s Impact Awards
Published: March 15, 2024
Five University of Toronto researchers have received President’s Impact Awards for their important work in AI governance, environmental justice, genomics policy, nutritional sciences and quantum computing.
The awards celebrate and honour faculty members whose research has led to a significant impact beyond academia. Laureates are designated as members of the President’s Impact Academy, and receive a monetary award of $10,000 per year for five years to be used toward their research.
“I would like to congratulate the winners of this year’s President’s Impact Awards for their outstanding work in tackling some of the biggest challenges of our time,” said Barbara Fallon, U of T's associate vice-president, research.
“From informing and improving dietary choices to fostering greater alignment between environmental justice and Indigenous communities, these scholars are generating knowledge and ideas that stand to have a tremendous impact beyond academia.
“Their exceptional contributions speak to the important role that U of T researchers play in improving lives in Canada and around the world.”
This year’s winners are:
Gillian Hadfield, professor in the Faculty of Law and Rotman School of Management, “for contributions impacting access to justice, innovative design for legal and dispute resolution systems in advanced and developing market economies, and governance for artificial intelligence.”
M. Murphy, professor in the Women & Gender Studies Institute and department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science, “for contributions that consistently move environmental justice research along a collaborative trajectory with Indigenous communities, data practices, and policy-making.”
Yvonne Bombard, scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto and associate professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, “for her significant contributions in enacting national law against genetic discrimination, improving healthcare options for Canadians, and advancing clinical practice and genomics research.”
Alán Aspuru-Guzik, professor in the department of chemistry and department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, “for his pioneering work in the fields of artificial intelligence and quantum computing for materials discovery.”
David Jenkins, University Professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, “for his studies on the health effects of food that have changed how the world makes healthy dietary choices.”
