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Awarded since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Physics is one of five prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel and honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field.

Hinton, widely regarded as the “godfather of AI,” shared the prize with John J. Hopfield of Princeton University for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.

Hinton was recognized for his use of the Hopfield network – a neural network invented by his co-laureate – as the foundation for a new network called the Boltzmann machine that can learn to recognize elements within a given type of data.

“On behalf of the University of Toronto, I am absolutely delighted to congratulate University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton on receiving the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics,” said U of T President Meric Gertler. “The U of T community is immensely proud of his historic accomplishment.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lauded Hinton for being both “a stalwart in the field” of AI and an “outspoken advocate” for its responsible use. “Canada is at the forefront of AI technology thanks to trailblazers like Dr. Hinton,” Trudeau said in a statement. “His curiosity for discovery and contributions to innovation will inspire generations to come. On behalf of all Canadians, I congratulate him on his remarkable achievement.”

Hinton, who joined U of T as a professor of computer science in 1987, said he was "flabbergasted" at the accolade. “I had no expectations of this,” said Hinton, who is also chief scientific adviser at the Vector Institute, which he co-founded. “I am extremely surprised and I'm honoured to be included.”

Hinton's Nobel Prize is the latest in a long list of honours which includes the Association for Computing Machinery’s A.M. Turing Award in 2019 – widely considered “the Nobel Prize of computing” – alongside collaborators Yann LeCun and Yoshua Bengio, election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Royal Medal from the Royal Society, Companion of the Order of Canada and Fellow of the Royal Societies of Canada and London.

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Sheila McIlraith receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian AI Association

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 17:16:59 +0000

Sheila McIlraith receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Canadian AI Association

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rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 06/10/2024 - 13:16

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Sheila McIlraith (photo courtesy of Sheila McIlraith)

Sheila McIlraith, a professor in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has received a 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian AI Association (CAIAC).

McIlraith, who is a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and associate director at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, was recognized for her research contributions to knowledge representation and reasoning, automated planning and machine learning.

Over the years, her work has found application in an array of problems including diagnosis and control of electromechanical systems – from photocopiers to robotic and space systems – and automated synthesis of web services that are optimized for personal preferences.

“It’s a tremendous honour to receive this award,” said McIlraith. “I share this recognition with my many wonderful students and collaborators who I have worked with over the years.”

“I congratulate Sheila on this well-deserved recognition,” said Professor Eyal de Lara, chair of the department of computer science. “She is a dedicated and passionate scholar whose leading research on safe and human-compatible AI systems is resonating here at U of T and in the broader computer science community.”

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U of T community members recognized with Order of Ontario

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 09 Jan 2024 19:16:51 +0000

U of T community members recognized with Order of Ontario

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Artificial intelligence expert Raquel Urtasun, business leader and philanthropist Blake Goldring and anesthesiologist Beverley Orser are among several members of the University of Toronto community who have recently been recognized with the Order of Ontario.

Edith Dumont, lieutenant-governor of Ontario, announced 25 new appointments to the 2023 Order of Ontario on Jan. 1.

They include Urtasun, a professor in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, co-founder of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and founder and CEO of self-driving vehicle company Waabi, who was recognized for her contributions to reshaping the future of transportation. “I am so proud to be appointed to the Order of Ontario,” Urtasun said in a post on X. “It is an honour to be recognized alongside such outstanding Ontarians who have made exceptional contributions toward a better province, country, and world.”

Goldring, the executive chair of AGF Management Limited and a Victoria College alum, was honoured for his longstanding support of causes in education, health, arts and the military. Over several decades, the Goldring family has supported numerous initiatives at U of T including the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and Goldring Student Centre at Victoria College.

Orser was among 26 luminaries – and five Temerty Faculty of Medicine scholars – to be appointed to the 2022 Order of Ontario in November 2023. An affiliate scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and professor in the departments of physiology and anesthesiology and pain medicine at Temerty, Orser was recognized for her groundbreaking work in optimizing anesthesia, improving access to care in rural communities and mitigating post-operative delirium and cognitive decline.

Established in 1986, the Order of Ontario is the highest civilian honour bestowed by the province.

Read about the 2023 Order of Ontario appointees

Read about the 2022 Order of Ontario appointees

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Artificial Intelligence researchers named CIFAR AI Chairs

lanthierj — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 20:12:42 +0000

Artificial Intelligence researchers named CIFAR AI Chairs

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Anna Goldenberg, one of eight U of T researchers to be named a CIFAR AI Chair, has developed a computer model that can predict a patient's oncoming heart attack (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Eight University of Toronto artificial intelligence researchers, all of whom are also faculty members at the Vector Institute, have been named CIFAR AI Chairs – a recognition of pioneering work in areas that could have global societal impact.

They are:

Jakob Foerster, who will be an assistant professor in U of T Scarborough’s department of computer and mathematical sciences in 2020
Animesh Garg, an assistant professor of computer science
Anna Goldenberg, an associate professor in the department of computer science and a scientist in the genetics and genome biology lab at SickKids Research Institute
Chris Maddison, who will be an assistant professor in the departments of computer science and statistical sciences in 2020
Sheila McIlraith, a professor in the department of computer science
Gennady Pekhimenko, an assistant professor in computer science
Toniann Pitassi, a professor in computer science with a joint appointment in mathematics
Angela Schoellig, an assistant professor at U of T’s Institute for Aerospace Studies who leads its Dynamic Systems Lab

The CIFAR AI Chairs each receive five years of dedicated funding and are a key part of the country’s $125-million Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, which seeks to attract and retain the top minds in the field.

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