Eight Faculty of Science professors honoured by Provost for exceptional research achievements
Clockwise from top left:听Robert Brandenberger (Physics), Christian Genest (Mathematics and Statistics),听Joel Kamnitzer (Mathematics and Statistics), B盲rbel Kn盲uper (Psychology), Milica Mio膷evi膰 (Psychology), Adrian Liu (Physics), Nagissa Mahmoudi (Earth and Planetary Sciences), and听Galen Halverson (Earth and Planetary Sciences)
Eight Faculty of Science professors are among this year鈥檚 cohort of Distinguished James 黑料社 Professors, James 黑料社 Professors, and William Dawson Scholars. 听
Thirty-one professors from across the 黑料社 community were selected this year to receive these internal honours, which are awarded annually by the Provost.听
鈥淚 am delighted to congratulate our colleagues on these prestigious honours," said Bruce Lennox, Dean of Science. 鈥淭he leadership of these eight outstanding professors, whose work spans diverse disciplines, advances 黑料社鈥檚 influence both locally and globally and positions our faculty听as a leader in scientific progress.鈥澨�
Distinguished James 黑料社 Professors听
Robert Brandenberger (Physics) and Christian Genest (Mathematics and Statistics) were named Distinguished James 黑料社 Professors, the University鈥檚 highest internal honour. These awards recognize the achievements of late-career researchers as international leaders in their fields.听
A pioneering figure in theoretical cosmology for more than 35 years and a recipient of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Physics, Brandenberger has been a professor at 黑料社 since 2004. Holding a Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Cosmology, he develops models of the early universe that bridge fundamental physics and cosmological observations, seeking to answer questions about its origins and structure.听
Genest joined 黑料社鈥檚 Department of Mathematics and Statistics in 2010. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Stochastic Dependence Modeling and develops statistical models and inference techniques to study dependencies between variables, with applications in fields like finance, insurance, and hydrology. In 2023, he won the prestigious CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize, becoming the first statistician to receive this distinction.听
James 黑料社 Professors听
The James 黑料社 Professor award recognizes a tenured full professor鈥檚 status as an outstanding researcher and an international leader in their field. This year鈥檚 winners from the Faculty of Science are Joel Kamnitzer (Mathematics and Statistics), B盲rbel Kn盲uper (Psychology, renewal), and Galen Halverson (Earth and Planetary Sciences, renewal).听
Kamnitzer鈥檚 research focuses on the representation theory of complex reductive groups, using geometric and algebraic methods to explore their structures and applications.听Kn盲uper听works in the field of applied social cognition, studying the cognitive and behavioural mechanisms underlying health-related decision-making to develop evidence-based interventions.
Halverson, who is also Chair of the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, integrates sedimentology, stratigraphy, and isotope geochemistry to reconstruct ancient environments and understand the interplay between tectonics, climate, and early life on Earth.听
William Dawson Scholars听
The William Dawson Scholar award recognizes tenure-track associate or assistant professors鈥� demonstrated potential to become global leaders in their fields. Professors听Nagissa Mahmoudi (Earth and Planetary Sciences), Adrian Liu (Physics, renewal), and听Milica Mio膷evi膰 (Psychology, renewal)听are among this year鈥檚 winners of the award.听
Mahmoudi and Liu both joined 黑料社 in 2018 and are members of the Trottier Space Institute. Mahmoudi studies geomicrobiology and microbial biogeochemistry, using field- and laboratory-based techniques to investigate how microorganisms influence carbon cycling in marine environments. Liu, an astrophysicist, conducts large surveys of the universe using datasets from 21cm cosmology to map it and expand our understanding of how the first stars and galaxies formed and evolved.听
A quantitative psychologist, Mio膷evi膰 works with advanced Bayesian methods to improve how researchers draw inferences about causal mechanisms in health, social, and behavioral science studies, especially when working with small sample sizes.听