Provost honours 28 McGill professors for exceptional research achievements
Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi has named 28 McGill professors as Distinguished James McGill Professors, James McGill Professors or William Dawson Scholars. The internal awards recognize exceptional research achievements.
Among the nine Distinguished James McGill Professor awardees named this year is Robert Brandenberger, Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Cosmology (Tier I) and Professor in the Department of Physics. It’s the University’s highest internal honour, awarded to late-career researchers recognized as international leaders in their field. Brandenberger has been a pioneering figure for more than 35 years. His research has served to answer fundamental questions about the origins and structure of the universe, such as whether there was a Big Bang. In 2021, he received the Canadian Association of Physicists Lifetime Achievement Medal in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions, which bridge theoretical cosmology and recent advances in observational astronomy of the early universe.
The nine recipients of the James McGill Professor award, which honours significant research contributions, include Richard King, from the Department of Music Research at the Schulich School of Music. A world-renowned sound engineer, and a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society, King has won 15 Grammy Awards in various fields, including Best Engineered Album in both the Classical and Non-Classical categories. Before joining McGill in 2009, King was a senior recording engineer at Sony Music Studios in New York, where he worked with top-tier artists and orchestras.
There are 10 new William Dawson Scholars; the award recognizes associate or assistant professors’ demonstrated potential to become global leaders in their field. They include Elizabeth Zimmermann, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, who has a background in materials science and engineering. Zimmermann’s research – from investigating bone adaptation in cerebral palsy using imaging techniques, to working with dental clinicians to build biomimetic dental implants – bridges biomedical innovation and clinical application. She currently leads a project funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI JELF), with matching support from the Quebec government, to establish the Oral Rehabilitation Research Unit of Montreal (ORUM), a research initiative at McGill aimed at advancing clinical research in restorative oral healthcare.
“Each year, the Distinguished James McGill Professor, William Dawson Scholar and James McGill Professor awards recognize the extraordinary contributions of McGill’s research community,” said Manfredi. “I extend my warmest congratulations to this year’s recipients. Your scholarly leadership and commitment to advancing knowledge help drive McGill’s impact in Quebec, Canada, and around the world.”
The James McGill Professor and William Dawson Scholar awards include an annual salary supplement and research allowance of up to $25,000. They are held for a seven-year term and five-year term respectively, with the possibility of a one-time renewal. The Distinguished James McGill Professor award provides a $10,000 academic stipend or a $15,000 research allowance. To be considered for a Distinguished James McGill Professor award, recipients must have held a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1), or James McGill Professorship, for two seven-year terms. Distinguished James McGill Professor recipients hold the distinction until retirement, and those granted Emeritus status retain the title.
Here are the 2025 honourees:
Distinguished James McGill Professors (DJMP)
- Robert Brandenberger, Department of Physics
- Gwyn Campbell, Department of History and Classical Studies
- Isabelle Daunais, Département des littératures de langue française, de traduction et de création
- Christian Genest, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
- Richard Gold, Faculty of Law
- Mark Lathrop, Department of Human Genetics
- Stephen McAdams, Department of Music Research
- Heidi McBride, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
- Silvia Vidal, Department of Human Genetics
James McGill Professors (JMP)
- Gordon Bloom, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education
- Cecilia Flores, Department of Psychiatry
- Galen Halverson, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Alicia Hinarejos, Faculty of Law
- Joel Kamnitzer, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
- Jonathan Kimmelman, Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy
- Bärbel Knäuper, Department of Psychology
- Richard King, Department of Music Research
- Fackson Mwale, Department of Surgery
- Michael Ngadi, Department of Bioresource Engineering
- Saibal Ray, Desautels Faculty of Management
William Dawson Scholars (WDS)
- Omar Farahat, Faculty of Law
- Blane Harvey, Integrated Studies in Education
- Anna Kim, Desautels Faculty of Management
- Joseph Levitan, Department of Integrated Studies in Education
- Adrian Liu, Department of Physics
- Nagissa Mahmoudi, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
- Milica Miočević, Department of Psychology
- Eve-Marie Quintin, Educational and Counselling Psychology
- Elsa Vasseur, Department of Animal Science
- Dennis Wendt, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology
- Elizabeth Zimmermann, Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences
