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Provost honours 31 Թ professors for exceptional research achievements

Published: 1 May 2025
Թ announces 2025 cohort of Distinguished James Թ Professors, James Թ Professors and William Dawson Scholars

Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi has named 31 Թ professors as Distinguished James Թ Professors, James Թ Professors or William Dawson Scholars. The internal awards recognize exceptional research achievements.

Among the nine Distinguished James Թ Professor awardees named this year is , 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 eleven recipients of the James Թ 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 Թ 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 eleven newWilliam 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 Թ aimed at advancing clinical research in restorative oral healthcare.

“Each year, the Distinguished James Թ Professor, William Dawson Scholar and James Թ Professor awards recognize the extraordinary contributions of Թ’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 Թ’s impact in Quebec, Canada, and around the world.”

The James Թ 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 Թ Professoraward provides a $10,000 academic stipend or a $15,000 research allowance. To be considered for a Distinguished James Թ Professor award, recipients must have held a Canada Research Chair (Tier 1), or James Թ Professorship, for two seven-year terms. Distinguished James Թ Professor recipients hold the distinction until retirement, and those granted Emeritus status retain the title.

Here are the 2025 honourees:

Distinguished James Թ Professors (DJMP)

  • , Department of Physics
  • Isabelle Daunais, Département des littératures de langue française, de traduction et de création
  • , Department of Human Genetics

James Թ Professors (JMP)

  • Gordon Bloom, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education

William Dawson Scholars (WDS)

  • Anna Kim, Desautels Faculty of Management
  • , Department of Physics
  • Dennis Wendt, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology


A current listing of all DJMP, JMP and WDS awardees


Read more about the 2025 honorees:

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