On behalf of its members, Universities Canada would like to recognize Geoffrey Hinton, Professor Emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics on October 8, together with John Hopfield, Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, for their foundational discoveries and inventions on neural networks that laid the groundwork for the AI revolution. The Nobel Prize is awarded to those whose discoveries provide the greatest benefit to humankind.
October 8's recognition of a Canadian scholar underscores the importance of investing in fundamental research at Canadian universities to secure a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future for all. Universities Canada extends its congratulations to Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield for this distinguished recognition.
Hinton's research group made significant breakthroughs in deep learning, using tools from physics to transform speech recognition and object classification. Using an associative memory system developed by co-laureate Hopfield, he devised a way to find and identify specific elements in data, including in pictures. His contributions advanced machine learning, which underpins technologies like ChatGPT and self-driving cars.
"I'm thrilled to learn that Canadian professor, Geoffrey Hinton, has been awarded a Nobel Prize for his significant contributions to artificial intelligence. This honour is well-deserved and serves as a reminder of the outstanding talent we have here in Canada. Groundbreaking research like this is taking place on university campuses across Canada, and it's by investing in these bold, new ideas that we'll solve the world's greatest challenges and create a better future."
- Gabriel Miller, President and CEO of Universities Canada.
Known as the godfather of AI, Hinton earned his PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh in 1978 and conducted postdoctoral research at Sussex University and UC San Diego. He was a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University and established the Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit at University College London before returning to Toronto. A fellow of the UK Royal Society, Hinton has received numerous awards, including the Turing Award, for his impact on AI.
Hinton joins other distinguished Canadian winners in recent years a testament to the quality and depth of research at Canadian institutions. Recent winners include the University of Waterloo's Dr. Donna Strickland for the development of chirped pulse amplification (2018), University of Manitoba graduate Dr. Jim Peebles for his theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology (2019), the University of Alberta's Dr. Michael Houghton for his discovery of the Hepatitis C virus (2020) and Queen's University graduate Dr. David Card for his empirical contributions to labour economics (2021).
