Polanyi Prize

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Economics

John Charles Polanyi Prize

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Assistant Professor Tianyi Wang (courtesy of the Council of Ontario Universities)

Tianyi Wang, an assistant professor in the department of economics in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been awarded the prestigious John Charles Polanyi Prize in economic science for 2023.

An applied microeconomist, Wang works primarily at the intersection of political economy and economic history. His research addresses the critical analysis of press independence, political discourse, and the foundations of open dialogue in the context of historical political repression.

It does so by examining the quantitative impact of McCarthyism on American society and democracy, particularly through studies on the Hollywood blacklist, which affected hundreds of professionals in the entertainment industry.

Wang’s forthcoming projects investigate the effects of McCarthyism on targeted groups like the press, labor unions, and liberal politicians. For example, one project will examine how journalists were subpoenaed to testify about their political beliefs, and the impact on press independence and political discourse.

Maya Fishbach awarded 2023 John Charles Polanyi Prize in physics

rahul.kalvapalle — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 19:04:57 +0000

Maya Fishbach awarded 2023 John Charles Polanyi Prize in physics

Community

rahul.kalvapalle Wed, 02/21/2024 - 14:04

Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics

Faculty of Arts & Science

John Charles Polanyi Prize

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Assistant Professor Maya Fishbach (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Maya Fishbach, an assistant professor with the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) in the Faculty of Arts & Science, has been awarded the prestigious John Charles Polanyi Prize for 2023.

A gravitational wave astrophysicist, Fishbach studies collisions of black holes and neutron stars. Through a combination of data analysis and theoretical modeling, her research strives to explain how, where and when black holes and neutron stars form and merge. By combining gravitational wave and electromagnetic radiation observations, Fishbach is advancing knowledge on everything from stars to cosmology.

“I’m incredibly grateful to receive this award in recognition of my past work and the future promise of gravitational-wave astrophysics,” says Fishbach, a member of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA gravitational wave collaboration and the principal investigator of the LIGO scientific collaboration group at CITA.

“I’m especially honoured to join the inspiring cohort of past Polanyi prize recipients whom I greatly admire and for the opportunity to celebrate John Polanyi and his legacy.”

Miriam Diamond receives 2020 Polanyi Prize in Physics

lanthierj — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 19:13:44 +0000

Miriam Diamond receives 2020 Polanyi Prize in Physics

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Tue, 12/15/2020 - 14:13

Faculty of Arts & Science

Department of Physics

Women in STEM

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Miriam Diamond of the department of physics at the University of Toronto is the winner of the 2020 Polanyi Prize in Physics for her new insights into dark matter and the nature of the universe.

The prestigious John Charles Polanyi prizes are awarded in honour of University Professor John Polanyi, who won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Funded by the government of Ontario and administered by the Council of Ontario Universities, they recognize innovative researchers who are continuing postdoctoral work or have recently gained a faculty appointment.

An assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Diamond seeks to unravel one of the biggest questions regarding the foundations of our universe: the quest to find dark matter particles in the laboratory. Success would revolutionize the very core of modern physics and bring a better understanding to the universe.

“The University of Toronto congratulates Assistant Professor Diamond on this important recognition of her work,” said University Professor Ted Sargent, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation and strategic initiatives. “Dark matter makes up about a quarter of our universe and, throughout her early career, Miriam worked to develop innovative techniques to search for dark matter at the Large Hadron Collider and at the SLAC Linear Accelerator. She is now engaged in the experiment known as SuperCDMS (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) – a significant collaboration which holds the potential to make a historic breakthrough in this area of physics.”

Daphne Voineskos receives 2020 Polanyi Prize in Physiology/Medicine

lanthierj — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 19:09:29 +0000

Daphne Voineskos receives 2020 Polanyi Prize in Physiology/Medicine

Research & Innovation

lanthierj Tue, 12/15/2020 - 14:09

Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Department of Psychiatry