Distinguished Lecture Series
2026-2027 Speakers

Reflections on a Long Career and What's Next

Thursday, September 17, 2026
11 a.m.

Bahen Centre for Information Technology, BA 3200

Abstract:

Coming soon

Bio:

Allan Borodin is a distinguished computer scientist and University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Rutgers University in 1963, followed by a Master's degree from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1966 while working part-time as a programmer at Bell Laboratories. He then pursued doctoral studies at Cornell University, completing his PhD in 1969 under the supervision of renowned computer scientist Juris Hartmanis.

Borodin joined the University of Toronto faculty in 1969 and was promoted to Full Professor in 1977. He served as Chair of the Department of Computer Science from 1980 to 1985 and was appointed University Professor in 2011, one of the institution’s highest academic distinctions.

Internationally recognized for his pioneering contributions to theoretical computer science, Borodin's research has advanced the understanding of computational complexity, online algorithms, resource tradeoffs, and algorithmic models. His achievements have been recognized through numerous prestigious honours. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1991, received the CRM-Fields-PIMS Prize in 2008, became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011, and was named a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery in 2014 for his influential contributions to theoretical computer science. In 2020, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in recognition of his outstanding impact on the field and on Canadian scholarship.