Distinguished Lecture Series: Reflections on a Long Career and What's Next
Thursday, September 17, 2026, 11 a.m.
Bahen Centre for Information Technology, BA 3200
This lecture is open to the public. Please register using the link below.
Abstract:
University Professor Allan Borodin will begin his talk with reflections on the history of the department before exploring the current landscape of "teaching and research in the new world of AI/ML/LLMs." Every day, it seems there is another announcement about the solution to a famous open question in mathematics or theoretical computer science, not to mention rogue AI agents that create cyberattacks while attempting to cover their tracks. Given this, it is more than reasonable to ask: "Could a person, or any institution, last 57 years in this new world?"
Borodin will reflect on that question before walking us through his career. He will highlight some results he feels particularly proud of, discuss the general theme of his research (without realizing at the time that there was one), and touch on some of his more recent activities.
He will conclude with a few thoughts on how he has sustained himself through a lengthy DCS career and the University of Toronto for 57 years.
Bio:
Allan Borodin is a distinguished computer scientist and University Professor 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.