Pavel Kovtun, University of Victoria, in recognition of his pioneering contributions establishing unexpected applications of the anti-de Sitter/ conformal field theory (AdS/CFT) correspondence to the computation of viscosity, leading to the celebrated Kovtun–Son–Starinets bound, which revealed deep connections between gravity, quantum field theory, and fluid dynamics; and for his foundational work in relativistic hydrodynamics, and associated transport phenomena.
Young-June Kim, University of Toronto, in recognition of his pioneering contributions to quantum magnetism, including the discovery that the material alpha-RuCl₃ may realize the topological magnetic state predicted by Alexei Kitaev, and for his leadership in elucidating its properties, culminating in key experimental signatures of a Kitaev spin liquid under high magnetic fields; work that has advanced the search for Majorana fermions and opened promising pathways toward topological quantum computing.
Adrian Liu, McGill University, in recognition of his sustained excellence in classroom instruction and impressive record of undergraduate research mentorship.
Jeffrey Rau, University of Windsor, in recognition of his international leadership in the theory of frustrated magnetism, and especially for elucidating the theory of a new form of magnetism called altermagnetism.
Bruce D. Gaulin, McMaster University, in recognition of his groundbreaking applications of neutron scattering to the understanding of quantum materials, especially in studies of geometrically frustrated magnetic systems.
Viktor Zacek, Université de Montréal, in recognition of his important contributions to the direct search for dark matter using bubble chamber techniques. Highlights include the development and refinement of these methods for dark matter investigation and leadership on the PICASSO and PICO experimental programs.
