Desmond Morton Research Excellence Prize

Updated: June 2026

UTM’s Office of the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation will present one prize annually to a UTM faculty member in recognition of outstanding career achievement in research. The winner of this prize will receive $5,000 to support their research.

Eligibility

Nominees must be tenured faculty at the rank of Professor, with a primary appointment at UTM.

A faculty member may be nominated for the prize any number of times, but may receive the prize only once.

Nomination Process

Each year, the prize will be awarded to a scholar from one of three broadly defined disciplines: Humanities, Social Sciences, or Sciences. These disciplines will rotate in a three-year cycle. The upcoming cycle is as follows:

• 2026: Nominations from the Social Sciences
• 2027: Nominations from the Humanities
• 2028: Nominations from the Sciences

Candidates for this prize must be nominated by the Chair or Director of their academic unit. We encourage Chairs and Directors to work with Associate Chairs or Associate Directors, Research in the identification of candidates and the preparation of nomination packages.

Adjudication Process

Nomination packages will be adjudicated by a committee chaired by the Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation (or their delegate), and comprised of 3-5 faculty in the discipline being recognized that year.

Evaluation Criteria

The adjudication committees will evaluate nomination packages with reference to the following criteria:

• Evidence of the nominee’s outstanding and sustained research contributions to their field, regardless of whether these contributions are traditional or non-traditional
• Evidence of the nominee’s standing as a global leader in their field
• Evidence of the nominee’s outstanding and sustained international reputation as a researcher

Nomination Guidelines

We encourage Chairs and Directors to consider nominating candidates from federally designated equity-seeking groups: racialized individuals; Indigenous Peoples; persons with disabilities; and women and gender equity-seeking groups.

A complete nomination package will include the following documents:

1. Nomination Letter (up to 3 pages)

This letter from the principal nominator should explain in detail the rationale for the nomination, with a focus on the criteria listed above. It should also include a rationale for the choice of external referees.

Even though this letter is addressed to readers in the nominee’s broadly defined discipline, nominators should nevertheless take this opportunity to clearly outline how research excellence is measured in the nominee’s specific field. When describing these field-specific norms, please also explain how the nominee exceeds the standard of excellence: i.e., what makes their research contributions not only excellent but truly outstanding? what does it look like in this field to achieve the standing of a global leader?

The U of T Honours and Awards Office had developed the following helpful resources on preparing nomination letters:

• How to Write an Impactful Award Nomination
• Writing Compelling Narratives for Award Dossiers

2. Curriculum Vitae

The nominee’s c.v. may be in any format, and should speak to the evaluation criteria.

3. Letters of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation should be solicited from three internationally recognized scholars in the nominee’s field. Letters should come from referees beyond the University of Toronto. Referees should be capable of evaluating the nominee at arm’s-length, e.g., they should not be the nominee’s former supervisors or collaborators.

Submission Instructions

Complete nomination packages should be submitted via the online nomination form, and are due by November 20, 2026.

Results

Principal nominators will be notified of the results of the competition by email. Nominees are not notified directly.

In the case of an unsuccessful application, general feedback may be provided upon request.

Questions

Any questions about this program may be directed to funding.ovpri.utm@utoronto.ca. 

Past Winners