The award recognises Professor Jennings' outstanding lifetime contribution to AI research, honouring his pioneering work on agentic AI – intelligent software systems that can act autonomously, make decisions, and work with one another and alongside people to solve complex problems.
The Research Excellence Award, presented by the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI), is reserved for scientists whose careers have consistently delivered research of exceptional quality and lasting impact. It is regarded as one of the highest honours in AI, with previous recipients including some of the discipline's most influential pioneers, such as John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Judea Pearl, and Geoffrey Hinton.
Professor Jennings joins this distinguished group following a career that has had a profound impact on the development of modern AI. His research into intelligent software agents has transformed understanding of how autonomous technologies can collaborate with each other and with people, laying the foundations for innovations across sectors including energy, transport, healthcare and cybersecurity.
His recognition places him among a highly distinguished group – he is only the third UK-based recipient of the award in the past 40 years – and highlights a remarkable career trajectory that began with his receipt of the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award in 1999, widely regarded as the field’s ‘young researcher’ equivalent. His election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) further underscores the exceptional and sustained impact of his contributions across science and engineering.
Prior to joining Loughborough University in 2022, Professor Jennings held senior academic leadership roles at leading UK universities and research institutions, including serving as Vice-Provost for Research and Enterprise at Imperial College London and as Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton – one of the highest honours in UK academia, awarded by the Crown in recognition of exceptional international distinction in the field. He has also advised government and industry on the development and safe deployment of AI technologies, helping to shape national and international thinking on the role of intelligent systems in society.
Speaking about the award Professor Jennings said: “I am deeply honoured to receive the IJCAI Award for Research Excellence. This recognition reflects not only my own work, but also the many outstanding students, collaborators and colleagues I have had the privilege of working with throughout my career. Artificial intelligence is one of the defining technologies of our time, and it has been incredibly rewarding to contribute to a field that continues to evolve and deliver benefits across so many areas of society.”
The IJCAI Award for Research Excellence is awarded annually by the IJCAI Board of Trustees on the recommendation of an international awards selection committee.