The Faraday Medal, one of the IET's most distinguished awards, recognises Professor Jennings' role as a founder of the field of agentic AI and multi-agent systems, helping to define its fundamental concepts and develop some of its earliest real-world applications.
An internationally recognised authority in AI, Professor Jennings has spent decades advancing systems that enable multiple intelligent agents and humans to work together effectively in complex environments. His research has been applied to challenges ranging from disaster response and climate change monitoring to elite sport.
The award places Professor Jennings among an esteemed group of engineers and scientists whose work has had a profound impact on society and technological advancement.
Commenting on the honour, Professor Jennings said: “Over the past 100 years, the Faraday Medal has recognised so many influential engineers and scientists. It's great to see this recognition for multi-agent systems as a rapidly maturing and important subfield of AI.
“I want to acknowledge the central contribution of the 100-plus PhD students and research fellows who've worked with me on this exciting journey. I've always enjoyed teamwork and think important breakthroughs happen when you bring multiple disciplines together and attempt to connect theoretical contributions to real-world applications.”
The latest recognition comes just months after Professor Jennings was awarded the 2026 IJCAI Award for Research Excellence, one of the most prestigious international honours in artificial intelligence. The award recognised his outstanding lifetime contribution to AI research and his pioneering work on agentic AI, intelligent software systems that can act autonomously, make decisions, and collaborate with each other and with people to solve complex problems.
Together, the IJCAI Award for Research Excellence and the IET Faraday Medal underline the exceptional impact of his contributions across both artificial intelligence and engineering.