Advancements in technology naturally put stress on our legal frameworks and public policies. Dr. Martin-Bariteau works to identify the intersections and tensions between different areas of law, technology, and public policy development. He seeks to clarify where there are significant gaps in technology law research and understanding and he collaborates with researchers across a broad range of disciplines to fill in those gaps. In recognition of his exceptional efforts and broad impact, Dr. Martin-Bariteau has been awarded the University of Ottawa’s Early Career Researcher of the Year Award for 2023, in the category covering Humanities, Social Sciences, Fine Arts and Literature.
Dr. Martin-Bariteau was one of the first researchers in Canada to acquire a legal expertise in blockchain technology, which has permeated the legal and financial worlds over the past decade. He has also established a highly relevant and timely research program on the regulation of AI, identifying challenging areas for AI law and policy, exposing potential problems and proposing innovative solutions. Most recently, he has positioned himself as a global thought leader on the societal, legal and ethical implications of quantum technologies, an emerging field of technological study that incorporates properties of quantum mechanics.
Dr. Martin-Bariteau has also become a major force in establishing collaborations that unite top academics from Canada and around the world in the interest of defining problems, identifying solutions, and ultimately shaping law and technology issues. As both the University Research Chair in Technology and Society and the Director of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society (CLTS), the country’s leading research hub in the field, Dr. Martin-Bariteau is playing a key role in establishing Canada as a leader in the field of law and technology.
The other winner of the 2023 Early Career Researcher of the Year Award – in the Pure and Applied Sciences category – is Dr. Eva Hemmer of the Faculty of Science. Dr. Hemmer has established an innovative research program in Materials Chemistry focused on designing novel lanthanide-based nanocarriers for applications ranging from bioimaging to solar technologies and energy conservation.
“These researchers truly stand out,” says Sylvain Charbonneau, Vice-President of Research and Innovation. “Their work addresses critical issues at the ever-evolving intersections of health, technology and law, driving change in an extraordinary way.”