In this talk, I will discuss the evolution of chemistry in light of the rapid emergence of AI and robotics. In particular, I will discuss how the information processing capabilities available at a given period, as well as the tools for chemical transformations available, affect our ability to create new molecules and materials. I will take a historical perspective, starting from the origins of life to the current era of AI in chemistry and self-driving labs (2025). I will conclude with thoughts on how the scientific enterprise, particularly chemistry and materials science, could be conducted by 2050.
About the Speaker
Alán Aspuru-Guzik is a Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science at the University of Toronto, cross-appointed in Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, and the Institute of Medical Science. He is Senior Director at NVIDIA Research, CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Director of the Acceleration Consortium, and Co-Director of the CIFAR Accelerated Decarbonization program. His research centers on the integration of artificial intelligence, automation, and the natural sciences, with applications spanning functional materials, robotics, and quantum computing.
Alán began his independent career at Harvard University in 2006 and was a full professor there from 2013 to 2018. He received his B.Sc. from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1999 and his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004, where he joined as a postdoctoral fellow from 2005 to 2006.
He is a pioneer in the development of algorithms and experimental implementations of quantum computers and quantum simulators dedicated to chemical systems. He has accelerated the discovery of organic semiconductors, organic photovoltaics, organic batteries, organic light-emitting diodes, and recently, organic lasers. He pioneered molecular representations and generative models for the automatic learning of molecular properties. Currently, Alán is working on self-driving laboratories and AI scientists.
Among other recognitions, he received the Google Focused Award for Quantum Computing, the Sloan Research Fellowship, and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. He was the Winner of the Heinrich Emanuel Merck Award in 2025. Alán was one of the best innovators under the age of 35 by the MIT Technology Review and received the Early Career Award in Theoretical Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Physical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He was selected as one of the top 100 most powerful Canadians in 2024 by Maclean’s Magazine under the AI Category. Alán is a co-founder of Zapata Quantum, Kebotix, Intrepid Labs, and Axiomatic AI. See also Alán’s profile for current media, research, and awards.