Digvir Jayas is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lethbridge and a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba. He spent more than a decade in academic leadership roles at the University of Manitoba, including as its vice-president (research and international) for nearly 14 years. He has served as president, chair, and board member of many organizations in fields including food science, health policy, bioengineering, marine, arctic research, and many more. He has acted as interim president of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC). He has received multiple awards recognizing his research and professional contributions to agriculture in China, Ukraine, Canada, India, and the USA, including the Sukup Global Food Security Award in 2017 and the Brockhouse Canada Prize (NSERC) in 2008. For his important contributions to knowledge in multiple domains, he received the Sir John William Dawson Medal from the Royal Society of Canada in 2009. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, an inductee to both the Manitoba and the Canadian Agricultural Halls of Fame, and an Officer of the Order of Canada. He holds a Ph.D., M.Sc., and B.Tech., and is a registered professional engineer and geologist. He was appointed to the NRC Council in March 2022.