RSC honours 14 McGill researchers and scholars

By Meaghan Thurston

Today the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) announced 87 new Fellows, including 14 McGill researchers and scholars from five faculties and schools. In addition, McGill’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Suzanne Fortier, was named a Specially Elected Fellow. The new cohort of Fellows will be inducted to the RSC on Friday, Nov. 27 in Victoria, B.C. They join the more than 150 McGill-affiliated Fellows inducted since 1966.

This year’s cohort includes some of McGill’s most accomplished scholars with research interests as varied as the history of literature in Quebec (Michel Biron, Arts), the theory of musical form of late eighteenth-century music (Willam Caplin, Schulich School of Music), therapeutic decision-making for pediatric brain tumour patients (Nada Jabado, Medicine), tropical forest ecology and conversation (Catherine Potvin, Science) and participatory visual work related to HIV and AIDS (Claudia Mitchell, Education).

“It is testament to the outstanding contributions of our professoriate for so many McGillians – more than any prior cohort – to be inducted as Fellows in a single year,” said Rosie Goldstein, Vice Principal, Research and International Relations. “These researchers epitomize McGill’s commitment to excellence nationally and internationally through world-class research and scholarship.”

Established in 1882, the RSC is the senior national body of distinguished Canadian scholars, artists and scientists. The RSC consists of over 2,000 Fellows selected by their peers for outstanding contributions to the natural and social sciences, arts and humanities. As Canada’s national academy, the RSC not only recognizes academic excellence, but it also advises governments and organizations, and promotes Canadian culture.

In addition to Regularly Elected Fellows, Honorary Fellows and Foreign Fellows, the Society also inducts up to seven Specially Elected Fellows per year for contributions to the objectives of the Society other than by scholarship and research.

“McGill is delighted and proud that our Principal Suzanne Fortier has been named a Specially Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada among so many distinguished colleagues and scholars,” said Stuart Cobbett, Chair of McGill’s Board of Governors. “Professor Fortier has demonstrated remarkable commitment to the excellent work of the Society in promoting the arts, the humanities and the sciences both in Canada and abroad, and she has made major contributions to Canadian public life. Congratulations to her on behalf of the entire McGill community.”

Suzanne Fortier was nominated for her collaborative approach to leadership and her commitment to mobilizing partnerships in support of Canada’s research and innovation culture. In her previous roles as Vice-Principal, Research, and Vice-Principal, Academic, at Queen’s University, and as the President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Prof. Fortier renewed focus on excellence in science and engineering research policy and funding to Canada’s overall research culture.

Dr. Goldstein notes that in recent years McGill has placed a particular emphasis on nominating scholars and researchers for induction to the RSC. This year’s cohort of inductees, she says, “demonstrates the full spectrum of excellent scholarship and research at McGill.”

Here is the complete list of McGill-based 2015 RSC Fellows:

1. Michel Biron, Professeur titulaire, Le Département de langue et littérature françaises, Faculty of Arts.
2. Robert Brandenberger, Professor, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science; Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Cosmology.
3. William Caplin, James McGill Professor, Department of Music Research, Schulich School of Music.
4. David Davies, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts.
5. Alan Evans, Professor, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Medicine; Co-Director, Ludmer Centre for Neuroinformatics and Mental Health.
6. Suzanne Fortier, Principal and Vice-Chancellor.
7. Christian Genest, Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Science; Canada Research Chair in Stochastic Dependence Modeling.
8. Nada Jabado, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine; Pediatric Hemato-oncologist, Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University Health Centre.
9. Maggie Kilgour, Molson Professor of English Language and Literature, Department of English, Faculty of Arts.
10. Laurence Kirmayer, James McGill Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine; Director, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry.
11. Bartha Maria Knoppers, Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy, Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine; Canada Research Chair in Law and Medicine.
12. Philippe Leroux, Associate Professor, Department of Music Research, Schulich School of Music.
13. Claudia Mitchell, James McGill Professor, Department of Integrated Studies in Education, Faculty of Education.
14. Catherine Potvin, Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science; Canada Research Chair on Climate Change Mitigation and Tropical Forests; Trottier Fellow, the Trottier Institute for Science and Public Policy; Director, Panama Field Study Semester.

Get the full list of new Royal Society of Canada Fellows