Awards and recognition
Eight SFU innovators bestowed with Canada’s highest academic honour
Eight Simon Fraser University scholars have been named to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC)—six of them as Fellows and two as members of the society’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists—bringing SFU's total number of active RSC members to approximately 80 researchers.
Membership in the RSC is Canada’s highest academic honour.
“It is with great pride that I congratulate SFU’s eight newest members of the Royal Society of Canada,” says SFU President and Vice-Chancellor Joy Johnson, who was elected to the RSC in 2019.
“Their creativity, innovative spirit and determination to embrace some of the world's most pressing societal challenges is making a profound impact on our local, national and global communities.”
Established in 1882 as Canada’s national academy, the society promotes research and learning in the arts, humanities and sciences. The society awards fellowships to peer-elected and distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions in these fields. The society’s mandate is to build a better future for Canada and the world.
The College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists recognizes emerging intellectual leaders who have demonstrated high achievement during their early careers.
“This is a well-deserved recognition of research excellence for SFU’s newly named Fellows and College Members,” says Dugan O'Neil, SFU vice-president of research and international.
“These eight SFU inductees are leading the way in a variety of disciplines, creating social change through new ideas and innovations. SFU’s growing number of RSC members exemplifies the university’s commitment to research, sustainability and knowledge mobilization.”
2022 Royal Society of Canada Fellows
David Chariandy, professor, Department of English, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
An internationally celebrated author and major contributor to the field of Black Canadian literature, Chariandy’s writings detail the social struggles and intimate relations of diasporic life.
Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, professor and Canada 150 Research Chair, School of Communication, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
An internationally renowned digital media theorist, Chun’s research unites the humanities and data science to analyze and counteract discriminatory relations embedded in sociotechnical systems.
Dana Lepofsky, professor, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Environment
As a leading archaeologist and ethnoecologist, Lepofsky seeks to understand the long-term relationships among Indigenous Peoples and their environment and to situate these relationships in current social and ecological contexts.
Laura Marks, professor, School for the Contemporary Arts, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
An influential media scholar and philosopher, Marks researches multi-sensory perception, non-Western sources of media art and the impact of media on the environmental crisis.
Judy Radul, professor, School for the Contemporary Arts, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
An award-winning and internationally renowned new media artist and scholar, Radul’s research investigates the intersection of representation, perception and technology.
Maite Taboada, Distinguished SFU Professor, Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
A linguist working at the intersection of discourse analysis and computational linguistics, Taboada's research has examined the nature of online news comments, the detection of fake news and misinformation and the proportion of women and men quoted in Canadian news media.
New College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists members
Angela Kaida, Distinguished SFU Professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Health Sciences
A leader in global health epidemiology, Kaida uses her exemplary community-based research to confront health inequities and transform health research practice and services for women affected by HIV in Canada and HIV endemic countries.
Meghan Winters, professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Canadian Institutes of Health Research Applied Public Health Chair
A champion for healthy cities, Winters leads intersectoral scholarship advancing our understanding of how the built environment affects mobility, safety and wellbeing for people of all ages and abilities.
The Government of Canada's Research Support Fund (RSF) supports with funding for ISA staff. These positions help SFU researchers increase success, reduce administrative burden, and to make it possible for the university and SFU faculty to successfully compete for the most significant and prestigious grants, prizes and awards available.
To suggest a candidate for the 2023 Royal Society of Canada nominations, please contact Institutional Strategic Awards at awards@sfu.ca.