Royal Society of Canada elects five York profs into its ranks

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has elected five York University professors into its ranks.

Professor Marie-Christine Pioffet, Department of French Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS); Professor Seth Feldman, Department of Cinema & Media Studies, School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design; Professor Peter Victor, Faculty of Environmental Studies; Professor Leah Vosko, Department of Political Science, LA&PS and Canada Research Chair in Feminist Political Economy; and Professor Barry Lever, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, have all been inducted into the society as Fellows.

“On behalf of the York University community, I extend my warmest congratulations to Professors Feldman, Lever, Pioffet, Victor and Vosko for this well-deserved recognition of their accomplishments. These leading scholars epitomize York’s commitment to excellence in research and scholarship through their significant scholarly contributions in their respective fields,” said York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri.

Division of Humanities

Professor Marie-Christine Pioffet is an internationally renowned specialist in 17th-century travel and exploration narratives. Her research on New France radically transformed the scholarly study of explorations, colonization and evangelization in early North America. Her masterful Dictionnaire analytique des toponymes imaginaires (Analytical Dictionary of Imaginary Toponyms in French narrative prose from 1605 to 1711) drew critical attention to the evolution of travel narratives within the wider context of the development of rational thought in the West.

Division of Arts

Professor Seth Feldman, through his writing, broadcasting and film programming, is a founder and leader in Canadian Film Studies. As a public intellectual, he has produced two documentary films and written and presented 26 CBC radio documentaries. He was a founder and President of the Film Studies Association of Canada and has served as dean of Fine Arts at York University and director of the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.

Division of Social Sciences

Professor Peter Victor is Canada’s leading ecological economist. Widely recognized and awarded, he has contributed as much to the development of his discipline globally as any other economist since the 1970s. His intellectually rigorous critique of such concepts as “natural capital”, and whether and how we can “green” the economy, have solidified his reputation as an outstanding scholar; his current research on ecological macroeconomics maintains his momentum and excites expectations.

Professor Leah Vosko is an internationally recognized social scientist who writes on the political economy of work, gender, citizenship, migration and labour markets. An interdisciplinary scholar, Vosko has shaped innovative approaches to conceptualizing and measuring precarious employment, to studying labour standards, and to understanding the condition of temporariness. Her research and her tools for knowledge creation and knowledge sharing have had a profound impact on matters of equity and social justice.

Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division

For over 50 years, Professor Barry Lever has played a dominant role both nationally and internationally in defining physical inorganic chemistry, making him one of Canada’s most cited chemists. His electronic spectroscopy research books have been used by generations of chemists and spectroscopists, and he introduced predictive electrochemical parameters (colloquially termed “Lever Parameters”) used worldwide. Lever has made ground-breaking contributions establishing the synergism between electrochemistry and spectroscopy of inorganic compounds.

The York faculty were elected to the society by their peers in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Election to the academies of the Royal Society of Canada is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences. The society elected 87 new Fellows, two Specialty Fellows and one Foreign Fellow to its ranks for 2015.

“The RSC warmly welcomes this year’s 87 newly elected Fellows. These outstanding scholars, artists and scientists will be joining the society due to their outstanding work in the arts, humanities and sciences,” said Graham Bell, president of the Royal Society of Canada. “By promoting and recognizing these leading intellectuals and researchers, the Royal Society of Canada continues to be on the forefront of significant advances for the betterment of Canada and the world.”

This year's new Fellows will be inducted to the academies of the RSC during the Induction and Awards Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 27 in Victoria, BC.