Professor Jo Bovy, an associated faculty member at the Dunlap Institute, was elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists this year.
The College recognizes mid-career leaders who provide the RSC with multigenerational capacity to help address major challenges facing Canada and the rest of the world, and unlock new opportunities in science, culture, and emerging fields.
Bovy, who is originally from Belgium, was elected to the College in recognition of his significant contributions to our understanding of the history, structure, dynamics, and content of the Milky Way galaxy.
“I am very happy to be elected to the RSC College and for the recognition of my research, leadership, and mentorship contributions that it signifies,” Bovy says. “As an immigrant to Canada, it’s also very meaningful for me to be welcomed into one of its most impactful learned societies.”
Bovy serves as the Science Working Group Chair for the APOGEE survey, which uses high-resolution, high signal-to-noise infrared spectroscopy to study the bulge and disk regions of the Milky Way, and other areas of stellar and galactic astrophysics. He also works on innovative data analysis techniques for large data sets, like those generated by astronomical surveys.
“Because the RSC College brings people together from a wide range of academic and artistic fields, I’m looking forward to engaging with them in interdisciplinary conversations, perhaps finding ways to apply techniques from my research in other fields or vice versa. I’m also hoping to learn more about challenges and solutions related to open-research practices in other fields.”
Bovy will be formally inducted into the RSC College this November alongside five other U of T faculty members. He will join Dunlap Institute’s Prof. Renée Hložek, who was elected to the College in 2022.
About the Royal Society of Canada
Founded in 1882, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) comprises the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences, and The College of New Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. The RSC recognizes excellence, advises the government and the larger society, and promotes a culture of knowledge and innovation in Canada and with other national academies around the world.
