Queen’s faculty recognized nationally with Royal Society of Canada (RSC) honours.
On Sept. 9 in the Queen’s Gazette, Professors Stefanie von Hlatky, Tucker Carrington, and Amir Fam were announced as recipients of this year’s RSC’s recognitions from Queen’s. The RSC is the country’s senior national council of distinguished Canadian scholars in the humanities, arts, and sciences.
A current Fellow can nominate a candidate to become an RSC fellow, with candidates then elected through a vote. Beyond prestige, recipients gain national visibility, stronger standing for grants and collaborations, access to a network of top scholars, and in some cases, medals or monetary awards
In interviews with The Journal, the three reflected on the research that led to their recognition and shared advice for future researchers.
Tucker Carrington
Carrington, who was elected a Fellow of the RSC in 2023, is being recognized once again this year.
A tenured professor of chemistry with a cross-appointment in physics, Carrington received the Henry Marshall Tory Medal from the RSC, an award recognizing outstanding research in astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, physics, or an allied science.
Carrington came to Queen’s in 2007 after being offered a Canada Research Chair. Since then, his research has grown with the support of “many very talented postdocs and graduate students,” whose contributions he calls “critical” to his success.
His work involves creating computational methods based on the rules of quantum mechanics. To do this, he uses new mathematical approaches to more efficiently simulate how atoms in molecules move and collide.
“To succeed in any academic endeavor, it is imperative that you be patient, determined, persistent, conscientious, and eager to learn from others,” Carrington said.
Amir Fam
Arriving in Canada around 35 years ago, Fam never imagined he’d receive an RSC honour.
A professor of civil engineering for more than 23 years, Fam specializes in structures such as buildings, bridges, and advanced materials. He currently serves as Vice-Dean (Research) in Smith Engineering.
He said the honour felt especially meaningful for him, given his positionality. “As an immigrant myself, and as a person of colour who immigrated here some 35 years ago, it would have never occurred in my wildest dream that one day I would be awarded this incredible honour.”
His work focuses on using new materials—like fibre reinforced polymers, bio-based composites, and high-performance concrete—to make buildings more sustainable and strengthen aging infrastructure. He developed techniques that replace steel in concrete to prevent corrosion. His research has been used in major projects, including the Taylor Bridge in Manitoba, Bombardier’s monorail test track in Ontario, and the Route 40 Bridge in Virginia.
Fam thanked his students, whom he credits as central to his career.
“All the success that we enjoy is fundamentally because of the great teamwork and hard work of my students,” he said. “If you work alone, there’s only so much you can do. But when you have a group of smart people thinking together, the outcome is tremendous.”
Stefanie von Hlatky
Von Hlatky has been at Queen’s since 2012 and, over the last five years, has held the position of Canada Research Chair in Gender, Security, and the Armed Forces.
Her work focuses on the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, particularly gender integration in NATO operations and women’s roles in the military.
Upon recognition of RSC, von Hlatky admittedly felt honoured. “I look at the Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada, you can’t help but just be in awe at the display of academic and research excellence featured in that group,” Von Hlatky said.
For von Hlatky, the award highlights the importance of her research as she explained there’s growing resistance to work on gender issues, which leads to blind spots in research relating to health, the climate, women, security, and defence.
Looking forward, von Hlatky plans to attend her first RSC conference this fall, contribute to academic committees, and launch the Global Feminist Resilience Network, an initiative uniting scholars from Canada, Europe, and the U.S. to preserve gender policy expertise and mentor future researchers.
Corrections
A previous version of this story misspelled Amir Fam’s last name. Incorrect information was published in the Sep. 16 issue of The Queen’s Journal.
The Journal regrets the error
Tags
Academic research, Award, Royal Society of Canada
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