Four faculty members named Canada Research Chairs

Four researchers from the Departments of Biology, Kinesiology, Physics & Astronomy and Mathematics & Statistics have been named Canada Research Chairs as part of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. The Canada Research Chairs Program invests approximately $311 million per year to attract and retain a diverse cadre of world-class researchers, to reinforce academic research and training excellence in Canadian postsecondary institutions.

In 2000, the Government of Canada created a permanent program to establish 2,285 research professorships—Canada Research Chairs—in eligible degree-granting institutions across the country.

There are two tiers of CRCs, which recognize accomplished and emerging research leaders: Tier 1 chairs are held for seven years with an investment of $200,000 a year; Tier 2 chairs are held for five years, with an investment of $100,000 annually, with an additional $20,000 annual stipend for first-term chairs. Each tier of chairs can be renewed once.

Emily Choy

Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Ecosystem Health (Tier 2)

Choy is an assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science.  Choy’s research program will examine the effects of climate change and additional anthropogenic stressors on wildlife and ecosystem health using seabirds and aerial insectivores as model organisms to predict forecasted climate change scenarios in Canada and identify an vulnerable wildlife and ecosystems that may be at-risk.

Ryan Cloutier

Canada Research Chair in Exoplanetary Astronomy (Tier 2) 

Cloutier is an assistant professor of Physics & Astronomy. Cloutier’s research program will tackle key open questions concerning the processes that drive the formation and composition of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes around red dwarfs, deepening our understanding of the galaxy’s most common planets around its most common stars.

Megumi Harada

Canada Research Chair in Combinatorial Algebraic and Symplectic Geometry (Tier 1) 

Megumi Harada is a professor in the department of Mathematics and Statistics. Harada’s research program focuses on new ways to relate piecewise-linear geometry with algebraic geometry, in a manner which unifies, generalizes and organizes many known phenomena into one coherent theory. A key motivation for the research is a major open problem in the intersection of algebraic geometry with string theory called the mirror symmetry conjecture.

Dylan Kobsar

Canada Research Chair in Human Movement Science and Technology (Tier 2) 

Dylan Kobsar is an associate professor of Kinesiology. Kobsar’s research program advances the understanding and application of human movement science by integrating biomechanics, data science, and artificial intelligence. Its objective is to develop scalable, ecologically valid movement assessments that improve clinical decision-making, enhance athletic performance, and support innovation in movement technology.