Posted on June 27: Two more McMaster professors inducted as Fellows in Royal Society of Canada

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McMaster professors Christopher Wood and Marnie Rice have been named Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC).

Fellowship in the RSC is considered Canada's most prestigious academic accolade to which scholars and scientists aspire.

Wood, a biology professor and Canada Research Chair in Environment and Health, is a world leader in the areas of fish physiology and aquatic toxicology. His research involves studying the impact of waterborne pollutants, particularly metals on the biology of fish. He has been inducted into the Royal Society's Academy of Science.

Wood is the recipient of the Fry Medal, the highest award of the Canadian Society of Zoologists. In 2001 Wood was part of a team that won a national innovation award recognizing outstanding university-industry research and development partnerships. Wood and his fellow researchers from McMaster, Universiti du Quibec and Wilfrid Laurier University and Kodak Canada Inc. received the Synergy Award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Conference Board of Canada for collaborative multidisciplinary projects measuring silver released into the environment and researching the effects of silver on aquatic organisms.

The Royal Society citation says: “He has fundamentally changed our understanding of how fish maintain acid-base balance and regulate internal levels of ions and nitrogen. His research also reveals how such homeostatic mechanisms are perturbed by the effects of acid rain, global warming and metal contaminants. His studies of how metal toxicants act in aquatic environments have changed how regulatory agencies set acceptable environmental levels for toxic metals.”

Rice, a part-time professor in psychiatry & behavioural neurosciences, is one of the world's most prolific and innovative scientists studying criminal behaviour, human aggression, sexual offending and psychopathy. Rice has been inducted into the Royal Society's Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Royal Society citation says: “Her research on the prediction of violence, the motivation of sex offenders, the nature of psychopathy, the interplay between violence and mental disorder, the basis of firesetting, and the assessment and treatment of violent men is internationally recognized for its scientific rigor. Her many published scholarly articles, chapters, and books have made an enormous contribution to progress in understanding and solving these important problems.”

Fifty-eight McMasters professors are Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada.