Astronomy grad students will benefit from new scholarships and fellowships
Left to right: Patrick Deane, president and vice-chancellor of McMaster; David Venus, chair, Department of Physics & Astronomy; William Harris, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics & Astronomy; and Rob Baker, dean, Faculty of Science. Harris recently gifted $400,000 to McMaster to create the William & Caroline Herschel Fund.
McMaster graduate students are now one step closer to touching the stars.
William Harris, a professor emeritus in the Department of Physics & Astronomy, recently gifted $400,000 to create the William & Caroline Herschel Fund at McMaster.
Harris met with senior campus leaders Wednesday in celebration of his gift to the University.
Named after William Herschel (1738-1822) and Caroline Herschel (1750-1848) — a brother and sister pair who were prominent and highly influential pioneers in astronomy — the fund will support graduate scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships in astronomy.
“It’s been a great experience over my career to see astronomy and astrophysics at McMaster grow into a superb part of the faculty, and I want to do what I can to see that it continues forward strongly,” said Harris.
The Department of Physics & Astronomy currently boasts 25 full-time research-active faculty, more than 70 graduate students and 10 postdoctoral researchers.
In addition to his family and astronomy colleagues, Harris was joined by Patrick Deane, president and vice-chancellor of McMaster; Mary Williams, vice-president, University Advancement; Rob Baker, dean, Faculty of Science; and David Venus, chair, Department of Physics & Astronomy.
Read more about the 2015 Canadian Astronomical Society conference, hosted by McMaster at the Sheraton Hamilton Hotel from May 24-27.
