[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Deen_Hitchcock.jpg” caption=”Jamal Deen and Adam Hitchcock”]Two McMaster professors, Jamal Deen and Adam Hitchcock, have been selected as Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada by the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada. Election to RSC is the highest honour that can be attained by scholars, artists and scientists in Canada.

Jamal Deen, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Senior Canada Research Chair in Information Technology, has been elected to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in the division of applied sciences and engineering. Deen is the eleventh member of the Faculty of Engineering to be elected a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada.

The Royal Society of Canada citation states, “Jamal Deen is internationally recognized for his research in the analysis, modeling and applications of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. A highly accomplished researcher, inventor and prolific scholar, his device models and experimental innovations are used worldwide.”

Deen's research has potential applications for use in a variety of applications including long-distance telecommunications, chip-to-chip interconnections in computers, medical imaging and linking massively parallel processors and mainframes.

Jamal Deen is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society, a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada, and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. In addition, he was recently elected to Honorary Membership of the World Innovation Foundation, the Foundation's highest honor.

Adam Hitchcock, a professor for the Department of Chemistry and Canada Research Chair in Materials Research, has been elected to the RSC in the division of mathematical and physical science. Hitchcock has made pioneering contributions to near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy of core levels in molecules, surfaces and solids. He is a leading contributor to the emergence of the new technique of scanning transmission x-ray microscopy as a high resolution imaging method for materials research. He has demonstrated scientific leadership in the development and planning of the Canadian Light Source as an internationally competitive new Canadian research facility.

Founded in 1882, the RSC is Canada's oldest and most prestigious scholarly organization. Fellows come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, and are dedicated to achieving excellence in their endeavours, thus enhancing Canada's competitiveness on a global basis.

This year's new Fellows will be inducted at a ceremony to be held Sunday, November 19, 2006. The complete list of newly elected Fellows, their affiliations and nomination citations can be obtained by visiting www.rsc.ca.