William Harris

I am an observational astrophysicist. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Yale University, I joined the faculty at McMaster University. I've spent academic research leaves at the Royal Observatory (Edinburgh, Scotland), the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC, Victoria, BC), Kitt Peak National Observatory (NOAO, Arizona), and Mount Stromlo Observatory (RSAA/ANU, Australia), and more recently have made frequent visits to the European Southern Observatory (Munich).

I was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 2004 and held a Killam Research Fellowship From Jan 2008 to Dec 2009. I was given the Beals Award from the Canadian Astronomical Society in 2010. Contributions to professional community work have included serving as President of the Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA), chairing the Board of Directors and the Scientific Advisory Council of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), the NSERC Grant Selection Commitee for Space and Astronomy, and time allocation panels for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) . During 1998-2000, I took part in the seven-member Long Range Planning Panel commissioned by NRC/NSERC/CASCA to develop a 10-year plan for the future of Canadian astronomy.