Royal Society of Canada announces 2025 Fellows including three UCalgary scholars

Three UCalgary faculty members have been elected Fellows to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), a distinction awarded to scholars who have made remarkable contributions in their fields and to Canadian public life. 

Drs. Henry Leung, PhD, Bruce Pike, PhD, and Frank Stahnisch, MD, PhD, will be inducted into the RSC during its annual Celebration of Excellence and Engagement ceremony in November.

“Being named a Fellow of the RSC is the country’s highest academic honour in the arts, humanities and sciences,” says Dr. Ed McCauley, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary, who is also a Fellow of the RSC. “Congratulations to Drs. Leung, Pike, and Stahnisch for earning this distinction. Our UCalgary community is proud to celebrate this national recognition with them.”

“The Royal Society of Canada is delighted to welcome into its ranks a talented group of inspiring researchers, artists, and creators whose peers have recognized their exceptional contributions to the world of science and culture, as well as to the well-being of Canadians. Their research will continue to influence public policy for years to come, while improving the well-being of our society,” says Alain-G. Gagnon, FRSC, President of the RSC.

Dr. Henry Leung, PhD 
Professor, Department of Electrical and Software Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering 

Henry Leung is a leading expert in autonomous systems, AI, and intelligent sensing technologies. His work in information fusion—the process of combining conflicting data from multiple sources to improve decision making—includes breakthroughs and applications in national security for the Department of National Defence. This work has also led to transformative applications for industries including pipeline infrastructure, environmental remediation, and smart cities. Leung leads the Autonomous Systems and Intelligent Sensing Laboratory, where his team develops autonomous and AI solutions from theoretical concepts to real-world testing. He is the founding editor of the first book series on information fusion. A Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) the Society of Phot-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) and the Canadian Academy of Engineering, Leung received the IEEE Canada Outstanding Engineer Award in 2023 and the Killam Research Excellence Award in 2024.  

Learn more about Leung’s research. 

Dr. Bruce Pike, PhD 
Professor, Department of Radiology, Cumming School of Medicine 

Bruce Pike is a world leader in structural and functional imaging of the human brain. He has developed novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods to quantify brain morphology, characterize tissue microstructure, and measure hemodynamics and energetics. These innovations have led to landmark discoveries about brain composition, organization, and physiology across the lifespan. 

Pike is the co-founder and Senior Editor of Imaging Neuroscience. He is a Senior Fellow of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and serves on the scientific advisory boards of numerous national and international organizations. Since 2014, he has held the positions of Head of the Image Science Division in the Department of Radiology and the Campus Alberta Innovates Program Chair in Healthy Brain Aging, where he has built Canada’s third largest imaging research program and launched a new MRI-guided focused ultrasound research platform.  

Learn more about Pike’s research.  

Bruce Pike is a member of the Cumming School of Medicine’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute. 

Dr. Frank W. Stahnisch, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Arts; Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine

Frank W. Stahnisch is a distinguished historian of medicine whose work has expanded both academic and public understanding of global medical history. His book, A New Field in Mind: A History of Interdisciplinarity in the Early Brain Sciences, was awarded the Royal Society of Canada’s Jason A. Hannah Medal in the History of Medicine in 2021. The book offers deep insights into the interdisciplinary and transnational evolution of modern neuroscience and psychiatry.

Stahnisch currently holds the Alberta Medical Foundation/Hannah Professorship in the History of Medicine and Health Care. In 2024, he received an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for his contributions to the broader medical community. Since 2015, Stahnisch has served as editor-in-chief of the flagship Journal of the History of the Neurosciences in his research field.

Learn more about Stahnisch’s research.

Frank Stahnisch is a member of the Cumming School of Medicine’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute HBI), The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education in the HBI, the O’Brien Institute for Public Health, and a research fellow in the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.