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Bill HarrisProfessor and FRSC Department of Physics and Astronomy Office: ABB-316 Phone: (905) 525-9140 x 22744 |
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I did undergrad studies in mathematics at the University of Alberta, then went to the University of Toronto for grad studies in astronomy. 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
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.
My main interests are in the study of giant elliptical galaxies and the stellar populations in galaxies. I'm fascinated with the beautiful globular star clusters --- the oldest visible entities in galaxies, whose properties yield unique clues to the way galaxies formed. It's also now possible, with imaging from the newest and biggest telescopes, to probe the oldest stars in elliptical galaxies, and to put together their age and heavy-element abundance distributions. My colleagues and students have often use observatories and telescopes such as on Mauna Kea (Hawaii), Cerro Tololo (Chile), and the Gemini twin 8-meter telescopes in Chile and Hawaii. Data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope drive my main interests now. Check out some of my publications and talks.
