McGill Science

Bicentennial Digital Time Capsule reveal #4: Adrian Liu, @mcgillscience.bsky.social ⏳🎥 Awarded the Canadian Association of Physicists' 2026 Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics, he shares his prediction for the future of his field 🏅 🔗 youtu.be/FYjOH7TtSsQ?...

When Environment and Climate Change Canada urged Montrealers to limit outdoor activity during Canada’s worst wildfire smoke episodes, the city’s travel patterns shifted – but far less than public health officials might have hoped, according to a new McGill University study. More ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5jc

The gas orbiting Sagittarius A (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, is rich in metals, researchers at McGill University’s Trottier Space Institute have found. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5jo Image by NASA, ESA, SSC, CXC, STScI.

Congratulations to Jérôme Fortier (Mathematics and Statistics), who received the President’s Prize for Excellence in Teaching in the Faculty Lecturer category, and Katelin Schutz (Physics), who received the same award in the Assistant Professor category. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5jZ 📸 Owen Egan

Congratulations to Caroline De Roy (Redpath Museum), who received the President’s Award for Administrative and Support Staff in the Technical, Library Assistants and Nurses category! 🎉 Learn more about her contributions ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Vv 📸 Owen Egan

Researchers at McGill University have found that urbanization is weakening one of Earth's most enduring ecological patterns: the tendency for biodiversity to increase toward the tropics, a pattern known as the latitudinal diversity gradient. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Hy

Better climate data leads to better climate decisions🌏 #McGill professor Sara Knox (@ecofluxlab.bsky.social) and collaborators are generating critical data to improve greenhouse gas inventories, guide conservation and strengthen nature-based climate solutions🌿 Supported in part by @innovation.ca

À lire dans La Presse 👇 Jean-Christophe Nave (mathématiques et statistiques) partage son point de vue sur l’IA et son impact sur les mathématiques.

By comparing variations in the colour of the coats of the eastern grey squirrel in Montreal city parks, researchers found that hyper-local conditions appear to play a bigger role in determining wildlife traits than had been thought. Learn more about this McGill-led study ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5zd

Meet McGill's Schulich Leaders, recipients of Canada’s largest STEM scholarship. This Fall semester, they embark on their McGill studies with an inner drive to make an impact. Get the full story – https://bit.ly/4hJGXHl

Congratulations! 🎉

On October 1, Professor Emeritus Lawrence Mysak will celebrate the launch of his memoir, Adventures in Climate Science, Ocean Waves, and the Flute, at the McGill Faculty Club. The evening will offer a chance to hear from Mysak himself, followed by a book signing. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Dx

Congratulations 🎉

🎙️ Can universities solve the climate crisis? Rees Kassen, academic director at the McGill Sustainability Park, and Grégoire Baillargeon, president of BMO Quebec, discuss the challenges facing us, and why they require an all-hands-on-deck response. Stream ‘Mark my words’: https://bit.ly/4heVImd.

Congratulations to Eric Hehman (Psychology) and Natalya Gomez (Earth and Planetary Sciences), who have been named Members of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5aj

McGill recrute six titulaires de chaires de recherche du Canada Eddie Goldenberg grâce à un investissement fédéral historique. Ces spécialistes de renommée mondiale viennent relever des défis urgents, faire des découvertes et stimuler l’innovation. Pour en savoir plus: mcgill.ca/x/5LD

Professor Tomislav Friščić will return to the Department of Chemistry in mid-2027 as one of McGill University’s six inaugural Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada. Read the full story ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5LR

Backed by a historic federal investment, McGill has recruited six Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada. These globally renowned experts are coming to Canada to tackle pressing challenges, make discoveries, and advance innovation here at home.

Congratulations to 25 #McGill professors who received $7.7M in funding through @innovation.ca's John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) to strengthen the research infrastructure supporting their work 🎉 👏 View the list of McGill's CFI JELF-funded projects ⤵️ mcgill.ca/x/5uP

A person's posture appears to affect their emotions and decision-making ability more than they realize, according to new research from McGill University. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/52Z

🎉 Congratulations!

Wetland restoration is often promoted as a definitive way to support wildlife, improve water quality and help store carbon. However, new research from McGill University suggests the overall climate picture is more complicated. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Bp

Researchers from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME)/Fast Radio Bursts Collaboration, including McGill University and MIT, have developed a new method to seek out “missing” matter by combining galaxy locations with fast radio burst detections. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Xi

A Medicine Wheel garden inspired by Indigenous teachings is now growing on McGill’s downtown campus, south of Burnside Hall. The idea for the garden came from Robin Boulet, a Bachelor of Arts and Science student. Full story on the McGill Reporter ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5X3

What brings together Quebec’s top superstars in mixed martial arts and evolutionary biology? Dinosaurs of course! 🦖 Watch as Georges St-Pierre visits Prof. Hans Larsson’s lab to get an exclusive look at a brand-new dinosaur species: youtu.be/rtOYC08318I

A rock featuring a white calcite vein in a rare ‘petal’ formation has been extracted from the construction site of the future McGill Sustainability Park. McGill’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences is now studying it as part of research about the Island of Montreal. More ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/58z

A new McGill-led study shows how a single marine monitoring network can capture underwater earthquakes, whale calls, ship noise, and tidal activity in the Lower St. Lawrence. The system could help improve environmental protections and inform future shipping regulations. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/587

🎉 Congratulations! Félicitations!

🎉 Congratulations to Andrew Gonzalez (@biomcgill.bsky.social), who is one of three recipients of the NOMIS Foundation’s 2026 Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award! Discover the project ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/574

A biocontainment facility designed to protect Earth from potentially hazardous biotic contaminants from space should be part of a planned NASA base on the moon, a policy paper maintains. Read the full article ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5hX 📷by Getty Images/NASA

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In Canada, there were only a handful of cases only a decade ago,” McGill University biologist Virginie Millien. “It’s not a linear relationship, it’s exponential when a disease emerges. It’s not going to stop anytime soon because it’s really driven by climate warming.” www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...

People who have a weaker sense of self are also more likely to have less bodily awareness, McGill researchers have found. The study supports the idea that people’s perceptions of themselves and how they experience their own bodies are deeply connected. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5nh

Pressed plant specimens collected centuries ago and stored in herbaria around the world could play a key role in facilitating the tracking of genetic change and extinction risk in plants, a McGill University-led study indicates. Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5eB

We are pleased to announce the appointment of four department chairs, who began their terms on June 1. Find out who they are ➡️ www.mcgill.ca/science/chan...

Congratulations to Adrian Liu (Physics), who received the 2026 Carrie M. Derick Award for Graduate Teaching and Supervision! Learn more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5eo

🎉 Congratulations to Jasmin Chahal (Microbiology and Immunology) for winning the 2026 Leo Yaffe Award for Excellence in Teaching! Presented annually, the award celebrates a faculty member for superior teaching at the undergraduate level within the Faculty of Science. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5sy

🎉 Congratulations to Mette Bendixen (Geography) and Kai Wang (Physics) who were awarded the 2026 President’s Prize for Outstanding Emerging Researchers at convocation ceremonies held on May 28 and May 29! Read more: mcgill.ca/x/5su

Learning to speak a new language, or regaining speech, depends more on areas of the brain that process sound and physical sensation than on the parts of the brain that govern motor control, according to a new study by researchers at McGill University and the Yale School of Medicine. mcgill.ca/x/5sX

Congratulations to McGill Professor Adrian Liu who was awarded the 2026 CAP Medal for Excellence in Teaching Undergraduate Physics Award 🇨🇦 👏 🔗 Read more about his research & this award: mcgill.ca/x/5s3

Congratulations to six professors from the Faculty of Science who have been recognized by Angela Campbell, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), for their exceptional research achievements! 🎉

Congratulations to Brigitte Vachon, James McGill Professor in the Department of Physics, newly appointed Canada Research Chair in Experimental Subatomic Physics, who is tackling two of the biggest unanswered questions in modern physics: the nature of the Higgs boson and the identity of dark matter.

Congratulations to Marc-André Légaré (Chemistry) and Janine Mauzeroll (Chemistry) on receiving this funding for their research: A Circular Energy System Based on the Combustion of Metals through their Recycling using Carbenes 🎉

What happens when data, computation, and convergent research come together? Our latest feature takes a closer look at research supported through our CRT Program—spanning disaster mitigation, human decision‑making, and AI‑enabled health research. mcgill.ca/x/5Py

Congratulations to #McGill Assistant Professor Mallik Mahmud, who received the MEOPAR 2026 Early Career Researcher Award for his work in #Arctic sea ice monitoring🌊👏 Read more about Prof. Mahmud's award-winning research❄️➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Wd

Congratulations to Amanda Cook, a Banting postdoctoral fellow and member of the CHIME/FRB Collaboration, for winning the President’s Prize for Public Engagement Through Media, under the Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows category. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Pb

Today we celebrate the achievements of #McGill's distinguished researchers, who continue to advance discovery & innovation in Quebec, Canada & beyond 👏🏆🎉 View the list of researchers who have won prestigious research prizes & awards in 2025: mcgill.ca/x/5PG

Researchers at McGill University have developed a novel device that generates sound-like particles known as phonons at extremely cold temperatures. The technology could be used to create phonon lasers, with possible applications in communications and medical diagnostics. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5do

It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Professor Alanna Watt, of the Department of Biology, as Dean of the Faculty of Science at McGill University. Her five-year renewable term will begin on May 1. Read the full announcement ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5AH

Researchers studying 450-million-year-old fossils discovered about 50 km northeast of Quebec City have identified a new species of basal medusozoan: Paleocanna tentaculum, a soft-bodied, tube-shaped polyp with a ring of tentacles. Closely related to modern jellyfish. Read more ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/5Ac