Two researchers from the Faculty of Science are among the eight Waterloo faculty elected as Fellows and College Members of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). One of the country’s highest academic honours, these appointments recognize exceptional contributions to research, scholarship, and innovation.
The RSC aims to promote Canadian research and scholarship in order to advise governments, non-governmental organizations, and Canadians generally on matters of public interest. It recognizes academic excellence and mentors young scholars.
Robert Mann
Physics and Astronomy
Dr. Robert Mann has been elected as a Fellow of the RSC. He will join the 2,769 active Fellows contributing to the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as Canadian public life.
As a theoretical physicist, Mann’s work focuses on the overlap between gravitation and quantum physics. He works to bridge these two subjects by asking questions that provide information about the foundation of physics, particularly those that can be tested by experiment.
He has made many influential contributions to the field, including “black hole chemistry,” which treats black holes like everyday chemicals and applies known equations to gain clues about how the universe works. He is also one of the founders of Relativistic Quantum Information (RQI), a field exploring how extreme gravity and high speeds affect quantum data. Named a University Professor in 2022, Mann is a highly-cited researcher with more than 600 publications.
Travis Craddock
Biology
Dr. Travis Craddock has been elected as a College Member. The College of New Scholars recognizes individuals who have begun demonstrating leading scholarly and research excellence within 15 years of completing their PhD. He will hold this position for seven years.
Craddock is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Quantum Neurobiology. His research applies computational biophysics and quantum biology to the study of the brain. He seeks to understand the basic underlying physical and molecular processes of neuroinflammation to improve diagnosis and identify novel treatment strategies for illnesses including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
With more than 60 publications and 3,200 citations, Craddock is a leading scholar in the fields of computational and quantum biology. His research has advanced our understanding of neurodegenerative disease, molecular information processing, and the biophysical mechanisms underlying brain function, positioning him among the pioneers of quantum neurobiology.
Mann and Craddock will be formally inducted into the RSC as part of the 2026 Celebration of Excellence and Engagement in Ottawa on November 13. A complete list of recipients can be found on the Royal Society of Canada website.