Four University of Victoria (UVic) scholars are being recognized by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), one of the nation’s highest academic honours.
As Canada’s national academy of scholars, artists and scientists, the RSC elects members through a peer-reviewed process that recognizes exceptional achievement and outstanding contributions to research, the arts, humanities, sciences and public life.
This year’s four recipients are being honoured for the originality, significance and impact of their work across diverse fields.
Meet the 2026 UVic RSC fellows
Zhongping Chen, History: the Chinese diaspora
Zhongping Chen is internationally renowned for his prolific contributions to historical research on China and the global Chinese diaspora, including Canadian Chinatowns. His work has broadened both fields through transnational perspectives, rigorous archival and theoretical analyses, innovative fieldworks and digital methodologies. His groundbreaking new book, The Transpacific Chinese Diaspora: From China to Canada and Beyond, 1788 – 1898, is the first transnational and cross-cultural study of Cantonese-led interactions with white settlers and Indigenous peoples in Canadian history.
It is a great honour to receive this recognition from the Royal Society of Canada. I share this honour with my students and colleagues at the University of Victoria, as well as my collaborators, friends and family members across the Americas, Asia and Europe. Their unwavering support and constant inspiration have been—and will always be—the driving force behind my academic journey in the past, present and future!”
—Zhongping Chen, professor
Sara Ellison, Astrophysics: galaxy evolution
Sara Ellison is a world leader in the study of galaxy evolution. She has advanced three distinct fields of astrophysics: high redshift quasar absorption lines, the interstellar medium and galaxy mergers. Her discoveries have opened up major new avenues in galactic chemistry, supermassive black holes and star formation. Among other international and national honours, Ellison received the RSC Rutherford Memorial Medal in Physics in 2014 and was elected to the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2015.
I’m honoured to join the Royal Society of Canada and excited to contribute to its important work in strengthening evidence-informed policy, governance and public appreciation of research across all fields. As an astronomer, I’m regularly reminded how our understanding grows when we look beyond immediate horizons, and I look forward to bringing that perspective to the Society’s service to Canada.”
—Sara Ellison, professor
Val Napoleon, Law: Indigenous law leadership
Val Napoleon has reshaped understandings of Indigenous law, legal research and pedagogies in Canada. She is the co-founder of UVic’s Juris Doctor and Juris Indigenarum Doctor degree program (Indigenous legal orders and Canadian common law) and is the founding director of the Indigenous Law Research Unit. A national and international leader in the field of Indigenous legal traditions, she is now leading the groundbreaking initiative Next Steps: Rebuilding Indigenous Law to holistically rebuild Indigenous legal orders across the country. Napoleon’s many honours include election to the RSC College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2017 and the Yvan Allaire Medal in 2024.
We need a bigger imagination for the possibility of law in this country, including Indigenous law. What makes law legitimate? Whose voices are heard? How are decisions made? There hasn’t always been space for Indigenous law in Canada. I thank the Royal Society of Canada for creating this space through this honour, but importantly, for witnessing the collective and generational work of rebuilding and restoring Indigenous law.”
—Val Napoleon, professor
Charlotte Schallié, Languages, Linguistics and Cultures: transcultural memory
Charlotte Schallié is a leading scholar in Holocaust education, memory studies and visual storytelling. Her original, multidisciplinary research and outreach redefine how we think about Holocaust memorialization, how we work with survivors of genocide and how we discuss and teach about traumatic histories in classrooms, museums and the media. Schallié’s research fosters intercultural dialogue, combining literary, filmic and graphic narratives to deepen understanding of genocide, human rights and transcultural memory.
I am honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. For me, this recognition is inseparable from the survivors, artists, students, colleagues and community partners with whom I have the good fortune to work over many years. Together, we have listened to survivor testimony, collaborated with artists to bring survivors’ memories and lived experiences into visual form, and created spaces for communities to participate in how their histories are remembered and represented. These collaborations have taught me that community-engaged research can deepen historical understanding through relationships, and that such work carries ethical responsibilities. I am deeply grateful that the work we have done together has been recognized in this way.”
—Charlotte Schallié, professor
Learn more about the Royal Society of Canada and this year’s new fellows and members.
