Doug Welch
Vice-Provost and Dean (Graduate Studies)
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Dr. Doug Welch received his PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Toronto in 1986. He was an NSERC Visiting Fellow and a Research Associate at the National Research Council of Canada’s Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria, British Columbia, from 1986 to 1988.
In September 1988, he came to McMaster as an Assistant Professor and NSERC University Research Fellow. At present, he is a Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Welch has served as an Associate Chair of the Department of Physics & Astronomy between 1992 and 1994 and as Chair between 1997 and 2000.
Beginning in 2004, he served as Acting Associate Dean of Graduate Studies for the faculties of Engineering and Science for one and a half years. Following that, he was appointed Associate Dean of Science (Graduate Studies) for the first of two five-year terms. During his second term, Dr. Welch served as Acting Associate Vice-President and Dean, Graduate Studies, from July 1 to December 31, 2014 and an additional 21-month period beginning July 1, 2016. His current appointment as Vice-Provost and Dean, Graduate Studies extends to June 30, 2020.
Dr. Welch was the 2010 recipient of the McNeil Medal of the Royal Society of Canada. The medal is “awarded to a candidate who has demonstrated outstanding ability to promote and communicate science to students and the public within Canada (the term public is defined in its broadest sense).”
Currently, Dr. Welch is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Corporation. He is also a member of the Thirty Meter Telescope Board of Governors and Board Representative to its Science Advisory Committee. His research interests include supernovae, the extragalactic distance scale, and variable stars.
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