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School of Image Arts professor Marta Braun and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering professor Anastasios (Tas) Venetsanopoulos have been elected Fellows to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), one of the highest academic honours for scholars and scientists in Canada.

"It is wonderful news that two members of our community have received this prestigious honour," said Provost and Vice President Academic Alan Shepard. "Marta and Tas share a passion for academic excellence and this honour is well deserved. It recognizes the influence their work has had in the arts and sciences, and demonstrates the continuing quality of academic work at Ryerson."

Braun was honoured for the influence her discoveries have had in the fields of art, film and photography. She's a renowned expert in 19th century stop-motion photography, the area where photography and cinema begin to merge. Her research and publications in scientific photography and the beginnings of cinema have brought her international acclaim. It was Braun's celebrated book Picturing Time, The Work of Etienne-Jules Marey 1830-1904 that earned her recognition as a Knight of the Order of Academic Palms, awarded for service to French culture and education. She is one of only a few Canadians to hold this honour.

"Doing research comes down to having passion for knowledge, not for personal glory. I'm thrilled to be recognized for something I feel so passionately about and have invested so much time in. The Royal Society of Canada is an esteemed organization and it's an honour to be acknowledged by them," Braun said.

Venetsanopoulos is an internationally recognized leader in telecommunications, signal and image processing and biometrics. He's authored numerous journal papers and books that have opened up new vistas in telecommunications, multidimensional filter theory and design, design of non-linear filters, multimedia neural networks and biometric applications. His work has been cited in more than 7,000 research papers and 400 textbooks, and he has mentored 159 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. From 2006 to 2010, Venetsanopoulos was Ryerson's vice-president, research and innovation.

"It's humbling to be nominated by your peers and recognized by an esteemed organization such as the Royal Society of Canada," Venetsanopoulos said. "Research is a core aspect of academia that rounds out a professor's teaching portfolio as well as opening doors for collaboration."

Fellows are nominated by their peers in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. The RSC, founded in 1882, is Canada's most prestigious scholarly organization.

Both Braun and Venetsanopoulos will be inducted as Fellows in the RSC at the organization's annual gala Nov. 27 in Ottawa. They join Ryerson's other RSC Fellows: Irene Gammel, inducted in 2009; Bruce Elder, inducted in 2007; and Maurice Yeates, inducted in 1980.