Toronto, ON, Dec 5 -- Norman W. Murray, Director of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, was appointed a Fellow of the American Physical Society in recognition of his research work, and particularly his ``fundamental contributions to the theory of active galactic nuclei, black hole and star formation in galactic disks, planet formation, and the dynamics of planetary systems.''

The appointment of Murray as a Fellow marks the University of Toronto's 11th Fellowship, and the second for the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, with previous Director and University Professor Richard Bond being recognized in 1998 for ``fundamental contributions to astrophysics and cosmology; in particular for developing the understanding of fluctuations in the cosmic background radiation.''

Annually, the physicists who comprise the membership of the American Physical Society elect at most one half of one percent of their peers to the rank of Fellow to mark the members ``significant and innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology.'' This year, from around the world, 212 fellows were named. The society, founded in 1899, began the fellowship program began in 1995.

Norman W. Murray received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics in 1986 from the University of California at Berkeley, has been a professor at the Institute since 1993, and became Director of the Institute July 1, 2006. His recent work has centered on understanding the highly energetic outflows from massive black holes in the centre of some galaxies, and the dynamics of planetary systems.

Professor Bond said he was ``very pleased'' that Director Murray had been recognized, adding that the group of Fellows at the University of Toronto was ``stellar'', and particularly strong in Physics and Chemistry.


About the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. The Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA) is a world-class, nationally supported, research center for studies in theoretical astrophysics and related subjects hosted by the University of Toronto. The primary missions of CITA are to foster interaction within the Canadian theoretical astrophysics community and to serve as an international center of excellence for theoretical studies in astrophysics. CITA receives research support from a collaborative special project grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), as well as the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIAR). More information about CITA and the work of its researchers is available at http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/