Becky Chapman, PhD

Director of Environment, Security, and Society

Becky Chapman is Director of Environment, Security and Society at the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). She oversees and provides leadership on CCA activities that directly relate to this portfolio. She is also a project director, responsible for leading assessment projects, and working directly with CCA expert panels to review, evaluate, and synthesize knowledge on policy-related subjects.

Becky joined the CCA in January 2012 and has held the role of project director since 2020. She has overseen assessments on a wide range of topics, including the future of Arctic and Northern research, digital public safety, and the career trajectories of PhD graduates in Canada. Prior to joining CCA, Becky’s academic career focused on the application of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to study a range of organic and inorganic materials. She completed a PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University of Ottawa, where her research focused on examining chlorine-containing catalysts and biological model compounds. She also holds a B.Sc. (Hon.) in Chemistry from McMaster University where she carried out research on understanding the chemistry behind lithium-ion batteries. Over her academic career, Becky published several peer-reviewed research articles, including two subject reviews and one textbook chapter. She was also awarded for her teaching excellence and held multiple awards, including the Alexander Graham Bell Scholarship.