image: Russell Hemley, director of Carnegie's Geophysical Laboratory, has been elected to Corresponding Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh -- Scotland’s national academy of science and letters. view more
Credit: Carnegie Institution
Washington, DC—The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) announced March 4th that Russell Hemley, director of Carnegie’s Geophysical Laboratory, has been elected to Corresponding Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh—Scotland’s national academy of science and letters. He joins such luminaries as Charles Darwin, Niels Bohr, Francis Crick, and James Watson.
“Rus Hemley is an extraordinary scientist,” commented Carnegie president Richard A. Meserve. “He has broken new ground in high-pressure geophysics and materials science and has become a world leader in his field. Carnegie has benefitted tremendously from his research accomplishments. We are very proud of this recognition of his contributions.”
Hemley joined the Geophysical Laboratory as a Carnegie fellow in 1984 and became a research associate in 1986. In 1987 he joined the scientific staff and became director of the lab in 2007. Hemley has published over 490 scientific papers.
Hemley was a visiting professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure, Lyon, France, and at The Johns Hopkins University. He is the recipient of the 2005 Balzan Prize in mineral physics, the 2003 Hillebrand Medal of the American Chemical Society, and the 1990 Mineralogical Society of America Award. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Physical Society, the Mineralogical Society of America, and now a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Hemley studied chemistry and philosophy at Wesleyan University, obtaining his B.A. in 1977. He went on to Harvard for graduate studies in physical chemistry and received his Ph.D. in 1983.
The Royal Society of Edinburgh was created in 1783 for “the advancement of learning and useful knowledge.” The 1,400 members come from the sciences, arts, humanities, industry, and commerce. Fellows of the society elect new members. Candidates undergo a four-stage annual selection process and new Fellows are announced after the first ordinary meeting in March.
The Carnegie Institution (www.CIW.edu) has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.