RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Thirteen UC Riverside researchers have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Including this year’s fellows, the total number of UCR faculty members who have been recognized with AAAS Fellow distinction is 172.
Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year AAAS gave this honor to 486 of its members “because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”
The 2008 AAAS Fellows at UCR are:
Steven Brint, a professor of sociology: "For distinguished contributions to the field of the sociology of education, particularly for studies of organizational and cultural change in US higher education."
Jie Chen, a professor of electrical engineering: "For distinguished contributions to the field of systems and control, particularly for development of modeling and identification algorithms and for fundamental understanding of feedback systems."
Daphne J. Fairbairn, a professor of biology: "For distinguished contributions to the field of evolutionary biology, particularly for elucidating the evolutionary dynamics of dimorphic traits and for promotion of international discourse."
Jianying Gan, a professor of soil science: "For distinguished contributions to the field of soil and environmental chemistry, particularly for understanding environmental fate and risks of pesticides and for efforts in resource protection."
J. Daniel Hare, a professor of entomology: "For distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and evolution of plant/insect herbivore/natural enemy tritrophic associations and ecological genetics."
Marshall W. Johnson, an extension specialist in entomology and a UCR alumnus: "For distinguished contributions to the fields of biological control and integrated pest management, particularly for the development of more environmentally friendly arthropod management programs."
Cynthia K. Larive, a professor of chemistry and a UCR alumna: "For significant contributions in applying NMR diffusion measurements to characterize complex mixtures, polydisperse samples, and ligand-protein interactions."
Carol J. Lovatt, a professor of plant physiology: "For distinguished worldwide contributions to research in basic and especially applied plant physiology in the horticultural industry, particularly for citrus and avocado, and for outstanding teaching."
Alan McHughen, a cooperative extension plant biotechnologist: "For distinguished research in agricultural biotechnology and genetics, and for contributions to food and environmental biosafety, public education in science, science policy and regulation."
Mart Molle, a professor of computer science and engineering: "For research contributions to computer networking, performance evaluation, and distributed algorithms."
Eugene A. Nothnagel, a professor of plant physiology: "For distinguished leadership in plant science research related to signaling, development and structure of the plant cell wall and for outstanding teaching service to students."
Jan E. Stets, a professor of sociology; currently on temporary leave from UCR: "For research and theory advancing scientific knowledge on the sociology of emotions, the processes of identity maintenance, and the dynamics of domestic violence."
Yushan Yan, a professor of chemical and environmental engineering: "For distinguished contributions to the engineering of zeolite thin films and their applications to semiconductors, aerospace and space exploration."
Five UCR alumni also were honored this year. Besides Johnson ('79) and Larive ('92), they are:
- Brandon S. Gaut ’92 Ph.D., now at UC Irvine: "For distinguished contributions to the field of evolutionary genetics, particularly for the population genetics of domestication and the molecular evolution of plant nuclear genomes."
- William Fenical ’68 Ph.D., now at UC San Diego: "For distinguished contributions to organic chemistry and natural products chemistry of marine invertebrates and bacteria from deep-sea sediments, particularly for the discovery and characterization of new antitumor compounds including salinosporamide A."
- Stephan von Molnar ’65 Ph.D., now at Florida State University: "For seminal research on magnetic polarons, the metal-insulator transition, dilute magnetic semiconductors and magnetic nanoparticles."
New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Feb. 14 during the annual meeting of the AAAS next year in Chicago.
All the 2008 AAAS Fellows will be announced in the Dec. 19 issue of Science, a weekly magazine published by the AAAS.
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the AAAS’s sections; by three fellows; or by the association’s chief executive officer.
The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society. Founded in 1848, the association includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals.
Additional Contacts: Molly McElroy, AAAS, 202-326-6434
The University of California, Riverside is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment of about 17,000 is expected to grow to 21,000 students by 2020. The campus is planning a medical school and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion. To learn more, visit www.ucr.edu or call (951) UCR-NEWS.