Eleven Ohio State scientists named AAAS Fellows

Eleven Ohio State University investigators have been named to the 2020 class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

This year’s honorees are scientists in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

The AAAS Fellowship, recognizing scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications, is one of the most prestigious honors a U.S. scientist can receive. Fellows are elected by their academic peers.

“AAAS Fellows are honored for achievements in a specific discipline and dedication to the principle of improving the world through science,” Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson said. “These faculty embody what Ohio State’s research enterprise is all about – making an impact through scholarship.”

Ohio State’s newest Fellows are:

Janet Box-Steffensmeier, professor of political science. For distinguished contributions to political methodology, including duration analysis and time series, and service to the advancement of political methodology and study of American politics.

Elizabeth Cooksey, professor of sociology. For distinguished contributions to the field of social demography, with specializations in life course transitions, adolescent sexual behavior, and the development of youth and children.

Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, professor of anthropology. For distinguished contributions to biological anthropology, particularly using dental hard tissues to advance understanding of growth and biological relationships in non-human primates and fossil hominins.

Yuri Kovchegov, professor of physics. For foundational contributions to the theoretical understanding of parton saturation effects in quantum chromodynamics and their manifestation in high-energy collisions with strongly interacting particles.

Zhengyu Liu, professor of geography. For distinguished contributions to our understanding of climate dynamics, particularly in pioneering data-model experiments to explore the physics of present and past climate variability.

Shan-Lu Liu, professor of veterinary biosciences. For distinguished contributions to our understanding of virus-host interaction and viral pathogenesis, as well as impact on scientific communication, diversity and international collaboration.

Paul Martini, professor of astronomy. For distinguished contributions to the development of astronomical instrumentation, and the evolution of black holes and galaxies.

Jay Myung, professor of psychology. For distinguished applied and basic research on computational cognition, Bayesian cognitive modeling, optimal experimental design, adaptive design optimization, model selection and evaluation, and neural networks.

John Olesik, senior research scientist in earth sciences. For distinguished contributions to the field of analytical chemistry, particularly in optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Nandini Trivedi, professor of physics. For her contributions to the theoretical understanding of quantum matter, characterized by innovative use of quantum Monte Carlo techniques and close experimental collaborations.

Daniel Wozniak, professor of microbial infection and immunity. For contributions to defining patho-adaptive processes and evolution of bacteria during infection in the context of biofilms and animal models of chronic infection.

New Fellows will be inducted during a virtual ceremony on Feb. 13, 2021.