18
December
2008
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York

Ohio State again among top universities nationally with newly named AAAS Fellows

Only one other institution in the country surpassed Ohio State University this year in the number of its research faculty named as new Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

For the second time in the last three years, Ohio State ranked second nationally in producing new Fellows, a highly regarded recognition for researchers whom are selected by their peers.

Ohio State has either been first or second annually since 2002 in the number of faculty named to this honor and is believed to have the largest contingent of current Fellows of any University in the country.

"Ohio State's large contingent of AAAS fellows from many disciplines underscores the excellence of our faculty," said President E. Gordon Gee. "They are among this nation's finest scholars, and their expertise in the classroom and the laboratory directly benefits our students and our state."

Seventeen faculty from across campus were among those new honorees announced today by AAAS, the world's largest general scientific society. Founded in 1848, AAAS includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science,

The University of California, Irvine had the most faculty with 21 named as Fellows. After Ohio State, other schools heading the list included the University of California, Riverside (12), the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (11) and the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Tennessee (each tied with 10).

Among the Big Ten institutions, the universities of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota all had seven faculty named. Northwestern University had four, University of Iowa had 3, and Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University and Purdue University all had 2 faculty named as fellows.

This year, a total of 486 AAAS members were named Fellows because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be recognized February 14 during the 2009 AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago.

"The work that these researchers have done in their respective fields of study is an outstanding reminder of their exceptional contributions to science in general, and to this university," explained Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research.

Ohio State faculty newly named as Fellows include:

Hojjat Adeli, Civil, Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science: For distinguished contributions to computational infrastructure engineering and worldwide leadership in computational science and engineering as a prolific author, keynote speaker and editor-in-chief of journals.

Steven K. Clinton, Hematology/Oncology and Human Nutrition: For distinguished contributions to the field of cancer research, particularly studies of diet, nutrition, and pharmaceutical agents on etiology, prevention, and therapy of genitourinary cancers.

Robert S. Coleman, Chemistry: For distinguished contributions to the fields of chemistry and medicinal chemistry, particularly on synthetic, organic and bioorganic chemistry, and studies of naturally occurring antitumor agents.

Peter S. Curtis, Evolutionary, Ecological and Organismal Biology: For distinguished contributions to the fields of global change biology and restoration ecology, and for outstanding service as an academic department chair and research administrator.

Andrew P. Gould, Astronomy: For pioneering contributions to the theory and practice of gravitational microlensing, particularly as a tool for detection of exoplanets.

Tsonwin Hai, Center for Molecular Neurobiology and Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry: For distinguished contributions to the field of molecular biology, particularly studies of ATF/CREB family of transcription factors on stress responses in cancer and diabetes.

Randall E. Harris, Emergency Medicine and Pathology and Public Health -- Epidemiology: For distinguished contributions to the fields of cancer epidemiology and chemoprevention, particularly for studies of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor anti-inflammatory drugs in the prevention of human cancer.

Anita K. Hopper, Molecular Genetics: For distinguished contributions to the fields of molecular genetics and cell biology, particularly for the elucidation of mechanisms that control the distribution of transfer RNA.

Rebecca D. Jackson, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: For distinguished contributions to the field of endocrinology, particularly for women's health and postmenopausal osteoporosis, and as Vice Chair of the Women's Health Initiative.

Christopher S. Kochanek, Astronomy: For pioneering contributions to the theory of strong gravitational lensing and its application to the study of dark matter, cosmological parameters, and galaxy evolution.

Jeffrey K. McKee, Anthropology and Evolutionary, Ecological and Organismal Biology: For distinguished contributions to paleoanthropology, evolutionary biology, and science education.

Chia-Hsiang Menq, Mechanical Engineering: For distinguished contributions to the field of mechanical engineering, particularly on coordinate metrology, ultra-precision motion control, and instrumentation for imaging and manipulation of microstructures.

Nitin P. Padture, Materials Science Engineering: For outstanding contributions to the field of advanced ceramics and nanomaterials, particularly for understanding of processing and mechanical behavior of ceramic composites and coatings.

Thomas J. Santner, Statistics and Public Health--Biostatistics: For distinguished contributions to the field of statistics, major developments in the design, analysis, and application of computer experiments, and outstanding service to the profession.

John F. Sheridan, Oral Biology and Molecular Virology, Immunology & Medical Genetics: For distinguished contributions to the fields of immunology and virology, particularly in the area of neuroendocrine regulation of the immune response, anti-viral immunity and viral pathogenesis.

Gary L. Wenk, Psychology and Neuroscience and Molecular Virology, Immunology & Medical Genetics: For distinguished contributions in the field of neuropharmacology, neurodegenerative diseases, and neuroinflammatory processes.

William T.C. Yuh, Radiology: For distinguished contributions to medical science, including dynamic contrast enhanced and high dose MR, and individualized management for cancer and acute stroke.

This year's election brings the total number of AAAS fellows on the Ohio State campus to 159.