Ohio State Faculty Rank Among Highest In New Class Of Fellows
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Again this year, Ohio State University ranks among the top universities in the number of faculty who have been named as new Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Ohio State tied for second place along with two other institutions -- the University of Michigan and Iowa State University – out of 213 institutions whose faculty received this honor. Each had nine faculty named by the AAAS this week.
The University of California, Davis; University of California, Riverside and the University of Notre Dame all tied for first, each with 10 faculty named as new Fellows.
“These nine faculty members join a very distinguished group of Ohio State colleagues who are recognized around the world as key innovators and leaders in their fields,” said President E. Gordon Gee.
The award is significant in that those faculty named are selected by peers within their disciplines who are members of the AAAS, the largest professional scientific organization in the world.
Ohio State has ranked first or second among institutions in the number of new Fellows named for each of the past nine years.
“These nine faculty members join a very distinguished group of Ohio State colleagues who are recognized around the world as key innovators and leaders in their fields,” said President E. Gordon Gee.
“Each and every day, Ohio State is making discoveries, uncovering history, and exploring the depths of literally every form of human endeavor. Our AAAS fellows represent so many of the brightest stars in our constellation.”
Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research at Ohio State, said, "We are very proud of the accomplishments of our outstanding faculty, and delighted that the AAAS has chosen to recognize their excellence.
“Whether it is designing fuel cells, determining the structure of proteins, understanding global warming, or studying the far reaches of the universe, Ohio State researchers are making new discoveries and creating new solutions to address some of the world's most pressing problems."
The new group of faculty Fellows and their citations include:
Michael Chan, professor of biochemistry, chemistry and molecular and cellular biochemistry: For Distinguished contributions to the field of biochemistry, particularly for the structural characterization of metalloproteins and the codiscovery of the 22nd genetically-encoded amino acid pyrrolysine. Craig J. Forsyth, professor of chemistry: For distinguished contributions to the field of complex natural product synthesis and synthesis of analogues for determination of their modes of biological activity. David L. Haury, associate professor in the School of Teaching & Learning: For outstanding contributions to science education, including being founding editor of The Journal of Science Teacher Education and director of the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education. Umit S. Ozkan, professor of chemical & biomolecular engineering: For distinguished contributions to the field of heterogeneous catalysis and its applications to energy and environmental protection and service to higher education as a teacher, mentor and administrator. Dehua Pei, professor of chemistry: For distinguished contributions to the field of mechanistic enzymology and to the development and application of chemical methods to biological problems. Bradley M. Peterson, professor and chair of astronomy: For pioneering innovative methods to measure the masses of black holes in active galactic nuclei and to map the distributions of gas around them. Marc Howard Pinsonneault, professor of astronomy: For distinguished contributions to models of the structure of the sun and stars, with important implications for solar abundances, big bang nucleosynthesis and neutrino physics. Sheldon G. Shore, Distinguished Professor of Math & Physical Sciences and professor of chemistry: For distinguished contributions in the areas of synthetic and mechanic boron hydride chemistry and metal cluster chemistry and their application to developing efficient hydrogenation catalysts. Samuel D. Stout, professor of anthropology: For distinguished contributions to skeletal biology and forensic anthropology, especially in regard to the central role of histological structures for documenting life history.With this year’s class, Ohio State tied with Michigan for having the most new faculty among Big Ten institutions named as Fellows, and among the nine benchmark institutions that Ohio State considers as its peers.
The new Fellows will be honored for their achievements in ceremonies during the annual meeting of the AAAS in Washington, DC in February.
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Contact: Earle Holland, (614) 292-8384; Holland.8@osu.edu
