AAAS HONORS PROFESSORS HEY AND WU AS 2018 ELECTED FELLOWS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has bestowed upon 416 of its members, including two College of Science and Technology faculty members, the lifetime honor of being an elected Fellow in recognition of their extraordinary achievements in advancing science.

Jody Hey, professor of biology, director of the Center for Computational Genetics and Genomics, and co-director of CST's bioinformatics program, was honored in AAAS's biological sciences section.  Laura H. Carnell Professor Jie Wu, director of the Center for Networked Computing, was honored in AAAS's section on information, computing and communications.

This year's Fellows, who represent a broad swath of scientific disciplines, were selected for diverse accomplishments that include pioneering research, leadership within their field, teaching and mentoring, fostering collaborations and advancing public understanding of science.

AAAS's annual tradition of recognizing leading scientists as Fellows dates to 1874. Since then, AAAS has honored distinguished scientists such as astronomer Maria Mitchell, elected a Fellow in 1875; inventor Thomas Edison (1878); chemist Linus Pauling (1939); and computer scientist Grace Hopper (1963). Four of the 2018 Nobel Prize laureates - James Allison, Arthur Ashkin, Frances Arnold and George Smith - are AAAS elected Fellows.

Fellows may be nominated in several ways. A nomination can be put forth by three previously elected Fellows who are current AAAS members. Of the nominators two must have no affiliation with the nominee's institution. The nominators are required to submit a packet that includes a letter of recommendation from each, the nominee's curriculum vitæ and a list of the nominee's most significant publications.

Nominees also may be nominated by AAAS's chief executive officer or by the steering group of one of AAAS's 24 sections. All nominees must have been a member of AAAS for four years by the end of the calendar year of their election. Nominations go through a two-step review process, with the relevant steering group reviewing nominations in their section and the AAAS Council - the organization's member-elected governing body - voting on the final list.