AAAS elects three professors as fellows

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has elected three Chicago faculty members as 2006 fellows. The three are Olaf Schneewind, Steven Sibener and William Wimsatt.

Schneewind, Professor and Chairman of Microbiology, was cited “for path-breaking research on the molecular mechanisms by which pathogenic bacteria cause human disease.”

Sibener, the Carl William Eisendrath Professor in Chemistry and the College and Director of The James Franck Institute, was cited “for the elucidation of fundamental properties of surfaces and ultra-thin films via the application of atomic and molecular beam experiments and atomic-scale imaging.”

Wimsatt, Professor in Philosophy, Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual Foundations of Science and the College, was cited “for outstanding contributions to the field of naturalized epistemology, including significant characterizations of model-building, the use of heuristics and the evolution of ideas.”

The University’s AAAS fellows are among 449 members who were elevated to the rank this year because of their efforts to advance science or applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

The new fellows will be recognized Saturday, Feb. 17, at the AAAS annual meeting in San Francisco.