Faculty members, lab scientists named AAAS fellows

Three University scholars and three scientists at Argonne National Laboratory and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory have been awarded the distinction of fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

They are among 486 members who have been awarded the honor this year for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

The new fellows from the University to be recognized at the 2009 AAAS annual meeting in Chicago are James Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College; Neil Shubin, the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor in Organismal Biology & Anatomy and Associate Dean in the Biological Sciences Division; and Sangram Sisodia, the Thomas Reynolds Sr. Family Professor of Neurosciences in Neurobiology and Director of the Center for Molecular Neurobiology.

The new fellows from the national laboratories are Orlando Auciello of Argonne National Laboratory’s Materials Science Division, and William Bardeen and Pushpa Bhat of Fermilab, both of the Particle Physics Division. The University operates the laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy via UChicago Argonne LLC and Fermi Research Alliance LLC.

Each new fellow was cited for the following contribution:
James Heckman — “For developing and implementing novel scientific approaches to the evaluation of public policy by enabling the better integration of theory and empirical evidence.”

Neil Shubin — For distinguished contributions to vertebrate paleontology and evolutionary developmental biology as a scientist, university and museum administrator, and author.”

Sangram Sisodia — “For extraordinary contributions to understanding the function and dysfunction of APP and Presenilin 1 in cellular and animal models of Abeta amyloidosis in Alzheimer’s disease.”

Orlando Auciello — “For outstanding technical accomplishments in the science and technology of thin films and for distinguished service to the materials research profession.”

William Bardeen — “For seminal contributions to theoretical physics, including foundational work in quantum chromodynamics and penetrating insights into the structure and significance of the axial anomaly.”

Pushpa Bhat — “For her important contributions to the Tevatron program, particularly her visionary leadership in new particle searches, and her key role in the Tevatron upgrades program.”

Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.