Five University of Colorado at Boulder faculty have been elected Fellows of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science for 2005.
A total of 376 individuals were elected to AAAS this year by their science peers, according to the association. The new AAAS fellows were selected for their efforts to advance science or foster applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.
The new CU-Boulder AAAS fellows are Professors Leslie Leinwand and Andrew Staehelin of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, Professor Peter Molnar of geological sciences, Professor Payson Sheets of anthropology and Professor Michael Shull of astrophysical and planetary sciences.
Leinwand, chair of MCD biology, was cited for key contributions to the genetics and molecular physiology of heart ailments known as cardiomyopathies, as well as for leadership in national science policy. Staehelin was cited for his work on the structural analysis of cells, cellular membranes, cytoskeletal systems and cellular processes.
Molnar, also a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, was cited for his research on the geodynamics of mountain formation, the mechanics of continental deformation and the relation of tectonics to climate. Much of Molnar's research has centered in the Himalaya mountains.
Sheets was cited for distinguished contributions to Mayan archaeology, especially the study of prehistoric volcanism, and for innovative applications of remote sensing and geophysical instrumentation. Sheets has conducted extensive archaeological research in El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Shull, also a fellow in the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, was cited for important contributions to galactic and extragalactic astronomy and for his dedication to the teaching of astronomy and for advancing the case for ultraviolet space astronomy missions.
The five new campus AAAS fellows in 2005 join 36 active or emeritus faculty from CU-Boulder previously elected to the science association.
Dr. Paul Bunn from the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center also was elected to AAAS in 2005.
Other 2005 AAAS fellows from Colorado were Alan Harris from the Space Science Institute in Boulder, William Lauenroth and Graeme Stephens from Colorado State University and Richard Forester from the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver.
Founded in 1848, AAAS has worked to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs and publications in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. AAAS and its journal Science, with nearly 140,000 individual subscribers and 272 affiliates in more than 130 countries, is the world's largest general federation of scientists.
New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a pin at the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting to be held in February in St. Louis, Mo.