Ten More Faculty Members Named AAAS Fellows for 2010

by College of Arts & Sciences · Published February 25, 2010 · Updated April 1, 2019

AAAS Faculty excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences was underscored nationally once again as 10 faculty members were elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for 2010. The College of Arts and Sciences maintained its record number for the second consecutive year, having had 10 faculty members named AAAS Fellows last year.

UT Knoxville had a total number of 11 AAAS Fellows—10 from the College of Arts and Sciences—placing the university second in the nation among top institutions for the highest number of new 2010 AAAS Fellows.

“The growing number of AAAS Fellows in recent years is an indication that our faculty are gaining in national stature, and their excellence is being acknowledged by their professional peers. A college is only as good as its faculty, and this recognition of our faculty elevates the college standing as well,” said Dean Bruce Bursten. “We in the college are extremely proud of this wonderful external recognition of some of the best faculty. As a group they epitomize the excellence in teaching and scholarship that is the hallmark of a great college in a great research university.”

AAAS is one of the largest scientific organizations worldwide, dedicated to advancing science and supporting society. AAAS serves more than 250 individual science societies and academies, with more than 10 million members. In addition to publishing the prestigious journal Science, AAAS produces newsletters, books, reports and spearheads programs.

Since 1874 AAAS has elected Fellows as a way of recognizing members’ innovative efforts in science development. Out of the 531 newly elected AAAS Fellows for 2010, Ohio State University led with the highest number, 17. UTK and Cornell University tied for second place with 11 new Fellows.

UTK Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said, “These new fellows exemplify our campus’ leadership in research, science and engineering. Their bodies of work and leadership in their respective fields have placed them among the nation’s best, and we’re proud of their accomplishments.”

Fellows are nominated to membership in one of three ways: by three current AAAS Fellows, by the CEO of AAAS, or by the leaders of their specific section of AAAS. Nominations are subject to approval by the AAAS Council.

AAAS recognized the new Fellows in February 2010 at the Fellows Forum during the AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif. The new Fellows received a certificate of honor for their renowned accomplishments, as well as a blue and gold rosette as a symbol of their contributions to science and technology.

In the past two years, the College of Arts and Sciences has had a total of 20 faculty members named AAAS Fellows.
The College of Arts and Sciences’ 2010 AAAS Fellows are:

Robert Norman Compton, professor of chemistry: For distinguished contributions to the understanding of negative ions and nonlinear laser spectroscopy.
Elbio R. Dagotto, distinguished professor of physics: For distinguished contributions to the field of theoretical and computational condensed matter physics.
Carol P. Harden, professor of geography: For distinguished contributions to geographic understanding of land-use change and watershed processes, and as vice president and president of the Association of American Geographers.
Suzanne Lenhart, professor of mathematics: For distinguished contributions to the field of optimal control and modeling of biological and physical applications and to education, service and outreach activities.
Brent S. Mallinckrodt, professor of psychology: For distinguished contribution to the field of psychotherapy research and health psychology and as editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology.
Gary Frederick McCracken, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of the Center for Environmental Biotechnology: For distinguished contributions to the fields of population biology, ecology and conservation biology with regard to the knowledge of bats.
Witold Nazarewicz, professor of physics: For distinguished contributions to the field of theoretical nuclear structure.
Cynthia B. Peterson, professor and department head, biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology: For promoting biophysical approaches to study the physiology of coagulation and fibrinolysis and for advancing interdisciplinary education at the interface of computational and biological sciences.
Michael J. Sepaniak, professor of chemistry: For the advancement of the fundamental understanding and the practical implementation of diverse methods of microchemical analysis.
Lawrence A. Taylor, professor of earth and planetary sciences: For distinguished contributions to the field of planetary geochemistry.