Ten Named AAAS Fellows in 2008
The faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences set a high-water mark among colleges and universities in the Southeast in 2008 with the naming of 10 new Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. All of the Fellows from UT Knoxville are members of the Arts and Sciences faculty.
AAAS, one of the largest scientific organizations in the world, serves more than 200 individual societies comprising more than 10 million members.
The group of professors named to the 2008 class from UT Knoxville reflected the breadth and depth of quality available at the university.
“Our reputation as a leading research university continues to grow,” said UT’s interim president Jan Simek, who was UT Knoxville’s interim chancellor at the time the Fellows were announced. “These scientists have established themselves as national leaders in their fields, and their combined efforts speak volumes about the ways in which UT Knoxville research is driving our nation’s scientific leadership.”
The large class put UT Knoxville in elite company, trailing only Ohio State, the University of California system, and the University of Illinois in the number of 2008 Fellows.
“We in the college are extremely proud of this wonderful external recognition of some of the best faculty we have at UT Knoxville,” said Bruce Bursten, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “As a group they epitomize the excellence in teaching and scholarship that is the hallmark of a great research university.”
Fellows must be nominated to membership in one of three ways—by the leaders of their specific section of AAAS, by three current Fellows of AAAS, or by the CEO of AAAS. The nominations are then presented to the AAAS Council for election. The first class of Fellows was named in 1874.
These are the new Fellows:
- Jeffrey M. Becker, Professor of Microbiology: For distinguished contributions to the field of biological sciences and for distinguished service to science administration
- Robert J. Daverman, Professor of Mathematics: For distinguished contributions to geometric topology and for service to the profession, particularly as secretary of the American Mathematical Society
- Louis J. Gross, Professor of Mathematics and of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: For distinguished contributions in mathematical and computational ecology and for contributions to quantitative education for life scientists
- George W. Kabalka, Professor of Chemistry: For distinguished contributions to the field of organic chemistry
- Bruce McKee, Professor of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology: For distinguished contributions to the field of meiosis
- Harry Y. “Hap” McSween, Chancellor’s Professor and Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences: For distinguished contributions in cosmochemistry and the exploration of Mars and as department head and interim dean at UT Knoxville
- Earl W. Plummer, Distinguished Professor of Physics: For the development of instrumentation and its use to illuminate new concepts in the surface physics of metals and for the mentoring of promising young scientists
- Susan E. Riechert, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: For distinguished contributions to the field of behavior and ecology
- Shih-Lung Shaw, Professor and Head of Geography: For innovative contributions to the fields of geographic information science and transportation geography
- Daniel Simberloff, Gore Hunger Professor of Environmental Science: For distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology, biogeography, and invasion biology
—Jay Mayfield
