Faculty Elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Three College of Natural Sciences faculty members members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. In total, six faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin were elected this year.
Three College of Natural Sciences faculty members members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. In total, six faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin were elected this year.
The honor recognizes important contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics—including pioneering research, leadership within a given field, teaching and mentoring, fostering collaborations, and advancing public understanding of science.
The six new fellows from UT join more than 43 colleagues at the university who have earned the lifetime distinction. Nationally, AAAS elected 564 new fellows this year.
"UT Austin is immensely proud of these faculty members for their achievement," Vice President for Research Daniel Jaffe said. "They join a select group of scientists and scholars the country over who are changing the world through their academic, classroom and community contributions."
This year's AAAS fellows from UT Austin hail from the College of Natural Sciences, the Cockrell School of Engineering, the Moody College of Communication and the College of Liberal Arts.
Three College of Natural Sciences faculty members members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. In total, six faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin were elected this year.
Three College of Natural Sciences faculty members members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. In total, six faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin were elected this year.
The honor recognizes important contributions to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics—including pioneering research, leadership within a given field, teaching and mentoring, fostering collaborations, and advancing public understanding of science.
The six new fellows from UT join more than 43 colleagues at the university who have earned the lifetime distinction. Nationally, AAAS elected 564 new fellows this year.
"UT Austin is immensely proud of these faculty members for their achievement," Vice President for Research Daniel Jaffe said. "They join a select group of scientists and scholars the country over who are changing the world through their academic, classroom and community contributions."
This year's AAAS fellows from UT Austin hail from the College of Natural Sciences, the Cockrell School of Engineering, the Moody College of Communication and the College of Liberal Arts.
David Cannatella is a professor of integrative biology and associate director for collections in UT Austin's Biodiversity Center. He conducts research into the systematics and evolution of frogs, as well as salamanders, birds and bird fossils. Cannatella received recognition for his work explaining neotropical frogs and using systematic and phylogeographic approaches to endangered cave amphibians.
Rasika Harshey, a professor of molecular biosciences who holds the Lorene Morrow Kelley Professorship in Microbiology, studies how mobile genetic elements move, and flagella, the sensory "outboard motors" that allow bacteria to move according to their surroundings. This knowledge has led to understanding how bacteria sense and respond to life on a solid surface, compared with their well-studied behaviors in liquid. One of her recent studies discovered how some dying bacteria warn others to prepare defenses against nearby antibiotics.
Xiuling Li, professor of chemistry and electrical and computer engineering, researches nanostructured semiconductor materials and devices. She holds the Dow Chemical Company Endowed Professorship in Chemistry and the Temple Foundation Endowed Professorship. Her research opens new avenues by using innovative epitaxial growth and nanofabrication approaches, including metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, metal-assisted chemical vapor deposition, and strain-induced self-rolled-up membranes, to address the ever-present needs to reduce the size, weight, power and cost of microelectronic devices.
Other UT Austin faculty members from other colleges include Bridget Goosby, professor of sociology, Lee Ann Kahlor, professor of advertising and public relations and Lance Manuel, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.
"AAAS is proud to bestow the honor of AAAS fellow to some of today's brightest minds who are integral to forging our path into the future," said Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. "We celebrate these distinguished individuals for their invaluable contributions to the scientific enterprise."
The new fellows will be featured in the January 2022 issue of Science and will be honored at a ceremony later this year.
