UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Seven Penn State faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the organization announced November 23, 2015.
The 2015 Fellows are Leonard S. Jefferson, Evan Pugh University Professor in Physiology; Arthur Mallay Lesk, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology and director, Earth System Science Center; Joseph C. Reese, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Song Tan, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; Kent E. Vrana, chair, Department of Pharmacology; and Andrew L. Zydney, distinguished professor of chemical engineering.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. This year, 347 Fellows were selected for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The Fellows will receive certificates and pins on Feb. 13 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Jefferson becomes a Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of metabolism, and particularly to protein synthesis, translation and signaling pathways related to diabetes.
Lesk receives his award for distinguished contributions to computational structural biology, particularly for studies that elucidate the determinants of the structures of proteins and the mechanisms of their evolution.
Mann becomes a Fellow for outstanding contributions to the understanding of past climate change and efforts to inform the public about the risks of anthropogenic change.
Reese becomes a Fellow for distinguished contributions towards understanding the functions and mechanism of action of eukaryotic transcription regulatory complexes using the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Tan receives his award for distinguished contributions to the field of structural biology, particularly for determining the atomic structures of chromatin complexes.
Vrana receives his award for his distinguished contributions to the fields of neuropharmacology and neuroenzymology, and for integrating functional genomics and proteomics into the understanding of drug abuse.
Zydney becomes a Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of membrane science and engineering, particularly for systematically identifying transport and fouling mechanisms in protein, DNA and virus filtration.
The organization will officially announce the Fellows in the upcoming issue of Science.