AAS Members Elected as 2021 AAAS Fellows
Susanna Kohler American Astronomical Society (AAS)
This post is adapted from a 26 January 2022 AAAS press release:
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected 564 scientists, engineers, and innovators to the 2021 class of AAAS Fellows, a lifetime distinction that honors their invaluable contributions to science and technology. Among these honorees are a number of AAS members:
- Anthony J. Beasley, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
- Debra Fischer, Yale University
- David H. Grinspoon, Planetary Science Institute
- Mustapha Ishak-Boushaki, The University of Texas at Dallas
- Angela K. Speck, The University of Texas San Antonio
- Alan Tokunaga, University of Hawai‘i
- Eric M. Wilcots, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Belinda Jane Wilkes Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory/University of Bristol (UK)
If you're a new AAAS Fellow and are missing from this list, please email Susanna Kohler, AAS Press Officer, and she'll remedy the omission. (Sometimes an AAS member is elected by a section other than Astronomy, making it harder to spot them!)
Fellows are elected each year by their peers serving on the Council of AAAS, the organization’s member-run governing body. The 2021 group will receive official certificates and rosette pins in gold and blue, colors symbolizing science and engineering, and they will be celebrated later this year during an in-person gathering when it is feasible from a public health and safety perspective. The honor recognizes diverse accomplishments, including pioneering research, leadership within a given field, teaching and mentoring, fostering collaborations, and advancing public understanding of science.
The tradition of electing AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Since then, the recognition has gone to thousands of distinguished scientists, such as astronomer Maria Mitchell, elected in 1875, inventor Thomas Edison (1878), anthropologist Margaret Mead (1934), computer scientist Grace Hopper (1963), and popular science author Jared Diamond (2000).
The full list of 2021 AAAS Fellows will be published in the January 2022 issue of Science.