Three CNR faculty members named AAAS Fellows

December 19, 2008
Three faculty members at the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources have been named 2008 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society.

The researchers, along with eight others from UC Berkeley are among 486 new AAAS fellows to be named tomorrow in the Dec. 19 issue of the organization's journal, Science. The honor, bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers, recognizes distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

With this announcement, UC Berkeley now boasts 216 AAAS fellows among its faculty.

The new fellows and their citations are:

Steven E. Brenner, associate professor of plant and microbial biology, for computational biology research in the area of protein and structure classification, service to professional societies, co-founding of PLoS Computational Biology, teaching and committee work.

Louise P. Fortmann, professor of society and environment, for distinguished contributions to research on agro-forestry and ecological systems through the field of rural sociology, including research improving successful collaboration between professional scientists and public communities.

Elizabeth C. Theil, adjunct professor of nutritional sciences and toxicology, for pioneering contributions to bioinorganic and nucleic acid chemistry that changed accepted views, particularly for iron and oxygen in ferritin protein nanocages and mRNA regulation.

The AAAS will present the new fellows with a gold and blue rosette pin and an official certificate on Feb. 14, 2009, at the society's annual meeting in Chicago.

The society was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science serving 10 million individuals. The tradition of AAAS fellows, who are chosen by their peers, began in 1874.