The American Association for the Advancement of Science recently awarded 283 scientists its prestigious designation of fellow for 1996. Six current Berkeley faculty and one professor emeritus were among those honored.

The association is the world's largest federation of scientists and publisher of the peer-reviewed weekly Science. It awards its fellowships annually to scientists whose efforts have helped to advance science or to foster its applications.

Berkeley honorees for 1996 are Patrick Kirch (anthropology), Thomas McEvilly (geology and geography), Christopher McKee (physics), David Potts (biological sciences), Carla Shatz (neuroscience), Kenneth Wachter (statistics) and Daniel Luten Jr. (professor emeritus of geology and geography). The fellows will be officially honored Feb. 15., at the association's 1997 meeting in Seattle.

Between 1982 and 1996, 97 Berkeley scientists were inducted as fellows by the association.

Berkeley faculty have been awarded six out of 19 fellowships in the ninth annual systemwide competition for the President's Research Fellowships in the Humanities. The program is part of the systemwide Humanities Initiative, which also supports graduate student fellowships, campus-based organized research activities and the Humanities Research Institute at UC Irvine.

Fellowships provide salary support to faculty conducting research in the humanities. They are awarded on the basis of research proposals in an annual competition modeled on that of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Active ladder rank faculty, including lecturers, who are members of the Academic Senate may apply for the fellowships.

Recipients were selected from a pool of 83. They received awards ranging from $7,821 to $25,000.

The six Berkeley fellows for 1996-97 and their departments are Wendy Allanbrook (music), Mary Elizabeth Berry (history), Charles Chihara (philosophy), Martin Jones (philosophy), Thomas Metcalf (history) and Alan Timberlake (Slavic languages and literatures).

The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society has named Robert O. Ritchie, professor of materials science and mineral engineering, recipient of the 1996 Structural Materials Distinguished Materials Scientist/Engineer Award.

The award recognizes long standing contributions to the fundamental understanding of microstructure, properties and performance of structural materials for industrial applications.

Ritchie will accept the award at the society's 126th annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in February.