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UC Berkeley Press Release

UC Berkeley: 4 faculty among new National Academy of Science Members

– The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) today (Tuesday, April 20) announced the election of new members, among them four University of California, Berkeley, professors. The newly elected scientists bring the total number of NAS members on the UC Berkeley faculty to 132.

The new electees are A. Paul Alivisatos, Chancellor's Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science in the College of Chemistry and director of the Molecular Foundry at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Raymond Jeanloz, professor of earth and planetary science and of astronomy in the College of Letters & Science; George F. Oster, professor of cell and developmental biology and of environmental science, policy and management in the College of Natural Resources; and Peter H. Quail, professor of plant biology in the College of Natural Resources and research director of the Plant Gene Expression Center, a joint collaboration between UC Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The four were among 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 13 countries announced at the 141st annual meeting of the academy. Election to membership in NAS is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer, recognizing distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to 1,949. Foreign associates are nonvoting members of the academy, with citizenship outside the United States. Today's election brings the total number of foreign associates to 351.

A total of 15 of the new NAS members are affiliated with the University of California, including four from UC San Francisco. The San Diego and Davis campuses are home to two new members each, while the Los Angeles, Irvine and Santa Barbara campuses each had one faculty member elected to the NAS.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, which calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.

A full list of new NAS members can be found online at http://national-academies.org/nas.

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