UC Berkeley Press Release
Six professors named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
BERKELEY – Six professors at the University of California, Berkeley, are among the 196 new fellows elected this week to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of their leadership in scholarship, business, the arts and public life.
The newest academy members from UC Berkeley are Robert Powell, Robson Professor of Political Science; Daniel Boyarin, professor of Near Eastern Studies; Giovanna Ferro-Luzzi Ames, professor emerita of biochemistry and molecular biology; Ronald Lee, director of the Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging; Hiroshi Nikaido, professor of molecular and cellular biology; and Robert Hass, professor of English and past Poet Laureate of the United States.
"Fellows are selected through a highly competitive process that recognizes individuals who have made preeminent contributions to their disciplines and to society at large," said Academy President Patricia Meyer Spacks, in a prepared statement.
Throughout its history, the academy "has convened the leading thinkers of the day, from diverse perspectives, to participate in projects and studies that advance the public good," said Executive Officer Leslie Berlowitz in the press release.
Founded in 1780, the academy has a broad-based membership comprised of scholars and practitioners from mathematics, physics, biological sciences, social sciences, humanities and the arts, public affairs and business. Its current membership includes more than 150 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners.
The newest members, part of the academy's 225th class of fellows, will be formally inducted at an Oct. 6 ceremony at the academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.