Seven UCSB Faculty Members Named AAAS Fellows

Seven faculty members at UC Santa Barbara have been awarded the distinction of Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

"This year's election of seven of our faculty members as AAAS Fellows is a remarkable testament to the caliber of research at UC Santa Barbara," said Chancellor Henry T. Yang. "I am proud to salute my distinguished colleagues, and I know that our campus and community join me in applauding their achievement. This prestigious honor is a meaningful affirmation from their peers of the extraordinary contributions that each of these seven scholars has made to advancing the frontiers of science and serving our society."

The newly elected members from UCSB are:

Bjorn Birnir, professor of mathematics and director of the Center for Nonlinear Sciences, for distinguished applied mathematical contributions to the understanding of instances of turbulence flow in three dimensions arising in geomorphology, and for contributions to mathematical biology.

Mark A. Brzezinski, professor of ecology, evolution and marine biology, for seminal advances in our understanding of the biology of diatoms and their role in the cycling of carbon, and the biogeochemistry of silicon in the ocean.

Richard Church, professor of geography, for innovative contributions to human geographic science and technology, including modeling location-based-services, forest conservation, health, fire and police services, environmental management, and network analysis.

Frank W. Davis, professor with the Bren School for Environmental Science & Management, for distinguished scholarship in landscape ecology and contributions to public policy on protection of natural resources.

Steven D. Gaines, director of the Marine Science Institute and, as of Jan. 1, 2010, dean of the Bren School for Environmental Science & Management, for fundamental contributions to ecology, particularly for integrating empirical and theoretical approaches to larval dispersal, and the dynamics of populations in the oceans.

Pierre Petroff, professor of materials and of electrical and computer engineering, for his pioneering work on the growth and spectroscopy of semiconductor self-assembling quantum wires, quantum dots and nanostructure quantum devices.

Norbert O. Reich, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, for distinguished contributions to the enzymology and pharmacology of DNA methylation in bacteria and eukaryotes.

"I am very proud of the distinction being bestowed on the faculty in the Sciences Division at UC Santa Barbara," said Pierre Wiltzius, Susan & Bruce Worster Dean of Science, Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences of the College of Letters and Science. "I am particularly pleased by the breadth of research areas covered by these scientists, from Mathematics to Chemistry, Marine Science to Geography and Ecology."

This year, 531 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin. The presentation will take place on Saturday, February 20, from 8-10 a.m. at the AAAS Fellows Forum, during the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

This year's AAAS Fellows will be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on 18 December 2009.

AAAS, founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (http://www.sciencemag.org). AAAS includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS (http://www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission "to advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more.

For more information contact:

Bjorn Birnir, (805) 893-4866, or birnir@math.ucsb.edu

Mark Brzezinski, (805) 893-8605, or brzezins@lifesci.ucsb.edu

Richard Church (805) 893-4217, or church@geog.ucsb.edu

Frank W. Davis (805) 893-3438, or fd@bren.ucsb.edu

Steven D. Gaines, (805) 893-3674, or gaines@msi.ucsb.edu

Pierre Petroff (805) 893-8256, or petroff@engineering.ucsb.edu

Norbert O. Reich (805) 893-8368, or reich@chem.ucsb.edu

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