November 28, 2005

Distinguished UCSB Chemist and Dean Elected a Fellow of AAAS

Paul Desruisseaux

Martin Moskovits, a professor of physical chemistry and the Bruce and Susan Worster Dean of Science at UC Santa Barbara, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Moskovits is being honored for "distinguished research in surface and cluster physics and chemistry, especially for seminal contributions to the understanding of surface-enhanced spectroscopy."

Election as a Fellow of AAAS is a prestigious honor bestowed upon select members of the association by their peers.

Fellows are elected for their efforts to advance science or for innovations and applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

"On behalf of our entire campus community, I would like to congratulate Dean Moskovits, a renowned physical chemist and dynamic dean, on his election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science," said UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

"I am proud to note that this brings to 43 the number of UCSB scientists and engineers elected fellows of this prestigious academic society."

Moskovits has been dean of what is formally known as the Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences in the College of Letters and Science at UCSB since fall 2000.

He also holds the Worster Chair for the Dean of Science, an endowed position established earlier this year with funds donated by Susan and Bruce Worster, who sought to recognize the current dean for his scientific vision and leadership.

Prior to coming to UCSB, Moskovits was on the faculty of the University of Toronto, where he chaired the Department of Chemistry and served on the Governing Council, which oversees the academic, business, and institutional concerns of the university. He earned his doctorate in chemistry at Toronto in 1971.

Moskovits's research has ranged widely over much of physical chemistry, including spectroscopy, surface chemistry, the physical properties of nanomaterials, nanoscience, and technology. He has received many honors and awards for his research as well as his contributions to science, including selection as a Guggenheim Fellow and a Killam Fellow.

He is also a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and has won prizes in spectroscopy and surface and colloid science.

Moskovits also has served on numerous university, governmental, and industrial boards, and has been actively engaged with national and international science and technology policy issues.

Moskovits and the 375 other newly elected fellows of the AAAS will be presented with official certificates of commendation as well as gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pins in a ceremony to be held on Saturday, February 18, at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2006 AAAS annual meeting in St. Louis, Mo.

Founded in 1848, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has worked to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs, and publications, in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. AAAS is the world's largest general federation of scientists.

The AAAS journal, Science, is an editorially independent, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed weekly that ranks among the world's most prestigious scientific journals.

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