Yale Scientists Inducted Into American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Two Yale University scientists will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious honor societies, at a ceremony this Saturday, Oct. 11 at the society’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

Two Yale University scientists will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious honor societies, at a ceremony this Saturday, Oct. 11 at the society’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

Meg Urry, the Israel Munson Professor of Physics and Astronomy and chair of the physics department, and Michael Donoghue, the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, were selected “for their cutting-edge research and scholarship” according to the academy.

“I’m thrilled to be included in this year’s list of inductees,” said Urry, who is also the founding director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. “To have your work recognized in this way is very fulfilling.” 

Urry’s work on supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies and their influence on galaxy evolution has been published in more than 140 refereed journal articles. In addition to her research, she is a prominent champion of women’s issues and has organized national conferences on women in science. She joined the Yale faculty in 2001 and has served as chair of physics since 2007. She has advised NASA on many of its space observatories and is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society and American Women in Science.

“Becoming a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is a wonderful honor,” said Donoghue, who is also curator of botany in Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History and the museum’s former director, and was recently named Vice President of Planning and Program Development for the University’s new West Campus.  “I’m totally flattered to join such a prestigious group of scholars.”

With research interests focusing on the diversity and evolution of plants, Donoghue has been a leader in the movement to reconstruct the entire Tree of Life and has played a prominent role in DIVERSITAS, an international scientific organization focused on biodiversity and global change. He joined the Yale faculty in 2000, serving as chair of ecology and evolutionary biology from 2001 to 2002, and holds additional faculty appointments in Yale’s Department of Geology and Geophysics and the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Since its founding in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences has inducted a new group of scholars, scientists, artists, philanthropists, and civic and corporate leaders into its membership each year.

“Throughout its history, Fellows of the Academy have been dedicated to advancing intellectual thought and constructive action in America and the world. We are confident that our newest group of fellows will help us fulfill that mission in significant ways,”
the academy’s Chief Executive Officer Leslie Berlowitz said in a statement.

In addition to Urry and Donoghue, eight other faculty and Yale Corporation members are being inducted into the academy this year. Other inductees include Nobel Laureate Linda Buck, computer entrepreneur Michael Dell, former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Schultz and architect Elizabeth Diller.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences web site has the complete list of 2008 fellows.

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Suzanne Taylor Muzzin: suzanne.taylormuzzin@yale.edu, 203-432-8555