Seven Yale faculty members elected to AAAS class of 2016

Seven Yale faculty members have been elected as fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) from among the world’s leaders in the mathematical and physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, as well as the arts, business, public affairs, and the nonprofit sector.

They are part of a new fellows class that represents 25 states, 17 countries, and more than 115 institutions. The AAAS is considered one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

Founded in 1780, the AAAS serves as a champion of scholarship, civil dialogue, and useful knowledge. Through studies, publications, and programs, the AAAS provides nonpartisan policy advice to decision-makers in government, academia, and the private sector. Past members have included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., Margaret Meade, Daniel Webster, and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

In announcing this year’s fellows, AAAS President Jonathan F. Fanton said, “As individuals, in their respective fields and professions, these newly elected members have extended the limits of what we can do as a people, a nation, and a world.”

The Yale faculty members joining the AAAS Class of 2016 are:

• Mark W. Hochstrasser, the Eugene Higgins Professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental biology

• Shelly Kagan, the Clark Professor of Philosophy

• Samuel S. Kortum, the James Burrows Moffatt Professor of Economics

• Scott J. Miller, the Irénée du Pont Professor of Chemistry

• Vladimir Rokhlin, the Arthur K. Watson Professor of Computer Science, and professor of mathematics

• Robert J. Schoelkopf, Sterling Professor of Applied Physics and Physics

• Peter H. Schuck, the Simeon E. Baldwin Professor of Law

The new class will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 8 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The complete list of the 213 new fellows and foreign honorary members can be found here.