Six MSU individuals named AAAS fellows

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, has awarded the distinction of Fellow to six MSU faculty members this year. These individuals have been elevated to this rank because of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. 

AAAS Fellow’s lifetime honor comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.

The following individuals from MSU have been named AAAS Fellow(s):

• Jefferey J. Frymueller for outstanding contributions to research, teaching, innovation, service to societies and to the public in geodesy, tectonics, volcanology, glaciology, hydrology and geophysics.

• Jay Irwin Goodman for distinguished contributions to toxicology, particularly research on the key role epigenetic alterations play in carcinogenesis, and efforts to advance science-based safety assessment of chemicals.

• Xuefei Huang for distinguished contributions to the field of carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology, particularly for the development of new synthetic methods, glyconanotechnology, and carbohydrate-based vaccines.

• Patricia Soranno for fundamental contributions to macrosystems ecology, the study of ecological systems at larger spatial and temporal scales, and understanding freshwater ecosystems from a landscape perspective.

• Eric Linke Hegg for distinguished contributions to understanding biological reactions critical to energy generation and capture in living organisms, through development of new chemical approaches. 

• Cheryl A. Kerfeld for distinguished contributions to the field of structure of microbial photosynthetic proteins and compartments, particularly the elucidation of design criteria of bacterial microcompartments. 

AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science , as well as Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling — a digital, open-access journal —Science Advances, Science Immunology and Science Robotics.

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of fellow if nominated by the steering group of their respective sections, by three fellows, or by the Association’s chief executive officer. 

Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and forwards a final list to the AAAS Council. The AAAS Council votes on the final aggregate list.

New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin — representing science and engineering, respectively — on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2020 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA. 

For additional information about AAAS, see www.aaas.org.