News Release

6 faculty named Fellows of AAAS

Grant and Award Announcement

Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Six Penn State faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Fellows are Peter Hudson, director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and Willaman Professor of Biology; Soundar Kumara, Allen E. & M. Pearce Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering; Andrew Read, professor of biology and entomology and Eberly College of Science Distinguished Senior Scholar; Nitin Samarth, George A. and Margaret M. Downsbrough Department Head and professor of physics; Matthew Thomas, professor of entomology and Huck Scholar in Ecological Entomology, and Karl Zimmerer, head and professor of geography.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. This year, 702 Fellows were selected for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The Fellows will receive certificates and pins on Feb. 16 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.

Hudson was named a Fellow for his contributions to our understanding of the ways parasites influence populations. His research melding fieldwork, laboratory studies and mathematical modeling on wildlife disease and parasite ecology have made him a "founding father" of the study of wildlife disease.

Kumara received his award for pioneering contributions to interdisciplinary research in industrial engineering integrating, manufacturing, computing, complex networks and operations research.

Read was named a Fellow for contributions to theoretical and empirical studies of the evolution of pathogens and their insect vectors, especially malaria and drug resistance.

Samarth was chosen for contributions to the emerging field of semiconductor spintronics, particularly for the design and measurement of mesoscopic magnetoelectronic devices.

Thomas was named a Fellow for contributions to the field of environmental entomology, advancing understanding of basic ecology for the development of sustainable pest and disease control strategies.

Zimmerer received his award for contributions to geography and environmental sciences, particularly through research on agrobiodiversity, land use, conservation, and energy landscapes in globalization and development.

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