NASHVILLE, Tenn — Two Vanderbilt faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Sokrates T. Pantelides, professor of physics, and Ned A. Porter, professor and chair of the department of chemistry, are among the 300 members of the AAAS to receive the honor.
According to the AAAS, fellows are selected based on their efforts toward advancing science or fostering applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. The new fellows will be presented with a certificate and a lapel rosette pin in February at the association’s annual meeting in Seattle, Wash.
Pantelides, the William A. and Nancy F. McMinn Professor of Physics, joined Vanderbilt in 1994 after spending 20 years at IBM’s T. J. Watson Research Center in New York. He holds a joint appointment as distinguished guest scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he maintains a collaborative research program. He earned his doctorate in physics in 1973 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
At IBM, Pantelides’ research focused on semiconductor physics. His work was recognized internationally. He was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society in 1980 and has been invited by the Swedish Academy of Sciences to nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in Physics annually since 1982. At Vanderbilt, Pantelides continues in semiconductor research in collaboration with faculty in physics and the School of Engineering. In the spring of 2003, he received one of the first Chancellor’s Research Awards at Vanderbilt.
Porter is the Stevenson Professor at Vanderbilt University and associate director of Vanderbilt’s Institute of Chemical Biology. He is also chairman of the Department of Chemistry. Porter’s research interests are in mechanistic and synthetic organic chemistry and bioorganic chemistry. Prior to Vanderbilt, he was a faculty member at Duke University for 28 years.
Porter is recognized as one of the best physical organic chemists in the world. His many awards include being named the C.K. Ingold Lecturer by The Royal Society of Chemistry (United Kingdom). In 2000, he was named the A.C. Cope Scholar by the American Chemical Society. Porter received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University and his doctorate from Harvard University. He has authored 200 publications and lectures widely within the United States and abroad.
Founded in 1848, the AAAS is the world’s largest federation of scientists and works to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs and publications. With more than 141,000 members and 271 affiliated societies, AAAS conducts many programs in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation.
Contact: David F. Salisbury, (615) 343-6803 david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu