Six University faculty members were honored as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science according to a University press release sent Monday morning.

The honored faculty were: President Timothy Killeen, William Metcalf, William Mischo, Ralph Nuzzo, Stephen Portnoy and Hong Yang.

President Killeen was selected for his “distinguished contributions to optical interferometry, education and government administration, and leadership in professional service.”

Metcalf, the G. William Arend Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biology, was honored for “pioneering discoveries on the genetics and enzymology of methanogenesis by archaea and the mechanisms for aerobic methane formation in marine surface waters.”

Mischo, the head of the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center, was recognized for “research relevant to the development of new digital library technologies.”

Nuzzo, the G.L. Clark Professor of Chemistry, was acknowledged for his “distinguished contributions to materials chemistry, particularly for the development of self-assembled monolayers as systems for the design of functional molecular surfaces and interfaces.”

Portnoy, statistics professor emeritus, was honored for “contributions to asymptotic theory and quantile processes and leadership in the development of robust regression methods,” as well as “building significant collaborations between statistical sciences and ecology.”

Yang, the Richard C. Alkire Professor in chemical engineering, was chosen for his “discovery of a new synthesis platform for precisely controlled noble metal alloy nanostructures, with applications in electrocatalysis for fuel cells and batteries.”

The AAAS will honor 347 new fellows this year. In order to be elected a fellow, one must be a member of the AAAS and must show efforts in advancing science or the application of science.

The new fellows will be recognized at the annual AAAS meeting in February 2016.

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