Five University of Georgia faculty have been named new Fellows for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, bringing the university’s total representation on this prestigious list to 42.
Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council for extraordinary achievements leading to the advancement of science. This year, UGA’s new Fellows, representing four disciplines, are Joseph Hermanowicz, Ping Ma, Lisa Nolan, Stephen Trent and Ronald Simons.
“This is a special recognition for our researchers because it comes from their own peers in the field,” said Karen Burg, vice president for research at UGA. “We are continually growing our UGA contributions to thought leadership and innovation in a wide range of scientific disciplines, and it’s gratifying to see our faculty honored for their incredible work.”
UGA’s researchers were recognized for a range of scientific contributions, from veterinary sciences to examinations of academic freedom.
A major part of Hermanowicz’s work, for example, created a new area of study that has probed the social psychology of occupational careers, using higher education as an arena to study topics like the meaning of work, conceptions of success and achievement and professional socialization.
Nolan stressed the breadth of contribution as a major factor in achieving strong research and innovation in their respective fields.
“It takes a great team of students, both undergraduate and graduate, postdocs and fellow scientists to do this research over the years,” she said. “In doing so, we had a great time, experienced the thrill of discovery, changed some paradigms and, hopefully, improved the health of both humans and animals.”
The tradition of electing AAAS Fellows, a lifetime honor, goes back to 1874. The 2022 class includes 506 new members from around the country, representing 24 areas of study. New Fellows will be recognized at an annual in-person gathering this spring in Washington, D.C.
Learn more about UGA’s 2022 AAAS Fellows:
Joseph Hermanowicz: Hermanowicz is a professor in UGA’s Department of Sociology. He joined UGA’s faculty in 1999 and has authored or edited five books and over three dozen articles and chapters on scientific careers and the academic profession. He was selected for highly distinguished published research on the lives and careers of scientists, and for published work defending academic freedom and freedom of inquiry in the academy.
Ping Ma: Ma is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Statistics and an adjunct professor of computer science at UGA. He has authored or co-authored more than 80 research articles and was recognized with the National Science Foundation Distinguished Lecture in 2021. His work lies in development of statistical theory and methods to solve scientific and engineering problems with broad societal impacts. He was recognized in the statistics category by AAAS.
Lisa Nolan: Nolan is the Georgia Athletics Association Distinguished Professor and Dean of UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Her work spans areas of medical microbiology, microbial pathogenesis and infectious diseases. In addition to scientific impact, Nolan has led both in teaching initiatives—such as serving as founding director of the Great Plains Institute of Food Safety—and in advisory capacities—the FDA Science Advisory Board, for example. She was selected by AAAS for contributions in medical sciences.
Ronald Simons: Simons is a Regents’ Professor and Fellow in the Center for Family Research and co-director of the Center on the Biological Embedding of Social Events and Relationships in the Owens Institute for Behavioral Research. His work lies at the intersection of medical sociology, family and the life course, criminology, race, inequality and social psychology. AAAS has recognized him for contributions in social, economic and political sciences.
Stephen Trent: Trent is the UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. His work is focused on bacteriology, immunology and infectious disease, microbiology and vaccinology. He was recognized as an AAAS Fellow in the biological sciences category.
