Campus News

Six UGA faculty named AAAS Fellows, a career milestone

Athens, Ga. – Six University of Georgia faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an honor bestowed upon them by their peers for “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”

The six inductees bring the total number of AAAS Fellows at UGA to 63. They are among 503 new AAAS Fellows who will be honored on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the 2011 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society, and being named a Fellow is one of its most prestigious honors.

“The university is enormously pleased that these six distinguished faculty have been honored for their research accomplishments,” said David Lee, vice president for research. “Their selection into this elite group brings distinction to the University of Georgia.”

The 2011 AAAS Fellows are:

Jonathan Amster, professor and head, chemistry, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Amster was recognized for distinguished contributions to the fields of analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry, and as head of the department of chemistry at University of Georgia.

Clifton A. Baile, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in Agricultural Biotechnology and D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor of Animal Science and Foods and Nutrition. Baile was elected for distinguished contributions in the field of agricultural biotechnology, particularly for fostering translational research and promoting technology transfer in agricultural sciences.

Daniel Colley, professor of microbiology, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and director of the UGA Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. Colley was honored for distinguished contributions to the fields of immunology and parasitology, particularly for immune responses to human schistosomiasis.

Alan G. Darvill, Regents Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Plant Biology, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and director, Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. Darvill was recognized for his pioneering work in elucidating the biochemistry of the plant cell wall, particularly as it relates to plant defense against pathogens.

Roberto Docampo, professor of cellular biology, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Barbara and Sanford Orkin/Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and member of the Center for Tropical and Emerging Global Diseases. Docampo was honored for his important studies in the biochemical toxicology of antiparasitic drugs, with particular emphasis on their use in the treatment of Chagas disease.

Michael Doyle, Regents Professor of Food Microbiology and director, Center for Food Safety, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Doyle was recognized for his significant contributions to food microbiology and toxicology as researcher, inventor, administrator, teacher and food safety advocate.

AAAS, publisher of the journal Science, was founded in 1848 and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of one million.