Science association taps four UCLA professors as fellows

Four UCLA faculty members were named 2020 fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The AAAS, established in 1874, is the world's largest scientific society, publishing journal Science, UCLA said in a Nov. 24 release.

The ICLA fellows were Supidpto Banerjee, Rong Fu, Karen Sears and Graciela Gelmini.

Banerjee is a professor and chair of the biostatistics department at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. He is recognized for "innovative contributions to Bayesian methodology with a focus on spatially indexed information, for high-impact applications, educational and mentoring excellence, professional service and academic administration."

Fu is a professor and vice chair of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. She is recognized for "seminal contributions to the understanding of rainfall and ecosystem interactions, and the scientific application for improving societal drought preparedness at [a] regional scale."

Gelmini is a professor of physics and astronomy. She is recognized for her offering "to our understanding of dark matter and the universe."

Sears is a professor and chair of the ecology and evolutionary biology department. She is recognized for "particularly the developmental mechanisms driving morphologic diversification in mammals."

This year, 489 scholars were selected as fellows. The association will honor the individuals on Feb. 13, 2021, during a virtual fellows forum.