UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Four Penn State faculty members in areas ranging from agriculture to the biological sciences, geology and physics have been elected to the latest cohort of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. This year, AAAS recognized 471 scientists, engineers and innovators with this lifetime honor for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements. They join a distinguished group of more than 300 Penn State researchers who have been elected fellows since 1906.
“Congratulations to Drs. Suat Irmak, Manuel Llinás, Susan L. Brantley and Ziqiang Mao on their well-deserved recognition as AAAS fellows,” said Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State. “Their work and accomplishments demonstrate the kinds of high-impact research being conducted here at Penn State to benefit our society and communities around the world.”
Fellows were elected in 2024 and will be honored in 2025. They will receive a certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin to commemorate their election and will be celebrated at a forum in Washington, D.C., in June. The 2024 fellows class will also be featured in the AAAS “News & Notes” section in this month’s issue of the journal Science. Fellows from Penn State are:
- Suat Irmak, professor and head of agricultural and biological engineering, for distinguished contributions and exemplary accomplishments in water resource management, the development of irrigation systems and new agricultural technologies, and for educating next-generation scientists
- Manuel Llinás, Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry, for distinguished research to help combat malaria
- Susan L. Brantley, Atherton Professor and Evan Pugh University Professor Emerita of Geosciences, for distinguished contributions to hydrogeology and for pioneering a new field of interdisciplinary environmental research
- Zhiqiang Mao, professor of physics, of material science and engineering and of chemistry, for outstanding contributions to the discovery and crystal growth of novel quantum materials, and for advancing the field of superconductivity
Penn State ranks among the top 26 U.S. research universities and is only one of two institutions in the nation accorded land-grant, sea-grant, sun-grant and space-grant status. This year’s fellows represent the College of Agricultural Sciences, the Eberly College of Science and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.