Lene Hau elected American Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow

The American Academy of Arts & Sciences today announced the election of leaders in the sciences, the humanities and the arts, business, public affairs, and the nonprofit sector. The 212 new Fellows and 19 Foreign Honorary Members join one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies and a center for independent policy research.

Lists of the 2009 newly elected Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members with their affiliations at the time of election:

• Alphabetized List of Fellows
• List of Fellows by Class and Section

Scientists among the new Fellows include: co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology Mario Capecchi, recognized for his contributions to gene targeting; physicist Lene Hau, whose experimental worksucceeded in stopping a beam of light; mathematician and Fields Medal winner Terence Tao; Pathologist Peter Nowell, who revolutionized our understanding of the genetic basis of cancer; astronomer Eric Becklin,whose pioneering infrared observations led to the first glimpse of the nucleus of the Milky Way; astrophysicist Guinevere Kauffmann, whose techniques calculate numerically the creation and evolution of galaxies and black holes in the early universe; and chemical engineer Adam Heller, whose numerous inventions include the lithium chloride battery and photochemically self-cleaning windows.