UC Professors Named American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows

CINCINNATI—Two University of Cincinnati (UC) professors have been awarded the distinction of Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Peter Stambrook, PhD, professor and chairman of the UC College of Medicine’s cell and cancer biology department, and Robert Richardson, PhD, professor of philosophy in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, received the national honor.

Stambrook and Richardson are among 471 AAAS members recognized in 2007 for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

AAAS fellowship status is given annually to distinguished individuals by society members and their peers. UC has 14 faculty members who are AAAS fellows—nine from the College of Medicine and five from the main campus.

This year’s Fellows were announced in the Oct. 26, 2007, issue of the journal Science. Stambrook and Richardson will receive official certificates and special rosette pins on Feb. 16, 2007, at the Fellows Forum during the AAAS annual meeting in Boston.

Stambrook was recognized for his contributions to the understanding of in vivo mutagenesis and recombination between homologous chromosomes, as well exceptional service as president of the Environmental Mutagen Society, a society that deals with how DNA is damaged and the cellular mechanisms by which it is repaired, and as the editor of the journal Mutation Research.

A UC faculty member since 1985, Stambrook currently holds more than $5.5 million in research grants. He has presented at more than 60 national and international meetings and published more than 170 scientific manuscripts. He currently serves as scientific director for the Israel Cancer Research Fund and on scientific review panels for the National Institutes of Health and other national agencies. In addition, he is a 15-year board member for the Ohio division of the American Cancer Society.

Richardson was recognized for outstanding achievement in philosophy of biology and cognitive science—specifically for his work in complex systems­—fields AAAS calls “two of the most important areas to emerge in recent philosophy of science. Richardson has been a UC faculty member for 30 years. During his career, he has published four books and more than 60 articles on the philosophy of biology, cognitive science, ecology and other areas. He is also one of six Charles P. Taft professors in the UC McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.

The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. Founded in 1848, the society includes more than 260 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. A nonprofit organization, the society is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs and science education.