46 UC researchers named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

March 27, 2025
Julia Busiek, UC Newsroom

UC Santa Barbara's Leda Cosmides, Adina Roskies and Rachel Segalman are among the 46 University of California faculty elected this year as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Credit: Matt Perko / UC Santa Barbara

Forty-six University of California scholars are among the fellows newly elected to the American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), making UC the lead institution represented in this year's class. The newly elected fellows join a distinguished roster of scientists, engineers and innovators recognized for leadership and impact in a broad range of disciplines.

“Election as fellow is a prestigious accomplishment as well as a deeply meaningful recognition from one’s peers,” said UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang, congratulating the three faculty from the campus elected to this year’s class. “We are very proud of our distinguished colleagues for their pioneering research to advance science in the interest of humanity.”

AAAS, which publishes the Science family of peer-reviewed research journals, is among the world’s preeminent scientific societies. It was founded in 1780 to honor excellence and to convene leaders across fields to examine new ideas and address challenges to the nation and the world. University of California Vice President of Research and Innovation Theresa Maldonado serves as president of AAAS.

UC leads this year's fellowship roster

This year, the AAAS Council selected 471 fellows from academia, government, industry and nonprofits across the country and around the world. UC is the leading institution represented, with researchers from every UC campus and three affiliated national laboratories.

“This year’s class of Fellows are the embodiment of scientific excellence and service to our communities,” said Sudip S. Parikh, Ph.D., AAAS chief executive officer. “At a time when the future of the scientific enterprise in the U.S. and around the world is uncertain, their work demonstrates the value of sustained investment in science and engineering.”

The full list of UC’s newest AAAS fellows is below, listed by area of expertise:

Agriculture, food & renewable resources

Dario Cantu, UC Davis
Huaijun Zhou, UC Davis

Astronomy

Aaron J. Barth, UC Irvine
Gillian Wilson , UC Merced

Biological sciences

David Bilder, UC Berkeley
Frederic Chedin, UC Davis
Stephanie E. Hampton, UC Davis
Barney A. Schlinger, UCLA
Changcheng Zhou, UC Riverside
Fred Chang, UC San Francisco
Raphael M. Kudela, UC Santa Cruz
Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Nigel J. Mouncey, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Chemistry

Jingsong Zhang, UC Riverside
Rachel A. Segalman, UC Santa Barbara
David Deamer, UC Santa Cruz
Theodore R. Holman, UC Santa Cruz
Jeffrey M. Pietryga, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Dentistry & oral health science

Yvonne L. Hernandez-Kapila, UCLA

Engineering

Phillip Messersmith, UC Berkeley
Jane P. Chang, UCLA
Mona Jarrahi, UCLA
Chee Wei Wong, UCLA
Karen L. Christman, UC San Diego

Geology & geography

Dawn Y. Sumner, UC Davis
Gregory S. Okin, UCLA

History & philosophy of science

Melinda Gormley, UC Irvine
Adina L. Roskies, UC Santa Barbara

Computing & communication

Nalini Venkatasubramanian, UC Irvine
Thomas Zimmermann, UC Irvine

Mathematics

Linda Preiss Rothschild, UC San Diego

Medical sciences

James G. Rheinwald, UCLA
Zea Borok, UC San Diego

Neuroscience

Diana M. Bautista, UC Berkeley
Stephanie Ann White, UCLA

Physics

Bernard Sadoulet, UC Berkeley
Raissa M. D'Souza, UC Davis
Kevork N. Abazajian, UC Irvine
Troy Alan Carter, UCLA
David P. Saltzberg, UCLA
Kam-Biu Luk, UC Berkeley

Psychology

Fei Xu, UC Berkeley
Simona Ghetti, UC Davis
Leda Cosmides, UC Santa Barbara

Statistics

Lexin Li, UC Berkeley
Alexander Aue, UC Davis