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Five Duke Faculty Named AAAS Fellows for 2021

Elections recognize service to their professions and the scientific community

The five new AAAS Fellows are (clockwise from upper left) Paul Baker, Robert Bryant, Emily Klein, Tai-Ping Sun and Lydia Olander
The five new AAAS Fellows are (clockwise from upper left) Paul Baker, Robert Bryant, Emily Klein, Tai-ping Sun and Lydia Olander

Five members of the Duke faculty have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among 564 new members elected for their efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications in service to society.  

“Becoming a AAAS Fellow is among the most distinct honors within the scientific community, and the AAAS Council elects its Fellows deliberately and carefully to preserve the honor attached to this recognition,” the AAAS said in a statement.

Two weeks ago, the AAAS scrapped plans to hold its February annual meeting in person in Philadelphia, but will try to organize an in-person recognition of the new fellows at a later date.

Duke’s new fellows are:

Tai-ping Sun, Ph.D. -  Agriculture, Food and Renewable Resources

A professor of biology in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Sun studies a key regulatory module that controls plant growth and development by incorporating environmental signals. She is being cited for “Distinguished contributions to the field of plant biology and agriculture, particularly to the understanding of the GA-DELLA signaling pathway and its functional significance for plant growth.”

Lydia Olander, Ph.D. - Biological Sciences

An adjunct professor in environmental sciences and policy in the Nicholas School of the Environment, Olander directs the Ecosystem Services Program in the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. She is being cited for “Distinguished contributions of the field of ecosystem services, particularly for developing and promulgating methods to enhance environmental sustainability.”

Paul Arthur Baker, Ph.D. – Geology and Geography

A professor of geochemistry in the Nicholas School of the Environment, Baker studies paleoclimate as a way to understand climate change on timescales of decades to millions of years. He is being cited for “Fundamental research contributions on the geochemistry of marine carbonates, history and dynamics of the South American summer monsoon system, and the geologic record of biodiversification in tropical South America.”

Emily M. Klein, Ph.D. – Geology and Geography

A university distinguished professor and chair of earth and climate sciences in the Nicholas School of the Environment, Klein studies the composition of basalts on the ocean floor. She is being recognized for “Distinguished contributions to understanding the formation of oceanic lithosphere throughout the world’s oceans.”

Robert Bryant, Ph.D. – Mathematics

The Phillip Griffiths Professor of Mathematics in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Bryant studies the differential equations that come from geometric problems. He also directs the Simons Collaboration on Special Holonomy in Geometry Analysis and Physics. He is being recognized for “Distinguished contributions to differential geometry and their applications to physics, and for extraordinary service to the mathematics profession.”