Five Berkeley scientists named to National Academy

The National Academy of Sciences, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious scientific organization, has elected five UC Berkeley faculty members to its ranks, raising the number of members on campus to 143.

The academy announced its 84 newly elected members today (April 28), along with 21 foreign associates from 15 countries. All were recognized for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

The five new Berkeley members are:

• Martin Head-Gordon, the Kenneth S. Pitzer Distinguished Professor of Chemistry;
• Jitendra Malik, the Arthur J. Chick Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences;
• Daniel Neumark; the Joel Hildebrand Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry;
• Eva Nogales, a professor of molecular and cell biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator;
• Jeremy Thorner, a professor of molecular and cell biology.

Those newly elected bring the total number of active members to 2,250 and the total number of foreign associates to 452. Foreign associates are nonvoting members of the academy, with citizenship outside the United States.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and — with the National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council — provides science, technology and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.