Department of Biology

For the fourth year in a row, Department of Biology faculty members have been honored as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society. The group was established in 1848 and includes over 261 affiliated science societies and academies.

In November 2013, AAAS announced that three biology faculty members would be awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow. Honorees and their citation of merit are:

Cherbas, Raff, and Winkler each were presented with an official certificate and a gold and rosette pin on February 15 at the society's AAAS Fellows Forum held during the group's 2014 annual meeting in Chicago.

Five Biology faculty members were inducted as AAAS Fellows at the organization's annual meeting held in Boston on February 16, 2013, where they received official certificates and rosette pins. They are:

• Professor James Bever, "for distinguished contributions to the field of ecology, particularly ground-breaking research on mycorrhizal symbioses and plant-microbial interactions, and the maintenance of species diversity." 2013 was a banner year for Bever, who received a prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. He plans to use part of the fellowship to write a research monograph.
• Clyde Culbertson Professor of Biology Yves Brun, "for contributions to the understanding of bacterial cells, particularly their internal organization and their mechanisms of division, differentiation, and surface adhesion."
• Professor Gregory Demas, "for distinguished contributions to integrative biology, in particular the roles of seasonality, aggression and eco-immunology, and for leadership in animal behavior." Demas was named biology's associate chair for research, effective July 1, 2012.
• Professor Clay Fuqua, "for outstanding research contributions in microbiology, specifically for the study of mechanisms of bacterial interactions, and the articulation of this area in publications and presentations." He was appointed chair of the biology department effective July 1, 2013.
• Professor James Goodson, "for distinguished contributions to the field of neuroscience, particularly groundbreaking research on the neuroendocrine basis of affiliative behavior."

Departmental faculty members who were named AAAS Fellows and honored at the 2012 AAAS Fellows Forum were:

• Professor Emeritus David Dilcher, "for distinguished service to the study of angiosperm paleobotany, particularly the ‘abominable mystery' of angiosperm evolutionary origins, and for fostering international cooperation in paleobotany."
• Professor Patricia Foster, "for distinguished contributions to molecular genetics and microbiology, particularly for determining mechanisms of stress-induced mutagenesis and elucidating the calculation of spontaneous mutation rates." In March 2013, IU's Office of the Vice Provost for Research named Foster the associate vice provost for the sciences. She is tasked with working with IUB science faculty to form collaborative research teams and "to enhance our science faculty's opportunities to attract team-based research funding."
• Also elected was former biology faculty member, Carl Bauer, who now chairs the Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Department and holds an adjunct position with our department. He was recognized "for distinguished contributions in the field of microbial physiology especially for defining an understanding of the origin, evolution, and regulation of photosynthesis genes."

These three each received their certificate and pin at the society's annual meeting held in Vancouver, B.C., on February 18, 2012.

The eleven join AAAS Fellows Lynda Delph, Roger Hangarter, Roger Innes, and Rudolf Raff, who were honored at a Fellows Forum held on February 19, 2011. They were featured in the summer 2011 issue of The Biology Alumni Newsletter.

This brings the total number of AAAS Fellows among current IU Biology faculty to 23—over a third of the faculty, attesting to the quality of the IU biology department.