NAS elects eight from Harvard

President Lawrence H. Summers and seven Harvard professors are among the 72 newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, the academy announced Tuesday (April 30). Members are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Those elected bring the total number of active members to 1,907. With its eight new members, Harvard tied the University of California system for the highest number of electees this year.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, that calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology. The complete list of new members can be found at http://www.nas.edu/.

In addition to President Summers, newly elected members from Harvard are Harvey Cantor, chair, Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and professor of pathology at the Medical School (HMS); Susan E. Carey, professor of psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and member of the Faculty of Education; Constance L. Cepko, professor and head, Ph.D. Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Genetics, HMS; William C. Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development at the Kennedy School; Laurie H. Glimcher, professor of medicine, HMS, and Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology, School of Public Health; Yum-Tong Siu, William Elwood Byerly Professor of Mathematics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and Bruce M. Spiegelman, professor of cell biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, HMS.