Five Faculty Members Named as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

November 25th, 2015

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Five faculty members from the University of Missouri have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They join 347 other distinguished scientists who have been awarded this honor by AAAS this year because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The MU faculty members elected as fellows are:

• David Pintel, Dr. R. Phillip and Diane Acuff Endowed Professor in Medical Research – for contributions to understanding the life cycle of parvoviruses, particularly deciphering the mechanisms of infection in cells and persistence in animals.
• Randall Prather, distinguished professor of animal sciences – for distinguished contributions to the development of in vitro embryo technologies and genetics in pigs for application to agriculture and human medicine.
• Michael Roberts, Curators Professor of Animal Science and professor of biochemistry – for distinguished contributions in reproductive biology, including the interpretation of the molecular mechanisms underlying identification and maintenance of pregnancy in mammals.
• Dong Xu, James C. Dowell Professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science – for distinguished contributions to the field of bioinformatics and computational biology and for extensive service to the research community and the University of Missouri.
• Yuwen Zhang, James C. Dowell Professor and chair of Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering – for distinguished contributions to the field of heat transfer, particularly in phase change and laser materials interaction as well as for service to professional societies.

“Recognition of the research accomplishments of these faculty members by the AAAS demonstrates once again the quality of the faculty that we have at this venerable institution of higher learning,” MU Interim Chancellor Hank Foley said. “These faculty members, who have been recognized as Fellows of the AAAS, are at the core of MU’s mission and their work sets a foundation upon which an even better future for MU may be built. We’re honored to be their colleagues, and we all look to their example as we each strive to do the very best that we can for our students and for our state, our nation and our world. I offer them my sincerest congratulations and look forward to their continued success in the years to come!”

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world’s largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org) as well as Science Translational Medicine (www.stm.sciencemag.org) and Science Signaling (www.stke.sciencemag.org).

This year’s AAAS Fellows will be formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of Science on 27 November 2015.