Four faculty members at the University of Pennsylvania have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  They are among a class of 347 researchers that have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Three are from Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and one is from the School of Engineering and Applied Science. They are:

Ted Abel, the Brush Family Professor of Biology in Penn Arts & Sciences: For distinguished contributions to the field of neuroscience, particularly for studies of the molecular mechanisms of memory storage and the biological basis of behavior.

Dennis E. Discher, the Robert D. Bent Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in Penn Engineering: For outstanding contributions to the understanding of the effects of matrix and cytoskeletal physical properties and forces on cell physiology and stem cell development.

A.T. Charlie Johnson, director of Penn’s Nano/Bio Interface Center and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Penn Arts & Sciences: For distinguished contributions to condensed matter physics, especially for studies of transport in one- and two-dimensional materials, and applications of nano-bio hybrids for chemical detection. 

Mark Trodden, department chair and Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor of Physics: For distinguished contributions to particle cosmology, particularly for theoretical approaches to cosmic acceleration and the baryon asymmetry of the universe, and their dissemination beyond academia.

New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin on Feb. 13 during the 2016 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.