The Materials Research Society (MRS) congratulates MRS Bulletin Editor Gopal R. Rao, recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Rao is one of 443 members honored this year for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
As part of the Section on Engineering, Rao was elected as an AAAS Fellow for his “distinguished contributions to the fields of materials science & engineering, particularly for the worldwide dissemination of subjects that help society to understand innovation and impactful technology.”
This year’s AAAS Fellows were formally announced via a news release distributed today, and will also be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the November 28, 2019, issue of the journal Science. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on February 15, 2020, at the AAAS Fellows Forum, held during the 2020 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington.
“On behalf of the Materials Research Society’s members, volunteers and staff, I congratulate Gopal!” states Todd M. Osman, MRS Executive Director. “This is a well-deserved recognition of Gopal’s exceptional abilities and his dedication to MRS’s mission to promote communication for the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and technology to improve the quality of life.”
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the association’s 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee’s institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer. Fellows must have been continuous members of AAAS for four years by the end of the calendar year in which they are elected. The AAAS Fellow honor comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.
Each steering group reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list. The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.
AAAS encourages its sections and Council to consider diversity among those nominated and selected as Fellows, in keeping with the association’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Photo of Gopal R. Rao available upon request at [email protected]
About MRS Bulletin
Published by the Materials Research Society, MRS Bulletin is one of the most widely recognized and highly respected publications in advanced materials research. Each month, the Bulletin provides a comprehensive overview of a specific materials theme, along with industry and policy developments, and MRS and materials-community news and events. Written by leading experts, the overview articles are useful references for specialists, but are also presented at a level understandable to a broad scientific audience. The journal recently introduced a new section, MRS Bulletin Impact, focused on publishing high-impact original research.
For more information on MRS Bulletin, visit mrs.org/bulletin.
About the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For additional information about AAAS, see aaas.org.
About the Materials Research Society
MRS is an organization of over 13,000 materials researchers from academia, industry and government worldwide, and a recognized leader in promoting the advancement of interdisciplinary materials research and technology to improve the quality of life. MRS members are students and professionals hailing from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and engineering—the full spectrum of materials research. Headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania (USA), MRS membership now spans 90 countries, with approximately 45 percent of members residing outside the United States.
MRS serves and engages members across generations to advance their careers and promote materials research and innovation. The Society produces high-quality meetings and publications, assuring that members of all career stages can present and publish their most important and timely work to an international and interdisciplinary audience. MRS continues to expand its professional development portfolio, as well as promote diversity and inclusion in the scientific workforce, with career services for researchers worldwide. The Society advocates for the importance of scientific research and innovation to policymakers and the community. And the MRS Awards program honors those whose work has already had a major impact in the field, as well as those whose work shows great promise for future leadership.
For more information about the Materials Research Society visit
mrs.org and follow
@Materials_MRS.