PHILADELPHIA -- Six faculty members of the University of Pennsylvania have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  They are professors from Penn's School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Medicine and Wharton School.

This year AAAS recognized 376 members for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.  The new Fellows will be officially inducted Feb. 18, during the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis.

This year AAAS Fellows will be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on Oct. 28.

The new Penn AAAS Fellows are:

• Ian A. Blair, professor of pharmacology in Penn's School of Medicine.  

Citation:  For distinguished contributions to the field of mass spectrometry and its applications to pharmaceutical medicine and for moving autocoid biology forward with sensitive bioanalytical techniques.

• Dawn A. Bonnell, professor of material sciences and engineering in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and director of Penn's Nano/Bio Interface Center.

Citation:  For seminal studies in interface mediated behavior in nanostructures, as well as for leadership in the U.S. nanoscience community.  

• Richard L. Doty, professor of otorhinolaryngology in Penn's School of Medicine and director of Penn's Smell and Taste Center.

Citation:  For distinguished contributions to the field of sensory measurement and for the development of the first widely-used standardized test of olfactory function.

• Howard Kunreuther, professor of decision sciences and business and public policy at Penn's Wharton School and co-director of Penn's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center.

Citation:  For distinguished contributions to the understanding of environmental and technological risks and for developing tools for risk assessment and management.  

• Irwin B. Levitan, professor and chair of neuroscience in Penn's School of Medicine.

Citation:  For pioneering studies of the regulation of neuronal electrical activity with focus on the modulation of ion channels in the neuronal plasma membrane.  

• Michael J. Therien, professor of chemistry in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences.

Citation: For seminal contributions to the design, synthesis and physical characterization of novel chemical structures with key application in electron transfer, photonics, and medical imaging.

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