In March 2026, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of many world’s largest basic scientific societies and writer of the Science household of journals, introduced the 2025 class of AAAS Honorary Fellows. This newest class consists of 449 scientists, engineers and innovators throughout 24 AAAS disciplinary Sections. At least 29 of the 2025 Fellows are of Indian origin.
Election as a Fellow honors members “whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications in service to society have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues,” a press launch from AAAS mentioned.
“This year’s AAAS Fellows have demonstrated research excellence, made notable contributions to advance science, and delivered important services to their communities,” mentioned AAAS Chief Executive Officer Sudip S. Parikh, mentioned. Parikh can also be government writer of the Science household of journals. “These Fellows and their accomplishments validate the importance of investing in science and technology for the benefit of all.”
AAAS started honoring Fellows with this lifetime recognition in 1874, about 25 years after the affiliation was based.
Presented by part affiliation under, these of Indian origin are:
Section on Agriculture, Food & Renewable Resources
Om Parkash Dhankher, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Upendra Man Sainju, USDA-ARS, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory
Section on Astronomy
Meenakshi Wadhwa, University of California San Diego
Section on Biological Sciences
Ram Dixit, Washington University in St. Louis
Roman Reddy Ganta, University of Missouri
Geeta Jayant Narlikar, University of California, San Francisco
Pankaj Kumar Singh, University of Oklahoma Health Campus
Section on Chemistry
Partha Basu, Indiana University Indianapolis
Dhandapani Venkataraman, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Section on Education
Pratibha Varma-Nelson, Indiana University Indianapolis
Section on Engineering
Tejal Ashwin Desai, Brown University School of Engineering
Srinath V. Ekkad, North Carolina State University
Rajat Mittal, Johns Hopkins University
Arvind Raman, Purdue University
Section on Geology & Geography
Dev dutta S. Niyogi, University of Texas at Austin
Section on Industrial Science & Technology
Danda B. Rawat, Howard University
Section on Information, Computing & Communication
Anupam Joshi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Section on Medical Sciences
Neel R. Gandhi, Emory University
Anirban Maitra, New York University Grossman School of Medicine
K M Venkat Narayan, Emory University
Chirag R. Parikh, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Niketa A. Patel, University of South Florida / James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital
Suresh S. Ramalingam, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Ravi Thadhani, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center / Emory University
Section on Neuroscience
Sandeep Robert Datta, Harvard Medical School
Section on Physics
Vinod M. Menon, The City College of New York, City University of New York
Section on Social, Economic & Political Sciences
Madhu Khanna, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Section on Societal Impacts of Science & Engineering
Erwin P. Gianchandani, National Science Foundation
Usha Menon, University of South Florida
The new Fellows will obtain a certificates and a gold and blue rosette pin (representing science and engineering, respectively) to commemorate their election and shall be celebrated at a discussion board in Washington, D.C. on May 29, 2026. The 2025 Fellows class can even be featured within the AAAS News & Notes part of the journal Science in April 2026, the press launch mentioned.