The American Association for the Advancement of Science introduced at this time that Dean of the Graduate School Rodney Priestley and Z. Jason Ren, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, are among the many greater than 400 scientists and engineers acknowledged this 12 months as lifetime AAAS Fellows. This 12 months’s cohort of fellows additionally contains 15 Princeton undergraduate and graduate alumni.
“This year’s AAAS Fellows have demonstrated research excellence, made notable contributions to advance science, and delivered important services to their communities,” stated Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief government officer and 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.”
Rodney Priestley
Priestley, the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor within the division of Chemical and Biological Engineering, was acknowledged for his “distinguished contributions expanding the understanding of polymer and soft matter nanoscience, including materials development and characterization,” in line with his quotation.
“The thrill of this honor is joining the community of AAAS Fellows who share a belief in the value of science and discovery,” stated Priestley. “I am delighted to represent the work of my lab, including the many undergraduate and graduate students and emerging scientists who drive our efforts forward.”
Priestley’s analysis group integrates physics, chemistry, delicate matter science, supplies processing and extra to pursue new understanding and functions of polymers on the nanoscale. Throughout his profession, Priestley has translated his analysis into sensible functions. He holds greater than a dozen patents and has launched a number of firms that draw upon his analysis, together with Greenlynd, a know-how firm targeted on sustainability options to enhance the efficiency of supplies.
His many awards embrace the American Physical Society’s Dillon Medal, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Root 100 checklist of probably the most influential African Americans, the 2023 Carl S. Marvel Award for Creative Polymer Chemistry by the American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry, and a fellowship within the APS.
Z. Jason Ren
Ren, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, was elected for “pioneering contributions to water-energy-climate nexus research, advancing resource recovery and decarbonization science, and national and local leadership in advancing implementation of water technologies.”
At Princeton, Ren’s Water & Energy Technologies (WET) Lab integrates electrochemistry, microbiology and data-driven strategies to know the carbon and electron flows and to enhance the design, operation and monitoring of complicated engineering techniques.
In addition to tutorial analysis, Ren and his college students translate improvements past the laboratory. Ren has co-founded two firms, together with Princeton Critical Minerals, which is advancing Princeton-developed applied sciences for direct lithium extraction. PCM’s techniques are designed to assist extra selective restoration of minerals from brine and produced water whereas decreasing vitality use and chemical inputs. The firm not too long ago acquired an ARPA-E award from the federal authorities and delivered its first merchandise to a serious mining consumer.
His earlier honors embrace elections as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the International Water Association, in addition to the Paul L. Busch Award from the Water Research Foundation, the AEESP Frontier in Research Award, and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Alumni fellows
Other Princetonians honored this 12 months by AAAS embrace:
- Debra Auguste, Northeastern University, a 2005 Ph.D. graduate in chemical engineering;
- Chris Clifton, Purdue University, a 1991 Ph.D. graduate in pc science;
- John Dabiri, California Institute of Technology, a member of the Class of 2001 concentrating in mechanical and aerospace engineering;
- Yingying Fan, University of Southern California, a 2007 Ph.D. graduate in operations analysis and monetary engineering;
- Karl Krushelnick, University of Michigan, a 1994 Ph.D. graduate in astrophysical sciences;
- Wei Lu, University of Michigan, a 2001 Ph.D. graduate in supplies science and engineering;
- Alison Marsden, Stanford University, a member of the Class of 1998 concentrating in mechanical and aerospace engineering;
- Katharyne Mitchell, University of California-Santa Cruz, a member of the Class of 1983 concentrating in artwork and archaeology;
- David Morrison, University of California-Santa Barbara, a member of the Class of 1976 concentrating in arithmetic;
- Helene Muller-Landau, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a 2001 Ph.D. graduate in ecology and evolutionary biology and a postdoctoral researcher from 2004 to 2006;
- Christa Peters-Lidard, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a 1997 Ph.D. graduate in civil engineering;
- Richmond Sarpong, University of California-Berkeley, a 2001 Ph.D. graduate in chemistry;
- Lori Setton, Washington University in St. Louis, a member of the Class of 1984 concentrating in mechanical and aerospace engineering;
- Marvin Slepian, University of Arizona, a member of the Class of 1977 concentrating in biochemical sciences; and
- Danfeng (Daphne) Yao, Virginia Tech, a 2000 M.A. graduate in chemistry.
The new AAAS Fellows shall be celebrated at a ceremonial Fellows Forum on May 26, 2026, in Washington, D.C. At the ceremony, they are going to obtain a blue-and-gold rosette pin, with blue representing engineering and gold representing science.
Liz Fuller-Wright within the Office of Communications, Tracy Meyer on the Princeton Graduate School and Bumper DeJesus on the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment contributed to this story.