Awards, People

Three UC Berkeley scholars elected to American Philosophical Society

By Public Affairs

Three University of California, Berkeley, scholars have been elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS), along with 34 other scientists, artists, historians and leaders in the arts, professions, and public and private affairs.

The APS is the oldest learned society in the country, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743. The new members were announced April 29, bringing total membership in the society to 1,004.

The new UC Berkeley members are:

Graham Fleming , professor of chemistry, Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemical Biodynamics, and UC Berkeley vice chancellor for research

Paula Fass , Margaret Byrne Professor of History

Svetlana Leontief Alpers , professor emerita of the history of art

The new members also include documentary filmmaker Kenneth Burns, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.

The list also includes four other University of California faculty members: John Avise, a UC Irvine professor of ecology and evolutionary biology; Alexandra Navrotsky, a UC Davis interdisciplinary professor of ceramic, earth, and environmental materials chemistry; Kyriacos Nicolaou, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UC San Diego; and Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, professor emerita in the Department of Anthropology at UC Davis.

The society promote useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources and community outreach, according to the organization’s website.

The total number of current and emeritus UC Berkeley faculty members who are APS members is now 43.

For a complete list of new members, see the APS website .