Two BIOE faculty elected AAAS fellows

Jianpeng Ma and Rebecca Richards-Kortum have been named 2008 fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

Ma and Richards-Kortum were among 486 members honored this year for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Ma, a professor in bioengineering who also holds a professorship at Baylor College of Medicine, was selected for his work in intermediated-resolution structural biology, particularly for developing powerful methods to analyze the ways proteins flex and bend, allowing scientists to scrutinize the active sites of proteins implicated in cancer and other diseases.

“It is a tremendous honor to me, and I hope it also brings honor to Rice,” said Ma, adding that he “will work harder in the future to live up to the expectation.”

In 2004, Ma won the Welch Foundation’s prestigious Norman Hackerman Award for Chemical Research, named for the former Rice president.

Richards-Kortum’s passion for helping the world solve its problems is clear. As director of Rice 360°, the Stanley C. Moore Professor in the Department of Bioengineering is working hard to help developing nations achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals established by the United Nations.

The association also recognized her contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in women and for her theoretical modeling using lasers.

“AAAS has led international efforts to advance science and advocate for effective science education and policy, and it is a great privilege to be recognized as a fellow,” she said.

The AAAS has been naming fellows since 1874. The new fellows join 17 other Rice faculty members who have been so honored.

Shawn Hutchins, Bioengineering