4 UC Irvine researchers are elected AAAS fellows

Irvine, Calif., April 18, 2024 — Four University of California, Irvine researchers – working in fields as diverse as computational chemistry, statistical methods, particle physics and inorganic chemistry – have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society.

“Congratulations to the four UC Irvine researchers named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,” said Pramod Khargonekar, vice chancellor for research. “These scholars are responsible for groundbreaking research that has helped UC Irvine earn a stellar reputation among its peer institutions around the world.”

Here are UC Irvine’s new fellows and the AAAS citation for each:

• Filipp Furche, professor of chemistry – for distinguished contributions to the fields of computational and theoretical chemistry with applications to the structure and bonding of rare-earth and actinide metal complexes
• Daniel Gillen, Chancellor’s Professor and chair of statistics – for distinguished contributions to statistical methods for survival and longitudinal data, clinical trials and for impactful collaborative work in drug development, regulatory policy and epidemiology
• Timothy Tait, professor of physics & astronomy – for seminal contributions to particle physics phenomenology and model building, including understanding dark matter and how to look for it
• Jenny Yang, Chancellor’s Fellow and professor of chemistry – for distinguished contributions to the field of inorganic chemistry and reactivity, particularly the mechanistic understanding of homogeneous electrocatalysts and application of chemical principles to advance electrochemical separations

A total of 502 scientists, engineers and innovators across 24 AAAS disciplinary sections are being honored this year for their efforts to further science or its applications. The new fellows will receive a certificate and a gold-and-blue rosette pin (representing science and engineering, respectively) to commemorate their election and will be celebrated at a Sept. 21 forum in Washington, D.C. (That evening, AAAS will also mark the 150th anniversary of the fellows program.) They’re also featured in the AAAS News & Notes column in this month’s issue of the journal Science.

With this latest cohort, UCI has 207 AAAS fellows.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UC Irvine is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 public universities by U.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UC Irvine has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide. For more on UC Irvine, visit www.uci.edu.

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