The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) elected the Division of Computing, Data Science, and Society’s (CDSS) top communicator and three affiliate faculty members to be AAAS fellows, one of the scientific community’s highest honors, the group announced today.
Ruzena Bajcsy, professor emerita for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS), has been honored for her groundbreaking discoveries in the machine perception, robotics and artificial intelligence fields. Eric Brewer, also a professor emerita for EECS, is being honored as part of the Information, Computing, and Communcation category. Michael Boots, professor of integrative biology and principal investigator at the Center for Computational Biology, has been recognized for his work in the field of infectious disease biology. Tiffany Lohwater, the assistant dean of communications for CDSS, is being honored for her science communications and public engagement leadership.
“It's a great honor to be recognized for a career in science communication and public engagement – work I've always felt a calling to do,” Lohwater said. “Finding effective strategies for communicating about science in the context of our challenges as a society is critically important to making informed decisions. I owe a debt of gratitude to the many collaborators and partners who have made my contributions better."
One of Lohwater’s accomplishments was founding the Communicating Science program at AAAS, which has provided communication and media training for more than 17,000 scientists and engineers since 2008. Its online resources have supported thousands more. She joined CDSS in May from AAAS, where she served as the Chief Communications Officer and Director for the Office of Communications. Before that, she worked for the Johns Hopkins University Institute for NanoBioTechnology and at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Bajcsy, professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer sciences, is especially well-known for her work advancing our understanding of robotic sensing and vision and medical imaging. She was the founding director of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) in 2001. Before that, she led the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate.
"The mission of AAAS is to advance science to serve the society. My life has been just that," said Bajcsy. "Most importantly we need to be truthful about what our science can or cannot do, and not over sell."
Boots, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, is specifically being honored for his theoretical research on the evolution and consequences of virulence related to human health. He joined UC Berkeley in 2015. Brewer, who is also currently vice president of infrastructure for Google, is well-known for creating highly scalabe internet services and for his work helping developing regions receive information technology.
Lohwater, Bajcsy, Boots and Brewer are four of 10 Berkeley community members to be named to the 2021 class of AAAS fellows.
For More Information:
AAAS adds 10 new fellows from UC Berkeley
January 26 | Berkeley News
