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For studies that focus on green energy and 3D printing, four UT professors, including two UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chairs, are being recognized for their teaching and research.

Four UT professors have been named by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to its 2013 class of fellows.

This year, 388 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The new fellows will be presented with an official certificate February 15 at the AAAS annual meeting in Chicago.

“From unlocking secrets of our bodies’ sleep cycles to harnessing the power of plants as an energy source, our professors’ research and teaching continue to better the world,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek.

The newly honored fellows, and the citations on their awards, are:

Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, UTORNL Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing in the College of Engineering: For distinguished contributions to computational materials sciences, nonequilibrium phase transformations, and application of in situ neutron and synchrotron diffraction tools, and other advanced characterization methods.

Barry Bruce, professor of biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology in the College of Arts and Sciencse: For distinguished investigations in photosynthesis and chloroplast biology, especially seminal advances in applied photosynthesis, and long-standing mechanistic contributions in chloroplast biogenesis and protein transport. Bruce is co-founder of the Sustainable Energy and Education Center and a co-principal investigator of Tennessee Solar Conversion and Storage using Outreach, Research, and Education (TN SCORE).

Terry Hazen, UTORNL Governor’s Chair for Environmental Biotechnology in the College of Engineering and College of Arts and Sciences: For distinguished contributions in the field of microbial ecology and bioremediation, particularly for the systems biology approach to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

Theresa Lee, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences: For distinguished contributions to the application of biological rhythms to behavior, physiology, and development, as well as exceptional mentoring and teaching.

AAAS is one of the largest scientific organizations in the world, serving more than 261 individual science societies with more than a million members. It also publishes the journal Science. Fellows must be nominated to membership either by three current fellows, the CEO of AAAS or AAAS steering groups. Nominations are subject to approval by the AAAS Council. The first class of fellows was named in 1874.

For more information on the nomination process and to search a database of current AAAS fellows, visit the website.

C O N T A C T :

Whitney Heins (865-974-5460, wheins@utk.edu)