Alondra Nelson Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor, has been elected to the newest class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a lifetime honor and one of the most laudable distinctions in the scientific community. She is recognized for her renowned achievements in science and the public sphere; for her research at the intersection of science, politics, and social inequality; and for meeting the highest standard of professional ethics and scientific integrity. 

Nelson joins a class of Fellows including past Member (1979-80) in the School of Mathematics and Director's Visitor (1993, 1996) Robert Bryant. Previously inducted Fellows include Professor Emeritus Stephen L. Adler, Frank Aydelotte, Freeman Dyson, Clifford Geertz, Ralph Slutz, Abraham H. Taub, Walther Mayer, Herman Weyl, and Charles Simonyi Professor Edward Witten. 

“AAAS is proud to bestow the honor of AAAS Fellow to some of today’s brightest minds who are integral to forging our path into the future,” said Dr. Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “We celebrate these distinguished individuals for their invaluable contributions to the scientific enterprise.”

Nelson’s contributions to the study of science, technology, race, and social citizenship—and their intersections—are explicated in her acclaimed books The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation after the Genome (2016); Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination (2011); Genetics and the Unsettled Past: The Collision of DNA, Race and History (2012; with Keith Wailoo and Catherine Lee); and Technicolor: Race, Technology and Everyday Life (2001; with Thuy Linh Tu). Nelson is currently serving in the Biden administration as Deputy Director for Science and Society in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. 

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. 

Nelson will be formally inducted during the AAAS Annual Meeting on February 19, 2022.