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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Six University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The association, the world’s largest general scientific society, elects fellows to recognize their efforts toward advancing science applications that are considered scientifically or socially distinguished.

The six new fellows are biologist Kerry S. Bloom, Ph.D.; anthropologist Paul W. Leslie, Ph.D.; chemist Wenbin Lin, Ph.D.; computer scientist Dinesh Manocha, Ph.D.; geneticist and psychiatrist Patrick F. Sullivan, M.D.; and physicist John F. Wilkerson, Ph.D.

Bloom was recognized for his research using yeast cells, which has led to insights into how chromosomes work and the mechanics and dynamics of cell division. He is Thad L. Beyle Distinguished Professor of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the Lineberger Center.

Leslie was recognized for his contributions to demographic, social, health and environmental modeling of human populations living in arid and semi-arid environments in East Africa. He is an anthropology professor and department chair in the college.

Lin was recognized for his contributions to the field of inorganic chemistry, including nanoparticle imaging agents and anticancer drugs. He is a chemistry professor in the college and in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, as well as a member of the Lineberger Center.

Manocha was recognized for his theoretical and practical contributions to geometric computing, and strong applications to computer graphics, robotics and parallel computing. He is Phi Delta Theta/Matthew Mason Distinguished Professor in the computer science department in the college.

Sullivan was recognized for his contributions to understanding the genetics of schizophrenia, smoking behavior and major depression. He is Ray M. Hayworth and Family Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and professor of genetics in the UNC School of Medicine, adjunct professor of epidemiology in the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and a member of the Lineberger Center and the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences.

Wilkerson was recognized for his leadership of experimental efforts to understand the fundamental properties of the neutrino and neutron. He is John R. and Louise S. Parker Distinguished Professor in the physics and astronomy department in the college.

The six are among 503 scientists awarded the honor this year. New fellows will be presented with a certificate and a rosette pin at the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in February.

For more information and a database of current fellows, go to:
http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/fellows/