“The men and women we elect today are true pathbreakers who have made unique contributions to their fields and to the world,” said Louis Cabot, AAAS chair. “The academy honors them and their work, and they, in turn, honor us.”
Among this year’s fellows, announced by the academy this week, are: Jim Yong Kim, president of Dartmouth College and a 1982 Brown graduate; Olufunmilayo Olopade, whose revolutionary findings on the genetics of breast cancer were translated into interventions for women around the world; Myron Scholes, Nobel laureate economist; Daniel Howe, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian; John Lithgow and Denzel Washington, actors; Francis Ford Coppola, director; James Leach, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities; and Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate.
Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences selects its members through a highly competitive process that recognizes individuals who have made preeminent contributions to their disciplines and to society at large.