Lene Hau named AAAS Fellow

WASHINGTON D.C.—December 17, 2009—Lene Hau, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and of Applied Physics, has been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow. Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

As part of the Section on Physics Hau was honored "for distinguished contributions to the field of interactions between atoms and light, especially for the achievement of 'slow light' in dilute cold atomic gases."

This year 531 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Hau was among a group of 12 Harvard faculty members also honored with the distinction. (See the University's full press release.)

New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, 20 February from 8 to 10 a.m. at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego.

This year’s AAAS Fellows will be announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on 18 December 2009.

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the Association’s 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee's institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer.

Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.

The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.