National Academy of Sciences

Mason well-represented in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

John Hollis — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 19:57:56 +0000

Mason well-represented in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine John Hollis Mon, 06/14/2021 - 15:57

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Thomas Lovejoy

�� might be a relative newcomer among the nation’s top-tier research hubs, but it is already well represented among the upper echelons of science.

Noted conservation biologist Thomas Lovejoy’s recent induction into the National Academy of Sciences was a remarkable achievement for ��, and he is not alone among members of the Mason community who have been recognized for their extraordinary work in science.

Naomi “Lynn” Gerber, Harry van Trees, Vernon L. Smith and the late Andrew Sage also have been officially recognized by the various national academies, putting Mason among elite company.

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Naomi "Lynn" Gerber

“Each additional academy member is another indication of Mason’s leadership as a very young institution,” said Lovejoy, a University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy within the College of Science and the scientific director of Mason’s Institute for a Sustainable Earth.

Lovejoy, who is considered “the godfather of biodiversity” for coining the term, was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in late April.

The National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations to recognize academic leaders. The private, nonprofit institution was established by a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

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Vernon L. Smith

Election to membership is considered one of the highest honors any scientist can receive.

Lovejoy joined Naomi “Lynn” Gerber, MD, a University Professor in the College of Health and Human Services, who was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) in 2008; Vernon Smith, professor emeritus of economics and law at Mason, who was inducted into the Academy in 1995; and National Academy of Engineering members Harry Van Trees, distinguished research professor at Mason’s C4I and Cyber Center in the Volgenau School of Engineering, who was inducted in 2015; and late Andrew Sage, the founding dean emeritus of the Volgenau School of Engineering who was inducted in 2004.

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Harry Van Trees

Gerber said that being elected to the National Academy was something she never envisioned. Gerber, who is retiring from teaching this year after starting her medical career 1971, will remain the director of research of the Inova Health Care System’s Medicine Service Line.

“I am in a specialty—physical medicine and rehabilitation—which is not readily recognized by the public,” she said. “It really relates more to function and disability, and people with functional loss and disability are often not visible and not heard. So being a member of the National Academy and having the academy recognize physical medicine and rehabilitation is an enormous platform from which we can air important issues.”

Smith, whose career accolades include a 2002 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, said being recognized by the National Academy is like nothing else because it represents sciences across the board.

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Andrew Sage

“So it’s a pretty special distinction,” said Smith.

Kenneth Ball, dean of Mason’s new College of Engineering and Computing, lauded both Van Trees and Sage for their lasting contributions to the university’s engineering program. Van Trees was the founding director at the C4I and Cyber Center, while Sage’s vision for a new school of engineering based on information technology was ahead of its time in the 1980s.

Current NAS membership totals approximately 2,400 members and 500 international members, 190 of whom have received Nobel Prizes.

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National Academy of Sciences

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College of Science

College of Health and Human Services

Thomas Lovejoy is inducted into the National Academy of Sciences

Melanie Balog — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 20:40:54 +0000

Thomas Lovejoy is inducted into the National Academy of Sciences Melanie Balog Tue, 04/27/2021 - 16:40

Thomas Lovejoy, scientific director of Mason's Institute for a Sustainable Earth, was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences this week. File photo by Strategic Communications.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect Mason's members in all the academies.

��’s Thomas Lovejoy a University Professor of Environmental Science and Policy within the College of Science, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences this week, joining an elite group of 120 scholars recognized this year for their contributions to science and research.

“Recognition by the Academy is one of the singular honors of American science, and I am honored,” said Lovejoy, who is often referred to as the “godfather of biodiversity.”

Mason President Gregory Washington called the selection a great achievement for both Lovejoy and the university.

“This is among the greatest achievements a scholar can earn,” Washington said. “It shows that the Academy recognizes what we here at Mason know so well: Thomas Lovejoy’s tireless commitment to the health of the Amazon and by extension the entire planet.”

The National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) work together as the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest and most prestigious organizations to recognize academic leaders. The private, non-profit institution was established by a congressional charter and signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

Lovejoy joins Naomi (Lynn) Gerber, University Professor in the College of Health and Human Services, who was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine in 2008, now the National Academy of Medicine, as well as National Academy of Engineering members Harry Van Trees, inducted in 2015, Distinguished Research Professor at C4I and Cyber Center in the former Volgenau School of Engineering, now the College of Engineering and Computing; and founding dean of the School of Engineering Andrew Sage, inducted in 2004, who died in 2014. Vernon Smith, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Law at Mason, was inducted into the Academy in 1995.

Lovejoy’s career has been dedicated to conserving biotic diversity to sustain vital ecosystem functions and services.

He is among the world’s foremost experts on the Amazon rainforest and a member of Mason’s Institute for Sustainable Earth. He has visited the Amazon more than 50 times over the course of his career. In 1980 he produced the first projection of global extinctions for the Global 2000 Report to the President. Lovejoy also developed the “debt-for-nature” swap program, which reduces a developing country's debts in exchange for a commitment to protect nature.

He was recognized with Mason’s Beck Presidential Medal for Excellence in Research and Scholarship in 2018 for his outstanding research and mentorship of the next generation of environmental science and policy leaders, and was named a Virginia Outstanding Scientist in 2019.

He was among the roughly 100 scientists who served on a Scientific Advisory Group that helped craft the United Nations’ “Making Peace with Nature” report that envisions a sustainable economy driven by renewable energy and nature-based solutions as a way to combat global warming.

The latest inductees into the National Academy of Sciences included a record number of women and international members, and bring the total membership to 2,461 members, including 511 non-voting international members.

Fernando R. Miralles-Wilhelm, the dean of the College of Science, called Lovejoy’s inclusion “a remarkable achievement.”

“This is a significant recognition, way overdue in my opinion,” Mirrales-Wilhelm said, “and likely for anyone that has followed his career and accomplishments.”

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Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE)

National Academy of Sciences

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