50 UC researchers elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science

The University of California leads all universities in one of science's highest honors: UC has the most newly elected fellows to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society.

Founded in 1848, AAAS is a nonprofit and one of the most prestigious scientific societies in the world, publishing the Science family of peer-reviewed research journals. The election of the new fellows, the Class of 2025, was announced on March 26.

By the numbers:

• 11 percent - more than 1 in 10 - of AAAS' 2025 fellows are affiliated with UC.

• UC's 50 new fellows encompass each of the system's 10 campuses and two of the national labs.

UC AAAS 2025 fellows by campus

*2 of the 3 scientists affiliated with Berkeley Lab are also affiliated with UC Berkeley.

Why it matters:

• AAAS honorary fellowship recognizes scientists, engineers and innovators for scientific achievements in service to society.

• Election as a fellow requires a significant record of cross-disciplinary achievement and approval by the AAAS Council.

• Being a fellow is a lifelong honor.

• This year's 2025 class of fellows includes 449 scientists across the country.

• Famous AAAS fellows include UC Nobelists Jennifer Doudna and Barry Barish.

• Famous historical AAAS fellows include Thomas Edison, W.E.B DuBois, Grace Hopper and Maria Mitchell.

How it happens:

• UC's 50 AAAS fellows benefit tremendously from federal funding for their research, across every scientific field.

• Without this investment and partnership from the federal government, the nation would lose out on critical advancements - the very service to society AAAS fellowship honors.

Meet a fellow: Michael Yassa

List of AAAS fellows:

Agriculture, Food & Renewable Resources

Gitta Coaker, University of California, Davis
David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Astronomy

Meenakshi Wadhwa, University of California, San Diego

Atmospheric & Hydrospheric Sciences

Amir AghaKouchak, University of California, Irvine
Annmarie G. Carlton, University of California, Irvine
Kelly K. Caylor, University of California, Santa Barbara
Yongkang Xue, University of California, Los Angeles

Meet two fellows: Kim Budil and Robert Maxwell

Biological Sciences

Geoffrey W. Abbott, University of California, Irvine
Andrew D. Chisholm, University of California, San Diego
Joanna C. Chiu, University of California, Davis
Abby F. Dernburg, University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Geeta Jayant Narlikar, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine
David Jay Segal, University of California, Davis
Blake Simmons, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
JoAnn Trejo, University of California, San Diego
Emily Troemel, University of California, San Diego
Noah K. Whiteman, University of California, Berkeley
Sheng Zhong, University of California, San Diego

Chemistry

Felix R. Fischer, University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Elizabeth R. Jarvo, University of California, Irvine
Robert S. Maxwell, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Javier Read de Alaniz, University of California, Santa Barbara
Richmond Sarpong, University of California, Berkeley
Alexander M. Spokoyny, University of California, Los Angeles
Yadong Yin, University of California, Riverside

Meet a fellow: Felix R. Fischer

Engineering

Payam Heydari, University of California, Irvine
Farinaz Koushanfar, University of California, San Diego
Albert P. Pisano, University of California, San Diego

Geology & Geography

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, University of California, Merced
Katharyne Mitchell, University of California, Santa Cruz
Adina Paytan, University of California, Santa Cruz
Marilyn Noreen Raphael, University of California, Los Angeles

Industrial Science & Technology

Edward E Penhoet, University of California, Berkeley

Information, Computing & Communication

Ravi Ramamoorthi, University of California, San Diego
Ming-Hsuan Yang, University of California, Merced / Google DeepMind

Linguistics & Language Science

Alan Chi Lun Yu, University of California, Berkeley

Meet a fellow: Meenakshi Wadhwa

Mathematics

David R. Morrison, University of California, Santa Barbara
Rodolfo H. Torres, University of California, Riverside

Medical Sciences

Donald Emil Ganem, University of California, San Francisco (Emeritus)
Janine M. LaSalle, University of California, Davis School of Medicine

Neuroscience

Jack L. Gallant, University of California, Berkeley
Frédéric Theunissen, University of California, Berkeley
Linda Wilbrecht, University of California, Berkeley
Michael A. Yassa, University of California, Irvine

Physics

Stuart Brown, University of California, Los Angeles
Kimberly S. Budil, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Andrew J. Lankford, University of California, Irvine

Psychology

Özlem N. Ayduk, University of California, Berkeley
Elissa Sarah Epel, University of California, San Francisco
Shelly L. Gable, University of California, Santa Barbara

Read more:

AAAS: AAAS welcomes 449 scientists and engineers as Honorary Fellows (press release, March 26, 2026)
UC Berkeley: 11 UC Berkeley faculty members elected fellows
UC Davis: 4 elected as AAAS fellows
UC Irvine: AAAS names 7 UC Irvine researchers as fellows
UC Merced: 2 UC Merced researchers among this year's AAAS fellows
UC San Diego: 8 UC San Diego researchers elected 2025 AAAS fellows
UC Santa Barbara: UC Santa Barbara professors honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science
UC Santa Cruz: Two UC Santa Cruz faculty members named 2025 AAAS fellows
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: Three Berkeley Lab researchers named AAAS fellows
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: LLNL Director Kim Budil elected as a 2025 AAAS fellow; LLNL's Robert Maxwell selected as 2025 AAAS fellow