5 faculty members admitted to prestigious national academy

Five UW faculty members have recently been inducted into one of the most elite groups in the nation.

Michael Hechter, Edward D. Lazowska, Thailia Papayannopoulou, George Stamatoyannopoulos and Robert H. Waterston are among those recently elected as fellows of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the highest honors awarded to scholars in the United States.

"I wasn't expecting this award, and it is certainly not anything to take for granted," said Hechter, a sociology professor. "My father is a member of the academy and I am delighted to have also been elected."

According to the academy, those elected for membership are among the finest minds and most influential leaders of their generation.

"To be elected, you have to be nominated by people in your field," said Hechter. "The nominees are then narrowed down and voted upon in a very complicated process."

According to Lazowska, holder of the Bill and Mary Gates chair in computer science and engineering, having five members elected from UW is a great honor for the school. It reinforces the fact that UW continues to have an excellent faculty, he said.

The academy was founded in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock and other scholar-patriots. Past members of the academy have included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Webster, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Albert Einstein and Winston Churchill.

"The academy is different from the other organizations by which I've been recognized as it spans the full spectrum, from engineering and science to the arts and humanities," said Lazowska.

The current membership of 4,500 is composed of the world's leading scientists, scholars, artists, business people and public leaders. It currently boasts more than 150 Nobel laureates and 50 Pulitzer Prize winners.

"The academy will be an interesting experience," said Waterston, a professor and Gates chair in genome sciences. "It is a deliberative body of people to meet, discuss issues with and share views with."

The academy conducts interdisciplinary studies on international security, social policy, education and the humanities, drawing on a range of academic and intellectual disciplines of its members.

Amid the excitement and opportunities from receiving one of the highest honors for scholars, Lazowska said his first priority will be the classroom and his students.

"Recognition is always nice, whether it comes from your students or your peers, but it honors the past," said Lazowska. "What's important is the future."

After eight years as department chair and two years fund-raising for the new building, Lazowska is glad to have gotten back to undergraduate teaching this year.

"Winter quarter I got the best student evaluations I've received in 26 years at the UW," said Lazowska. "I can't tell you how great that made me feel -- it's why I came here in the first place."

Stamatoyannopoulos, professor of genome sciences and medicine, and Papayannopoulou, professor of medicine, are marries and currently traveling Europe as recently elected fellows of the academy.