Jan 26, 2022

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of Chancellor Gillman, I am pleased to share that seven UCI researchers have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. It is my honor to recognize these exceptional scholars for their accomplishments, which have significantly contributed to a broad range of fields. With this year’s cohort, UCI now has 192 AAAS fellows.

Below are the new fellows from UCI and the AAAS citation for each:

  • Steven Allison, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology - for distinguished contributions to the field of ecology and evolution, particularly the analysis of microbial feedbacks to environmental change, and for training and local community outreach on environmental issues.
  • Rina Dechter, Distinguished Professor, Department of Computer Science - for contributions to computational aspects of automated reasoning and knowledge representation, including search, constraint processing and probabilistic reasoning, and for service to the computing community.
  • Paul Dourish, Chancellor's Professor, Department of Informatics and Steckler Endowed Chair in Information and Computer Science - for distinguished contributions to the field of human-computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work, particularly how historical and geographical contexts shape the design, production and use of information technologies.
  • Alex Guenther, Professor, Earth System Science - for distinguished contributions to the field of biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds to the atmosphere and their effects on atmospheric chemistry.
  • Annie Qu, Chancellor's Professor, Department of Statistics - for outstanding contributions to longitudinal data, high-dimensional statistics and machine learning and for exceptional service to the profession.
  • Padhraic Smyth, Chancellor's Professor, Department of Computer Science - for distinguished contributions to the field of machine learning, particularly the development of statistical foundations and methodologies.
  • Isabella Velicogna, Professor, Earth System Science - for pioneering the use of time-variable gravity data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment mission to reveal the mass loss of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.

The new fellows will each receive an official certificate and a gold-and-blue rosette pin at a gathering later this year. The new class will also be featured this month in the AAAS News & Notes section of Science.

Please join me in congratulating our colleagues on this accomplishment.

Sincerely,Hal SternProvost and Executive Vice ChancellorChancellor's Professor, Department of Statistics