National Academy of Sciences Elects Nine Harvard Faculty Members

Last week, eight Harvard professors and one senior lecturer were elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their original research.

Along with 63 other new members and 18 foreign associates, these faculty members will join the elite group of scientists who examine scientific and technological issues and present their findings to policymakers.

The National Academy of Sciences, which now counts 2,097 members and 409 foreign associates among its ranks, was founded in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln to “‘investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art’ whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government,” according to the Academy’s website. The scientists are often asked to investigate matters relevant to public policy.

“We have to represent science to the government and to the public,” said David A. Weitz, a physics professor who was elected last week.

Election came as a total surprise to her, said sociology professor Mary C. Waters. Other new members echoed this sentiment, as candidates are nominated by current Academy members in a confidential process.

The fields of expertise of the newly elected Harvard contingent range from material physics to quantitative political science.

Weitz studies soft matter–materials that are easy to squeeze into a form, such as skin and foams. He found that all examples of soft matter have “generic physical properties and reasons for why they’re soft,” he said.

Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of public policy, was the only economics professor to be elected to the Academy this year. His most recent work is the book, “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly,” which he co-wrote with Carmen M. Reinhart, an economics professor at the University of Maryland.

He and Reinhart started writing the book before the current financial crisis to help others “understand financial crises in general,” Rogoff said. The book thus offered interesting perspectives on the most recent financial crisis.

William G. Kaelin, a Harvard Medical School professor who is affiliated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discovered the role of the von Hippel-Lindau gene in human kidney cancer. His findings were applied to create drugs, now in clinical trials, that counteracts the effects of the VHL gene mutation associated with kidney cancer to slow the cancer’s progression.

Pediatric diseases lecturer Porter Anderson, mathematics professor Michael J. Hopkins, government professor Gary King, statistics professor Donald B. Rubin, and biological chemistry professor Kevin Struhl were also elected.

—Staff writer Monika L. S. Robbins can be reached at mrobbins@college.harvard.edu.