A group of five Duke faculty members have recently been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for their outstanding research contributions. Among the 120 new members and 24 new international members elected, these distinguished scholars from Duke were recognized for their work in various fields.
John Aldrich, a professor of political science at Duke, was awarded the Pfizer Inc./Edmund T. Pratt Jr. University Distinguished Professor title. He is known for his research on American politics and elections. His work has had a significant impact on the field of political science and has helped shape public policy in many ways.
David Beratan, a professor of chemistry, biochemistry, and physics at Duke, was also elected to the NAS. He is focused on developing theoretical approaches to understand the function of complex molecular and macromolecular systems. His work has led to numerous breakthroughs in fields such as biophysics and chemical engineering, and he continues to be an influential figure in the world of science today.
Richard Mooney, a professor of neurobiology at Duke who holds the George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor for Research title, was also recognized by the NAS for his work studying songbirds to uncover how experience influences learning, behavior, and perception at the neural level. His research has shed light on some of the most fundamental aspects of human cognition and has had a profound impact on our understanding of how we learn from our experiences.
Tai-ping Sun, a professor of biology at Duke who is known for her work using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant system to study plant growth regulation and developmental processes, was also elected to the NAS. Her groundbreaking research has helped us better understand how plants regulate their own growth patterns and adapt to changing environmental conditions.
Finally, Jenny Tung, a professor of evolutionary anthropology and biology at Duke who is affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, rounded out the group of Duke faculty members elected to the NAS. She was recognized for her work studying social determinants of health using baboons in Kenya as part of an interdisciplinary team that includes researchers from medicine, psychology
