Two Scientists Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Marsha Lester, Edmund J. Kahn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and Andrea Liu, Hepburn Professor of Physics, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, considered one of the highest honors accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer.

Selected for "their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research," the scientists are part of the 2016 Academy class of 84 members and 21 foreign associates from 14 countries.

Lester studies atmospheric chemistry, including a class of short-lived molecules known as “Criegee intermediates.” These molecules are a key step in several atmospheric processes, including the production of other molecules responsible for neutralizing pollutants.

Liu studies theoretical problems in soft and living matter physics, using theoretical and computational approaches. She is best known for her work on jamming, a new way of thinking about the development of rigidity in solids.