American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Four U-M faculty members were selected to join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for their contributions in scholarly and professional fields. They are: James Joyce, Cooper Harold Langford Collegiate Professor of Philosophy, and professor of philosophy and of statistics, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA); Webb Keane, George Herbert Mead Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology and professor of anthropology, LSA; Alexandra (Sasha) Killewald, Robert F. Schoeni Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, professor of sociology in LSA, and director of the Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics; and John Vandermeer, Asa Gray Distinguished University Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in LSA, professor of environment and sustainability in the School for Environment and Sustainability, and professor of Program in the Environment in LSA and SEAS.

American Association for the Advancement of Science

In recognition of their extraordinary achievements, 12 U-M faculty and staff members have been named 2023 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society. They are: Aimee Classen, Nisha D’Silva, Lola Eniola-Adefeso, Margherita Fontana, L. Lacey Knowles, Nicholas Kotov, Neal Krause, Ethan Kross, Laura Ruetsche, Jordan Shavit, James Slavin, and Kristen Verhey.

American Physical Society Fellows

Four physics researchers and one biophysicist from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts have been elected to the American Physical Society (APS), each from a different field within physics. The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who may have made advances in physics through original research and publication or made significant innovative contributions to the application of physics to science and technology. The electees were: Kai Sun, professor of physics; Christine Aidala, professor of physics; Sarah Veatch, associate director of U-M’s biophysics program, and professor of biophysics and of physics; Tim McKay, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of physics and of astronomy, and professor of education in the Marsal Family School of Education; and Marcelle Soares-Santos, associate professor of physics.

Fulbright Scholars

Thirty U-M scholars and students received Fulbright awards for 2023–24, and U-M is once again a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Students. More than 400,000 participants from a wide variety of backgrounds and fields — including recent university graduates, teachers, scientists, researchers, artists and others from the U.S. and more than 160 other countries — have participated in the Fulbright Program since its inception in 1946.

Guggenheim Fellowships

Carlos Diaz, an alumnus of the Stamps School of Art + Design, has won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship Award for 2024. Diaz is a Professor Emeritus at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, where he previously chaired the Photography Department and taught for 37 years. His work has explored themes of history, memory, people, place and the impact of race relations on the world. His current project, ​"History, Memory, Myth: The Confederate Monument in the American South," will be published in an upcoming book, supported by the 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship.

National Academy of Education

Three professors at the University of Michigan’s Marsal Family School of Education were chosen as members of the National Academy of Education — one of the highest accolades a researcher in the field of education can attain. Angela Calabrese Barton, Nell Duke and Kara Finnigan were among 14 education leaders and scholars elected in 2024, representing a wide range of expertise in education research and policy. The National Academy of Education advances high-quality education research and its use in policy and practice. It consists of U.S. members and international associates who are elected based on outstanding scholarship or leadership related to education.

National Academy of Engineering

Dawn Tilbury, the Ronald D. and Regina C. McNeil Department Chair of Robotics, was recognized with one of engineering’s greatest honors: election to the National Academy of Engineering. The organization underscored her work in manufacturing network control and human-robot interaction. Most recently at U-M, she led faculty from many engineering departments and across campus to coalesce into a robotics graduate program, a Robotics Institute, a new building for robotics, and an undergraduate program and department. Established in 2022, U-M’s robotics department is one of just six in the world, and the only one at a top 10 U.S. engineering school. This election brings U-M’s total NAE membership to 35.

National Academy of Inventors

Two University of Michigan faculty members were elected to the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors: Lynn Conway, a professor emerita of electrical engineering and computer science, and Kevin Ward, the executive director of the Weil Institute and professor of emergency medicine and biomedical engineering. Conway and Ward were nominated for being innovative researchers with a long track record of translating discoveries into new products and technologies to benefit the world. Since 2013,13 U-M faculty members have been named NAI Fellows.

National Academy of Medicine

Patrick M. Carter, a faculty member in the Medical School and the School of Public Health, and co-director of U-M’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention and its Injury Prevention Center, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Carter was recognized because of his unique contributions to the field of firearm-injury prevention. Eva Feldman, MD, PhD, has been named to serve a three-year term on the NAM Council. The Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology and the University of Michigan James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor began her three-year term in July 2024 to serve on the governing and oversight council of the NAM. Election to NAM is one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

National Academy of Sciences

Six University of Michigan professors were among 120 new members inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. NAS is a private, nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, which recognizes achievement in science by election to membership and provides science, engineering and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. New inductees are: Kent Berridge, Lee Hartmann, Jeffrey Lagarias, Vonnie McLoyd, Jonathan Overpeck and Henry Wellman.

National Medal of Science

Huda Akil, a University of Michigan neuroscientist who has explored the brain’s secrets for more than 50 years, was awarded the National Medal of Science — the nation’s highest scientific honor. She received the award October 24, 2023 at a White House ceremony with President Joe Biden, for her contributions to the understanding of depression, anxiety, addiction and more. Akil’s work delves deep into the genes, proteins and cells that help govern human emotions and moods, and responses to pleasure and pain. Akil is the eighth U-M faculty member to receive the Medal of Science and was among nine medalists announced at the ceremony.

Rhodes Scholar

University of Michigan student Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos was named a 2024 Rhodes Scholar, one of 32 Americans chosen to win scholarships to Oxford University. A recent graduate of U-M’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Orozco Castellanos became the 31st U-M Rhodes Scholar since the awards were established in 1902. He majored in international studies and received minors in Latin American and Caribbean studies, and in critical translation studies. Orozco Castellanos will pursue two master’s degrees: one in refugee studies and one in Latin American studies.

Sloan Fellows

Three University of Michigan researchers were selected from more than 1,000 scientists to be named Sloan Research Fellows for 2024. Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships honor exceptional U.S. and Canadian researchers whose creativity, innovation and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders. Winners receive a two-year, $75,000 fellowship that can be used flexibly to advance the fellow’s research. The researchers were: Anne Draelos, assistant professor of biomedical engineering in the Medical School and College of Engineering, and assistant professor of computational medicine and bioinformatics in the Medical School; Sarah Peluse, assistant professor of mathematics in LSA; Wenjing Wang, William R. Roush Assistant Professor and assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and research assistant professor at the Life Sciences Institute.