AAAS Names Two BU Faculty as 2017 Fellows
Joyce Wong, professor of biomedical engineering, and Eric Kolaczyk, professor of mathematics and statistics, cited for advancing science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has named two Boston University faculty members—Joyce Y. Wong, a professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering (ENG), and Eric D. Kolaczyk, a professor of mathematics and statistics in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS)—as 2017 fellows.
Wong and Kolaczyk are among 396 researchers across the US who were awarded the distinction of fellow for 2017 “because of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished,” according to the AAAS.
The AAAS cited Wong’s “innovative discoveries in biomaterials development to probe how structure, material properties, and composition of cell-biomaterial interfaces modulate fundamental cellular processes, and for promoting women in STEM.”
“I am honored to be an AAAS fellow,” says Wong, who is also an ENG professor of materials science and engineering and a fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society and of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. “The AAAS has always led the charge in standing for what is right in science, even when it wasn’t popular.”
Wong’s research focuses on enabling early detection and treatment of human disease using
biomaterials. Her lab is creating new materials for doctors to use in blood vessel reconstruction in children.
Wong was also recognized for her work as the founding director of ARROWS (Advance, Recruit, Retain & Organize Women in STEM), a BU organization that helps connect, mentor, and advocate for women in science and serves as an umbrella group for smaller cohorts on campus that are focused on women in STEM.
Kolaczyk, who directs the CAS statistics program, was cited for “distinguished contributions to statistical methods for multi-scale analysis and network analysis, and for impactful collaborative work in the physical and life sciences.” He is also a fellow of the American Statistical Association and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, an elected senior member of the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.
“It’s an honor to have been elected a fellow of the AAAS,” says Kolaczyk. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with tremendous colleagues across a wide array of disciplines, particularly in computational biology, computer network traffic analysis, and, most recently, computational neuroscience.”
The new fellows will be recognized on February 17, 2018, at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2018 AAAS annual meeting in Austin, Tex.
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