SCIENCE MAGAZINE - The U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) chooses its members in a process that has long discriminated against female and minority scientists, as well as those from less prestigious universities. But NAS officials have begun to tinker with that process with the goal of increasing gender, racial, and geographic diversity. And this year’s class, announced today, shows the impact of those changes.
“I’ve been at second-tier public universities for my entire career,” says Wessler, now a chaired professor at UC Riverside. “When a friend at Berkeley was elected, nothing happened. But I was at the University of Georgia when I was chosen, and we had a party at the president’s house. Being a member of the academy gives you the chance to become a leading voice for research in your community.”