Two U of A Faculty Named AAAS Fellows

Photo by University Relations

Professors Ingrid Fritsch and David Stahle

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas faculty members Ingrid Fritsch and David Stahle have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The honor is bestowed by peers in recognition of work deemed scientifically or socially significant.

Ingrid Fritsch

Fritsch, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in Fulbright College, was nominated for contributions in the field of magnetohydrodynamically-coupled electrochemistry and the development of microband electrodes. In 2014, Fritsch was named a Fellow by the National Academy of Inventors. She has also received a National Science Foundation Career Award, holds U.S. patents on 10 inventions and has co-founded two startup companies.

“I am so very pleased to be elected a Fellow of AAAS and grateful to those who nominated me,” Fritsch said. “It is a deep honor to receive this significant recognition for my research and humbling to be listed among the other distinguished scientists who are Fellows. This is also an important recognition for the many collaborators, graduate students, and undergraduates who have dedicated countless hours on the research, and without whom the accomplishments would not have been possible. I must also acknowledge my infinitely supportive family and the middle school kids and their teachers who continually inspire me to share my love of science.”

David Stahle

Stahle, a distinguished professor of geosciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, received the award for his contributions to the field of geography, particularly for his use of dendrochronology, the study of tree rings, to study past climates and for his conservation efforts for ancient forests. He recently received a $418,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a multi-century tree-ring chronology that will help build a record of climate change in the Amazon River basin.

“I was surprised to learn of my election as a Fellow of the AAAS,” Stahle said. “I am grateful to the colleagues who advanced my nomination and am pleased that the committee mentioned my conservation work with old-growth forests, which is the most important thing I can do.”

About the AAAS: The American Association for the Advancement of Science, founded in 1848, is the world’s largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal Science. It includes 254 affiliated societies and academies of science and serves 10 million individuals. This year, the association recognized 347 Fellows. They are nominated by the steering group of their respective sections, by three Fellows, or by the association’s chief executive officer.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.