UA professor named Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Sciences

Washington, D.C. – Andrey V. Dobrynin, Ph.D., Alan N. Gent Ohio Research Scholar Professor of Polymer Science in The University of Akron’s (UA) College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

This year 443 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 8-10 a.m. Pacific Time at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2020 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash.

This year’s AAAS Fellows will be formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on Nov. 29.

As part of the selection on chemistry, Dobrynin was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of polymer physical chemistry, particularly using computational and theoretical techniques to study ion-containing polymers, polymer networks, and wetting and adhesion in polymeric systems.

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the association’s 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee’s institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer. Fellows must have been continuous members of AAAS for four years by the end of the calendar year in which they are elected. The AAAS Fellow honor comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.

Each steering group reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.

The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.

AAAS encourages its sections and Council to consider diversity among those nominated and selected as Fellows, in keeping with the association’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Media contact: Alex Knisely, 330-972-6477 or aknisely@uakron.edu.