Irene Huang | MIT EECS
Prestigious honor society announces more than 250 new members.
Prof. Ronitt Rubinfeld of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) is among six MIT faculty members elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) for 2020, the academy announced April 23, 2020.
One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the AAAS is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to academy publications, as well as studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and culture, and education.
Ronitt Rubinfeld, Edwin Sibley Webster Professor, is also a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory’s Theory of Computation group. Her research interests include randomized and sublinear time algorithms. Her work focuses in particular on what can be understood about data by looking at only a very small portion of it.
Other new academy members from MIT include:
- Robert C. Armstrong, Chevron Professor in Chemical Engineering;
- Dave L. Donaldson, professor of economics;
- Catherine L. Drennan, professor of biology and chemistry;
- Joshua B. Tenenbaum, professor of brain and cognitive sciences; and
- Craig Steven Wilder, Barton L. Weller Professor of History.
“The members of the class of 2020 have excelled in laboratories and lecture halls, they have amazed on concert stages and in surgical suites, and they have led in board rooms and courtrooms,” said academy President David W. Oxtoby. “With today’s election announcement, these new members are united by a place in history and by an opportunity to shape the future through the academy’s work to advance the public good.”
Since its founding in 1780, the academy has elected leading thinkers from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, Maria Mitchell and Daniel Webster in the 19th century, and Toni Morrison and Albert Einstein in the 20th century. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners.
Original announcement appeared in the MIT news on originally appeared in the MIT News on April 24, 2020. Please also see official press release from American Academy of Arts & Sciences on April 23, 2020
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