Honorary Board
The Honorary Board is made up of distinguished scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and innovators who are recognized leaders in their field. The Honorary Board provides Society for Science with strategic guidance and input on scientific issues of importance to the Society.
Honorary Board members are elected by the Society’s Board of Trustees to serve three-year terms.
“I am honored to have this incredible group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and innovators helping to guide the Society for Science as we move forward into our second century,” said Maya Ajmera, President and CEO, Society for Science and Executive Publisher, Science News.
“As the Society continues to grow, we look forward to receiving guidance from the top scientific minds of our time. The Honorary Board is comprised of dedicated leaders who have given their support and commitment to the Society and our mission to inform, educate and inspire,” said H. Robert Horvitz, former Chairman of the Society’s Board of Trustees.
The Honorary Board:
Frances Arnold
Linus Pauling Professor, California Institute of Technology and Director, Rosen Bioengineering Center, California Institute of Technology
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018
Charles H. Bennett
Fellow, IBM Thomas J Watson Research Center, IBM Corporation
Science Talent Search 1960
Elizabeth Blackburn
Professor Emerita, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
Vinton G. Cerf
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
Martin Chalfie
University Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2008
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Raj Chetty
William A. Ackman Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Director of Opportunity Insights, Harvard University
Science Talent Search 1997
International Science and Engineering Fair 1997
Jeanette Epps
Aerospace Engineer
Former Ford Motor Company
Former Central Intelligence Agency
Current NASA Astronaut*
(*Dr. Epps is serving the Honorary Board in her personal capacity.)
Sylvester James Gates, Jr.
John S. Toll Professor of Physics
Clark Leadership Chair in Science
Distinguished University Professor
Professor of Public Policy in the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Walter Gilbert
Carl M. Loeb University Professor Emeritus and Chair of the Society of Fellows, Harvard University
Artist
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1980
Science Talent Search 1949
Sheldon Lee Glashow
Higgins Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Harvard University
Metcalf Professor of Mathematics and the Sciences, Emeritus, Boston University
Nobel Prize in Physics 1979
Science Talent Search 1950
Brian Greene
Professor, Physics and Mathematics, Columbia University
Co-Founder, World Science Festival
Science Talent Search 1980
International Science and Engineering Fair 1980
John L. Hall
Professor Adjoint, Physics Department, University of Colorado/Boulder
Nobel Prize in Physics 2005
Science Talent Search 1952
Elissa Hallem
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles
Dudley Herschbach
Emeritus Professor, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Marcian (Ted) Hoff
Co-Inventor of the Microprocessor
Science Talent Search 1954
Roald Hoffmann
Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters Emeritus, Cornell University
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1981
Science Talent Search 1955
Leroy (Lee) Hood
Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist, Providence St. Joseph Health, Seattle
Co-Founder, Professor and Chief Strategic Officer, Institute for Systems Biology
Science Talent Search 1956
H. Robert Horvitz
Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Member, MIT McGovern Institute for Brain Research
Member, MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2002
Former Chair of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Freeman A. Hrabowski, III
President Emeritus, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Shirley Ann Jackson
President Emerita, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Martin Karplus
Theodore William Richards Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
Professeur Conventionnèe, Université de Strasbourg
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013
Science Talent Search 1947
Cato T. Laurencin
CEO, The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, University of Connecticut
University Professor;
Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery;
Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering;
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering;
Professor of Biomedical Engineering; University of Connecticut
Tom Leighton
CEO & Co-Founder, Akamai Technologies
Professor of Applied Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Member, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), MIT
Science Talent Search 1974
International Science and Engineering Fair 1972 and 1973
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Alan Leshner
CEO Emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Former Executive Publisher of Science, and the Science family of journals
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Shirley M. Malcom
Senior Advisor and Director, SEA Change, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Paul L. Modrich
James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry, Duke University Medical Center
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015
Science Talent Search 1964
International Science and Engineering Fair 1964
Joe Palca
Science journalist
Former NPR Science Correspondent
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Lisa Randall
Frank J. Baird, Jr., Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Science Talent Search 1980
Henry Samueli
Chairman, Broadcom, Inc.
Chairman, Broadcom Foundation
David N. Spergel
President, Simons Foundation
Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation Emeritus, Princeton University
Science Talent Search 1978
Edward O. Thorp
Author, Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One and A Man for All Markets
Science Talent Search 1949
Frank Wilczek
Herman Feshback Professor of Physics, Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Founding Director, Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, and Chief Scientist, Wilczek Quantum Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Distinguished Origins Professor, Arizona State University
Professor of Physics, Stockholm University
Nobel Prize in Physics 2004
Science Talent Search 1967
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Gayle Edlund Wilson
Founding Chair and Chair Emeritus, COSMOS, California State Summer School for Math and Science
Science Talent Search 1960
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
George Yancopoulos
Board co-Chair, co-Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron
Science Talent Search 1976
Former member of Society for Science Board of Trustees
Huda Y. Zoghbi
Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Director, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, Texas Children’s Hospital
In Memoriam
Angelika Amon
Kathleen and Curtis Marble Professor of Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute