A Bioinspired Institute member has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Jennifer Ross, professor and department chair of physics, was elected by the AAAS Council for her efforts on behalf of the advancement of science. She will be honored at a ceremony to be held this spring in Washington, D.C.
Ross joins nine other Syracuse University professors who have been named AAAS Fellows over the past two decades. Since 2010, A&S faculty to receive the honor include Jason Wiles (2022), Alan Middleton (2016), associate dean of research and scholarship for A&S, George Langford (2013), A&S dean emeritus and professor emeritus of biology, M. Cristina Marchetti (2013), former professor of physics in A&S who is now at UC Santa Barbara, Donald Siegel (2012), professor emeritus of Earth and environmental sciences, and William Starmer (2011), professor emeritus of biology.
Established in 1848, AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society as well as the publisher of the well-known scientific journal Science. Fellows are elected by the AAAS Council through a careful deliberation process to preserve the honor attached to this recognition. Each Fellow is acknowledged with a citation recognizing their contributions to the scientific community.
Jennifer Ross (AAAS Section Affiliation: Physics)
Ross’ citation reads: “For distinguished contributions to biophysics, particularly for experimentally elucidating regulatory mechanisms in intracellular transport.”
An award-winning biophysicist, Ross focuses her research on how cells produce motion and force. By harnessing the fundamental and autonomous physics principles of biological cells, her group is working toward designing and creating next-generation materials inspired and empowered by biology. Throughout her career, Ross has also remained committed to diversifying STEM. She has been part of the EUREKA! summer program, working with middle and high school girls to teach them about science, health and self-care, and this past summer helped organize the Syracuse University Research in Physics (SURPh) program, which invited students and recent graduates from the Syracuse City School District to Syracuse University to take part in a six-week paid internship.
A faculty member at Syracuse University since 2019, Ross has been awarded grants by government agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and private foundations. Her awards and professional honors include Fellow of the American Physical Society, Research Corporation’s Cottrell Scholar, winner of the Margaret Oakley Dayhoff Award from the Biophysical Society, and winner of the National Science Foundation INSPIRE Award. Ross has also served as chair of the physics department at Syracuse University since 2020.
–by Dan Bernardi