The National Academy of Sciences announced today the election of 72 new members, including 16 women. That’s a significant reversal from just one year ago, when only nine women were inducted, the fewest since 2001.
The record year remains 2005, when 19 women were elected.
The academy, most of whose members are white and male, says it has been trying to do better to identify qualified candidates who are women and members of minority groups underrepresented in science. (The academy has also said, however, that it does not track members by race.) Under the academy’s rules, new members must be nominated and elected by the existing membership.
The academy is a private organization chartered by Congress to advise policy makers on technical matters, and being elected a member is considered one of the highest honors in American science. With the latest election, the academy’s total number of active members now numbers 2,041, most of them at universities.
The academy also announced the election of 18 foreign associates from nine countries. —Jeffrey Brainard
