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Two U. of I. researchers named to National Academy of Sciences
Jeff Unger,
News Bureau
217-333-1085; junger@illinois.edu
5/3/05
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Two University of Illinois faculty members are
among the 72 scientists elected to membership in the National Academy
of Sciences in recognition of distinguished research and continuing
achievements, the academy announced today.
The Illinois faculty members chosen are David H. Baker, a professor
emeritus of animal sciences and
of internal medicine, and entomology professor Gene Robinson, who also is the director of the neuroscience
program and holder of the G. William Arends Professorship in Integrative
Biology.
Election to membership in the academy is considered one of the highest
honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer. Those elected
bring the total number of active members to 1,976.
“This recognition and prestigious honor is yet one more indication
of the valuable contributions both of these outstanding researchers
have made to their respective fields,” said Chancellor Richard
Herman. “We are extremely proud of their accomplishments, which
are emblematic of the tradition of excellence at this great university.”
Baker is a leader in the field of animal nutrition and health. He was
instrumental in developing a formula to calculate the dietary requirements
for chickens and pigs. The formula results in a healthier diet for the
animals and one that also reduces the pollution the animals produce.
Baker recently took part in research that has shed new light on the
reasons for restricted weight gain and reduced muscle mass as a result
of chronic respiratory diseases that affect most swine during their
critical growing stage. Baker earned a doctorate at Illinois.
Robinson is an internationally recognized entomologist whose work has
focused on the honeybee and on genes and social behavior.
Robinson and colleagues, for example, discovered that genes and behavior
go together so strongly that an individual bee’s occupation can
be predicted by knowing a profile of its gene expression in the brain.
A new project Robinson is involved with at Illinois, BeeSpace, will
help scientists analyze all sources of information relevant to the mechanisms
of social behavior. Robinson earned a doctorate at Cornell University.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists
and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for
the general welfare. The academy was established in 1863 by a congressional
act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, that calls on the academy
to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request,
in any matter of science or technology.
