Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

U. of I. researcher named Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences

William T. Greenough has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He studies the neural biology of the aging process, in particular how experience organizes the brain in adulthood.

William T. Greenough has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He studies the neural biology of the aging process, in particular how experience organizes the brain in adulthood.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – William T. Greenough, a researcher at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, today was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Greenough, 61, is among 195 scholars, scientists, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders from 24 states and 13 nations elected this year. The new Fellows include two former U.S. presidents; the Chief Justice of the United States; a Nobel laureate; winners of the Pulitzer Prize in poetry, drama, music, investigative reporting, and non-fiction; a former U.S. poet laureate; and a member of the French senate.

Greenough , who joined the Illinois faculty in 1968, was cited for his research that provided “the first clear evidence for the structural basis of memory.” He studies the neural biology of the aging process, in particular how experience organizes the brain in adulthood. He has long promoted the idea that the key element in behavioral plasticity is the “sculpting” (formation or retraction) of synaptic connections between neurons in the brain as a result of physical and mental activity.

His more recent research has led to significant advances in understanding the mechanisms involved in Fragile X Syndrome, the most common genetically inherited form of mental impairment. His findings have led to collaborative research efforts among scientists around the world to understand the disease and improve the lives of affected children.

His research has crossed across the disciplines and he holds multiple faculty appointments. He is a Swanlund Endowed Chair, director of the university’s Center for Advanced Study and a professor in the departments of psychology, cell and developmental biology, and psychiatry (College of Medicine).

U. of I. Chancellor Richard Herman praised the academy’s selection of Greenough.

“When the Urbana campus first conceived of an interdisciplinary research center, Bill Greenough was one of the strongest forces in shaping it and making it a reality,” Herman said. “Along with Karl Hess, he transcended traditional competition between physical and life sciences to establish the Beckman Institute as a world leader in interdisciplinary research.” Hess is a Swanlund Endowed Chair in electrical and computer engineering.

Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist and Rockefeller University President Sir Paul Nurse, and actor and director Martin Scorsese are among the new Fellows.

“I am honored to have been selected for membership in this truly august group of individuals in a broad array of societal roles,” Greenough said, “and I am pleased that it draws attention to all scientists working to solve the mysteries of Fragile X Syndrome, the largest cause of inherited mental retardation.”

Fellows and Foreign Honorary Members are nominated and elected to the Academy by current members. This year’s members – the 226th class of elected members – will be honored during the annual Induction Ceremony on Oct. 7 at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. The academy was founded in 1780.

Greenough is the 35th U. of I. faculty member to be elected by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010