UC San Diego Professors Elected
to the American Philosophical Society

May 4, 2007

By Sherry Seethaler

The American Philosophical Society, which was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, has elected to its ranks three professors affiliated with the University of California, San Diego.

The Society announced this week that Mario J. Molina, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; Paul J. Crutzen, a professor at the Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; and Ronald M. Evans, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, who is also an adjunct professor in UCSD’s Department of Neuroscience and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator,  were selected for membership “for promoting useful knowledge.”  They join a select group of 1,000 members from around the world. 

Mario Molina’s current research focuses on the chemistry of the lower atmosphere.  He develops new techniques to study the chemical processes that occur on atmospheric particles.  He also develops methods to assess the complex environmental problems facing large urban centers, particularly in the developing world.

Paul Crutzen studies the chemistry of the stratosphere and troposphere, biogeochemical cycles and their role in climate.  He is best known for his work on how chemical pollutants affect the ozone layer.  

Molina and Crutzen shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sherwood Rowland at U.C. Irvine for elucidating the threat of chlorofluorocarbon gases to the Earth’s ozone layer.  Their findings convinced governments around the world to eliminate CFCs from refrigerators and spray cans.

Ronald Evans studies the role of hormones in normal metabolism and disease.  He discovered a family of molecules, named receptors, that respond to steroid hormones.  The receptors are targets for the treatment of various types of cancer, as well as osteoporosis and asthma.  He also discovered a new hormone that appears to control the formation of fat cells.

The American Philosophical Society’s goal is to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas.  The Society “honors and engages leading scholars, scientists and professionals through elected membership and opportunities for interdisciplinary, intellectual fellowship.” 

 

Media Contact: Sherry Seethaler, (858) 534-4656