School of Education

Plucker named as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

AAAS is the world's largest scientific society

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has awarded the distinction of Fellow to Jonathan Plucker, professor of educational psychology and cognitive science and director of the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP). Plucker is one of a record 10 Indiana University faculty members named AAAS Fellows this year. Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

The AAAS noted that Plucker's selection is "For distinguished contributions to the science of creativity and the creation of research-supported education policy."

Plucker joined the School of Education faculty in 1997. He has headed CEEP since 2003. His research focuses on creativity and intelligence, school reform, and talent development. A frequently cited source on these issues, Plucker has appeared on CNN and been quoted in Newsweek among other media outlets in the last couple of years.

Plucker is the second School of Education faculty member to be named an AAAS Fellow. The AAAS selected Professor Emeritus in Science Education at the IU School of Education at IUPUI Michael Cohen in 1984. Cohen was a faculty member at the School of Education from 1968 to 2003.

The new Fellows, all from the Bloomington campus, include seven from the College of Arts and Sciences and one each from the School of Education, the School of Library and Information Science, and the School of Medicine. The 10 new Fellows represent the largest group selected from IU since 2001, when five Fellows were named, and brings the total number of AAAS Fellows at IU to 66.

"This is a superb achievement by our outstanding faculty, and this recognition far exceeds any that IU faculty have received in the past from this prestigious association," said Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie. "Indiana University is delighted that this group of distinguished scholars, representing a full spectrum of disciplines, is being acknowledged by their peers for the quality and diversity of their work and for their sustained record of achievement. Recognition by the AAAS confirms their leadership and impact in their fields, and it reinforces the excellence of Indiana University's faculty."

Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. This year, 539 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Feb. 18 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874, and members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering group of their respective sections, by three Fellows, or by the association's CEO. Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and forwards a final list to the AAAS Council.

The AAAS Council votes on the final aggregate list. The council is the policymaking body of the association, chaired by the president and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.

AAAS includes 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science magazine has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The nonprofit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more.