Argonne scientist Ron Shepard named 2009 AAAS fellow

ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 6, 2010) — Ron Shepard of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has been awarded the distinction of Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.As part of the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne, Shepard was honored for his distinguished contributions in the field of computational and theoretical chemistry--particularly the development of new ab initio electronic structure methods.

Shepard develops methods that describe the quantum mechanical behavior of the electrons in molecular systems.

His computer codes are used to predict chemical reaction rates, branching ratios, product yields, equilibrium constants, spectroscopic constants and other properties of chemical interest for hydrocarbon combustion and atmospheric chemical reactions, particularly those involving highly reactive radical intermediates.

This year, 531 members have been named Fellows of AAAS . New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on February 20 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego .

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the Association’s 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee’s institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer.

Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.

The Council is the policymaking body of the association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consists 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.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America ‘s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne , LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy ‘s Office of Science .

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publishes the journal Science , as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling . AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals worldwide. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of one million. The non-profit AAAS 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. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert! , the premier science-news Web site and a service of AAAS.