Three Caltech Faculty, One Visiting Associate Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

PASADENA, Calif.—Three members of the California Institute of Technology faculty are among the 72 new members named to the National Academy of Sciences this week. The election was held during the 143rd annual meeting of the Academy in Washington, D.C.

Caltech's newest members are Mark Davis, the Schlinger Professor of Chemical Engineering; Charles Steidel, the DuBridge Professor of Astronomy and executive officer for astronomy; and David Tirrell, division chair of chemistry and chemical engineering, and the McCollum-Corcoran Professor and professor of chemistry and chemical engineering. Vladimir Braginsky, a visiting associate in physics at Caltech and a member of the Moscow State University faculty, was elected as one of the 18 new foreign associates.

With his election, Davis is now a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences. His primary research interests are the creation of new catalytic materials, the synthesis of biomaterials, and gene therapy. His work in catalytic materials particularly involves "zeolites," which are molecular structures with extremely tiny pores through which other molecules can pass. Ultimately, Davis's work on catalysis is aimed at providing novel ways to create materials with certain physical behaviors by controlling atomic-scale properties.

His work on polymers seeks to construct ways that therapeutic molecules can be better administered to humans. One of his polymers has entered human clinical trials.

Davis's group also works on the synthesis of cyclodextrin-containing polycations that are useful for delivering nucleic acids and has shown that these delivery systems can be used with RNA interference molecules to inhibit genes in tumors of animals to produce potent anticancer effects. They hope to move this system to the clinic in the near future.

Steidel's main research interest is the connection between galaxy formation and the development of structure in the universe. His current projects are aimed at establishing how energetic phenomena such as star formation, black hole accretion, and supernova explosions affect the evolution of galaxies and the intergalactic medium during the cosmic era when all of these processes peaked, some 10-12 billion years ago. Much of Steidel's work involves optical and near-IR spectroscopy of distant galaxies and quasars conducted at Caltech's Keck and Palomar observatories.

Tirrell's research combines organic, biological, and materials chemistry to make new macromolecular systems of controlled structure and function. He and his students are exploring artificial proteins made by expression of artificial genes in microbial cells, and the creation of novel amino acid building blocks for use in protein design and analysis.

Braginsky, a regular visitor at Caltech, works on the Laser Interferometry Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) project and on other research involving gravitational physics. He has published more than 150 scientific papers, and since 1995 has been an adviser to the president of the Max Planck Society.

The new appointments bring to 72 the number of living Caltech faculty who are members of the prestigious academy. In addition, three current members of the Caltech Board of Trustees are academy members.

The National Academy of Sciences is dedicated to the "furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare," according to a statement released Tuesday. Established by an 1863 act of Congress that was signed by President Lincoln, the Academy acts as "an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science and technology."

NAS membership has long been considered one of the highest honors an American scientist can hold.