U-M professor named State Dept. science fellow

Julian Adams, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and ecology and evolutionary biology, has received one of five inaugural Jefferson Science Fellowships from the U.S. State Department.

Julian Adams, professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and ecology and evolutionary biology (far right), is honored at a ceremony as a Jefferson Science Fellow. Also shown here are Kalidas Shetty, associate professor of food biotechnology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; David Eastmond, professor and program chair, Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside; Melba Crawford, engineering foundation professor, University of Texas at Austin; Secretary of State Colin Powell; and Bruce Averill, distinguished university professor of chemistry, University of Toledo. "Just as in the days of Franklin and Jefferson, American scientists and diplomats share a common goal today: They both seek to apply the best knowledge we have to the most significant challenges we face," Powell said at the event. (Photo by Cindy Bank, U-M Washington Office)

Adams was recognized in a ceremony May 26 in Washington attended by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Paul N. Courant, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, represented the University at the reception.

The Jefferson Science Fellowship Program was inaugurated last year to create a new relationship between the U.S. academic science and technology community and the State Department.

Through their participation in policy discussions, the Jefferson Science Fellows help increase the understanding of scientific issues among policy officials, as well as provide a broad view of the international implications of emerging scientific developments. The fellowships will last one year.

The program is underwritten by the MacArthur Foundation and the Carnegie Corp. through stipends to tenured faculty that augment their salaries. The finalists are chosen by a selection committee overseen by the National Academies.

"I am very pleased that Julian Adams will be a Jefferson Fellow," Courant says. "Julian is of course an excellent scientist, but it is his ability and interest in combining science with policy that makes him a perfect candidate for this position. The State Department is to be congratulated on its good sense in creating this program and selecting Julian."