Professor Patricia Burchat named Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Physics Professor Patricia Burchat and five other faculty at Stanford University have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Each year, the AAAS Council elects members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished. Examples of areas in which nominees may have made significant contributions are research; teaching; technology; services to professional societies; administration in academe, industry, and government; and communicating and interpreting science to the public.

Burchat is a founding member of the BABAR Collaboration, an international group of over 500 physicists who conducted a highly productive experiment at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Her new research effort involves the development of a large survey telescope, the LSST, with a focus on mapping the dark matter in the universe as a probe for understanding the nature of dark energy. She is serving in several roles in building the LSST collaboration. She is Deputy Director of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology.

Burchat has served as Chair of the Physics Department, has won the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Gore's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and gives frequent popular lectures on the dark side of the universe.  She is very engaged in improving pedagogy and teaching techniques to promote more effective learning in physics. She is passionate about advising undergraduates on the very broad range of careers and opportunities open to students who study physics.

Burchat is a member of the Committee on the Status of Women in Physics of the American Physical Society and has played a leadership role in organizing and growing the Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics.

This year, the AAAS Council elected 701 Fellows. These individuals will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held on 16 February 2013 during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.