3 University of Georgia faculty members elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Three University of Georgia faculty members have received one of the highest honors a scientist can earn — election to the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership and — with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine — provides science, engineering and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
The University of Georgia’s three newest National Academy of Sciences members are:
• Mary Ann Moran, Regents’ Professor in marine sciences
• Gregory H. Robinson, UGA Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
• J. Marshall Shepherd, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences
“First and foremost, on behalf of the University of Georgia, I want to congratulate Drs. Moran, Robinson and Shepherd on this outstanding achievement,” said UGA President Jere W. Morehead. “This announcement is a clear sign of both their accomplishments as scholars and the growing national reputation of the University of Georgia. To have three faculty members inducted in a single year is truly a proud moment for UGA.”
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In total, 14 current or former UGA faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. This year, UGA is the only university in the state to have any professors recognized by the academy.
All three of the university’s latest inductees to the National Academy of Sciences are faculty members in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
Mary Ann Moran
Moran, who joined the department of marine sciences in 1993, is an internationally recognized leader in marine microbiology and microbial ecology. Her work illuminates the roles that microbes play in mediating globally significant processes associated with the cycling of nutrients such as carbon and sulfur between the ocean and atmosphere.
Moran is the author or co-author of more than 180 peer-reviewed journal articles. Her findings, which have appeared in major journals such as Science, Nature and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have been cited nearly 22,000 times. Her research has been supported by more than $17 million in funding from federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation as well as private foundations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Moran’s expertise is widely sought. She serves on the board of governors of the American Academy of Microbiology, has served on the board of reviewing editors for Science and has served in editorial roles for five journals in her field. In addition, she has delivered scores of invited presentations across the United States and internationally.
Moran teaches several undergraduate and graduate courses at UGA in microbial ecology, marine ecological genomics and marine biology. In addition to mentoring undergraduate and graduate students at UGA, she has invited high school students to work with her in the lab and in the field and has helped high school teachers incorporate marine science into their classrooms.
Gregory H. Robinson
Robinson and his team have advanced the fundamental understanding of the structure, bonding and reactivity of elements such as aluminum, silicon, phosphorus and sulfur. These elements are abundant, and Robinson’s work has shown that a number of them can perform some of the same commercially important chemical transformations as less abundant and more expensive elements. Robinson, who joined the UGA faculty in 1995, has published his findings in more than 170 peer-reviewed journal articles, six book chapters, a book and scores of regional, national and international conference presentations.
Robinson has been a consultant or panelist for the National Science Foundation and the Ford Foundation, sits on the editorial boards of seven chemistry journals and has chaired panels at regional and national meetings of the American Chemical Society.
In 2017, he was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the largest organization in Europe for advancing the chemical sciences. He also has received the Humboldt Research Award, the American Chemical Society’s F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry, the National Science Foundation’s Award for Special Creativity, the Percy L. Julian Award of the National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, the SEC Faculty Achievement Award and UGA’s Lamar Dodd Research Award.
His enthusiasm for his field extends well beyond campus. He often visits elementary schools as well as Jacksonville State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree before earning his doctorate at the University of Alabama, to talk with students about careers in science.
J. Marshall Shepherd
Shepherd’s election to the National Academy of Sciences comes in the same year that he has received two additional high scientific honors: election to the National Academy of Engineering and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Shepherd, who has been a UGA faculty member since 2006, holds the distinction of being the first faculty member in the institution’s 236-year history to be elected to all three honorary societies.
Shepherd is a leading international expert in weather and climate. He directs the university’s atmospheric sciences program and is a professor in the department of geography. Shepherd has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed scholarly publications, and his research has been supported by agencies such as NASA, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Public engagement has been a key priority for Shepherd, who is frequently sought as an expert on weather, climate and remote sensing. He is the host of The Weather Channel’s award-winning show “Weather Geeks” and is a contributor to Forbes Magazine. He is frequently asked to advise key leaders at NASA, the White House, Congress, the Department of Defense and officials from foreign countries. He briefed the U.S. Senate on climate change and extreme weather in 2013 and testified before the House Science Committee in 2019.
Shepherd’s additional honors include receiving the Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the AGU Climate Communication Prize, and being named a fellow of the American Meteorological Society. Former President George W. Bush honored him in 2004 at the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award. In 2015, he was invited to moderate the White House Champions for Change event.