texas a&m university distinguished professor of physics dr marlan o scully has been elected as a 2008 fellow of the american academy of arts and sciences one the countrys oldest honorary learned societies scully a world-renowned pioneer in quantum and laser physics is one of eight physicists listed among the 190 new fellows and 22 new foreign honorary members announced by the academy last week drawn from the sciences the arts and humanities business public affairs and the non-profit sector the 212 scholars scientists artists civic corporate and philanthropic leaders include nobel laureates and recipients of pulitzer and pritzker prizes academy and grammy awards and kennedy center honors they represent 20 states 15 countries and more than 50 universities the academy honors excellence by electing to membership remarkable men and women who have made preeminent contributions to their fields and to the world said academy president emilio bizzi we are pleased to welcome into the academy these new members to help advance our founders goal of ‘cherishing knowledge and shaping the future scully is the only current texas a&m faculty member featured in the prestigious society which previously included the late texas a&m inorganic chemist dr f albert cotton who was elected in 1962 on behalf of texas a&m university i congratulate dr scully on this outstanding honor that adds yet another chapter to his distinguished career said texas a&m president elsa a murano dr scullys contributions in the field of physics and theoretical quantum optics in particular are known worldwide and we are honored to have a professor and researcher of his caliber as a member of our renowned faculty here at texas a&m scully will be officially inducted as an academy fellow at an october 11 ceremony at the academys headquarters in cambridge mass this extraordinary honor shows once again how fortunate we are at texas a&m and the college of science to have marlan scully in our midst said dr h joseph newton dean of the college of science the academy has recognized the kind of excitement that defines what makes a great university and we thank dr scully for all that he does a member of the national academy of sciences academia europaea and the max-planck society scully holds joint appointments as a professor at both texas a&m university and princeton university at texas a&m he holds the hershel e burgess 29 chair in physics as well as a distinguished research chair with the texas engineering experiment station his multiple appointments also include associate dean for external relations in the college of science professor in chemistry and engineering and director of both the institute for quantum studies and the center for theoretical physics within the college of science a highly decorated researcher and scholar scully has received a number of awards and professional honors including the adolph e lomb medal and charles h townes award from the optical society of america the quantum electronics award from the institute of electrical and electronics engineers inc the elliott cresson medal from the franklin institute a guggenheim fellowship the alexander von humboldt distinguished faculty prize and the arthur l schawlow prize from the american physical society most recently he was selected as a 2008 morris loeb lecturer in physics at harvard university founded in 1780 by john adams james bowdoin john hancock and other scholar-patriots the american academy of arts and sciences features many the finest minds and most influential leaders from each generation including some 200 nobel laureates and more than 60 pulitzer prize winners as an independent policy research center it undertakes studies of complex and emerging problems including science technology and global security; social policy and american institutions; the humanities and culture; and education -atm- contact: shana k hutchins (979) 862-1237 or shutchins@tamuedu