James Beatty, professor of astronomy and physics, and Andrea Grottoli, professor of Earth sciences, have been elected as 2017 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) — a prestigious honor bestowed upon AAAS members who are elected by their peers and who have made exceptional efforts to advance science.

AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific organization, has named Fellows every year since 1874, with notable previous Fellows including Thomas Edison, Margaret Mead and James Watson.

Recently, Beatty has worked on the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) and IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica measuring high-energy neutrinos interacting with the Antarctic ice shelf. He also serves on NASA’s Physics of the Cosmos Program Analysis Group (PhysPAG).

“I am very happy to be recognized by an organization that represents such a broad interdisciplinary community of scientists,” Beatty said.

She is specifically interested in what makes certain coral resilient to climate shifts caused by rising carbon dioxide levels, such as elevated sea temperatures and ocean acidification. While many corals are dying out from these changes, “there are always some that survive,” Grottoli said.   

Since coral reefs are vital to marine biodiversity, protecting shorelines from storms, tropical tourism and more, identifying resilience is more important now than ever.  

“I’m motivated to do this research because I see the demise of coral reefs every year and I want to make a difference,” Grottoli said. “I want to be part of the solution.”

Two additional Ohio State faculty members — Richard Fishel, professor of cancer biology and genetics, and Li Wu, professor of veterinary biosciences and of microbial infection and immunity — were named 2017 Fellows. Nationally, there are 396 new Fellows, all of which will be recognized in February at the AAAS annual meeting in Austin.