Dr. Dan Baker, LASP’s director and an internationally known space weather expert, has been elected a Fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for 2006. He was cited for outstanding research and leadership in solar-terrestrial physics, including the dynamics of Earth’s radiation belts and their effects on technologies. A principal investigator on several near-Earth spacecraft missions and a co-investigator on NASA’s MESSENGER mission now en route to Mercury, Baker recently chaired a National Research Council committee on space radiation hazards and the future of human space exploration. Baker joins 41 active or emeritus faculty from CU-Boulder previously elected as Fellows of the science association.
The AAAS is one of the largest and most important international science organizations, dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. Founded in 1848, AAAS works to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs and publications in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. AAAS includes 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the journal, Science.
Dr. Baker and other new fellows will be honored at the 2007 AAAS Annual Meeting to be held in February in San Francisco.
