Elite National Fellows Advance Their Fields as They Teach Baylor Students

Baylor faculty serve as leaders in their field in many ways. From producing highly cited scholarly articles to serving on committees and boards that influence their disciplines nationally, it’s common to see Baylor faculty working to drive their fields forward. Recently, numerous Baylor faculty have earned prestigious fellowships — being named fellows — that further highlight the esteem in which their colleagues hold them.

What, exactly, is a fellow? There’s no singular definition, but to earn a national fellowship means that scholar is making a difference that their colleagues across the country recognize. Descriptions of fellows in chemistry, math, physics and more describe honorees as having “advanced scientific excellence,” made “major research contributions,” and delivered “exceptional contributions” to their field.

Many of our faculty hold fellowships in renowned societies, but seven of our current faculty have earned national fellowships in the past 10 years, including:

Bryan Brooks, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies — 2022 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow

Julia Chan, B.S. ’93, Ph.D., The Tim and Sharalynn Fenn Family Endowed Chair in Materials Science — 2024 American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow

George Cobb, Ph.D., professor and chair of environmental science — 2015 ACS Fellow

Julie Hoggarth, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology — 2024 AAAS Fellow

Lorin Swint Matthews, B.S. ’94, Ph.D. ’98, chair and professor of physics — 2023 Fellow of the American Physical Society

Dorina Mitrea, professor and chair of mathematics — 2024 Fellow of the American Mathematical Society

John Wood, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Chemistry — 2019 Fellowship in the Royal Society of Chemistry

“Fellows are recognized as national and international leaders and innovators in their fields. These prestigious fellowships reflect the high regard in which recipients are held by their peers across the country, and indeed, the world,” Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., explained. “At Baylor, we are fortunate to have numerous fellows who are actively engaged in research and teaching. This means our students have the unique opportunity to learn directly from faculty scholars making significant contributions to their disciplines.”