The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general science society, recently named 10 UT professors fellows. According to their website the AAAS seeks to, "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people."  The AAAS is also well known for the publication of the magazine Science.

Membership in the AAAS is not restricted to professionals but to be named a fellow, members must be nominated by their peers and show meritorious work in scientific fields.

The bottom line is that the research we do in all areas, not just the sciences, is what sets UTK apart from most other universities in Tennessee and elsewhere. -Bruce Bursten, dean of the College of Arts and SciencesEven with having 10 fellows named in this year's class, which places UT fourth overall for new fellows, the university's faculty has not always been recognized with this type of honor.

"We have a large number of superb faculty in the sciences," said Bruce Bursten, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.  "They have not, in general, received the national recognition that they deserve such as being named fellows of the AAAS.  We hope that this year is the beginning of several years of success in this program as we catch up to a lot of other institutions."

Before the 2008 class of fellows was announced, UT only had seven AAAS fellows, much less than many comparable universities.  This year, however, UT actively sought this recognition for its faculty.

"This year we were proactive about reminding top faculty at other universities that we had excellent, but unrecognized faculty at UTK," said Bursten.  "We were truly delighted at the response.  Every one of our fellows was nominated by at least two, and in most cases three, other AAAS Fellows at other universities from across the country."

Having so many faculty members named fellows has more tangible benefits than just the prestige. According to Bursten the publicity will help attract better faculty members, better graduate and undergraduate students, and more research grants.

UT is already one of the top research institutions in the nation. Vanderbilt and UT are the only two Tennessee universities of 96 universities to receive the Carnegie Foundation's top research rating.

"The bottom line is that the research we do in all areas, not just the sciences, is what sets UTK apart from most other universities in Tennessee and elsewhere," said Bursten.

But it is not just for their contributions to scientific research that these professors benefit the university.

"Nearly all of our new Fellows contribute strongly to our undergraduate education both in the classroom and in undergraduate research programs," said Burnsten. "The opportunity to learn from these nationally recognized faculty is one of the great reasons for a student to aspire to attend UTK, and is part of the reason that the demand to get into UTK is constantly increasing."