Biology Professor and Chair Bernd Fritzsch elected to the German National Academy of Sciences

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Bernd Fritzsch
Bernd Fritzsch

University of Iowa Professor Bernd Fritzsch was elected as a member of the German National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina, in recognition of his scientific achievements. His member profile, available on the Leopoldina site, highlights Fritzsch's research, career, societies and committees, and honors and memberships.

Fritzsch is a professor and the department chair of the Department of Biology, part of the UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. He is also an Endowed Iowa Entrepreneurial Professor. His research areas include cell and developmental biology, evolution, genetics, and neurobiology.

Founded in 1652, the Leopoldina is the oldest continuously operating scientific academy. Membership is an honor given only to about 1500 scholars, and being elected is comparable to becoming a member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

The UI Department of Biology now has two members of national academies among its faculty: along with Fritzsch’s election to the German Academy of Sciences, Professor Chun-Fang Wu is also a member of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. Fritzsch is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offers about 70 majors across the humanities; fine, performing and literary arts; natural and mathematical sciences; social and behavioral sciences; and communication disciplines. About 15,000 undergraduate and nearly 2,000 graduate students study each year in the college’s 37 departments, led by faculty at the forefront of teaching and research in their disciplines. The college teaches all Iowa undergraduates through the college's general education program, CLAS CORE. About 80 percent of all Iowa undergraduates begin their academic journey in CLAS. The college confers about 60 percent of the university's bachelor's degrees each academic year.