In November 2011, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Council elected 539 members as Fellows of AAAS. These individuals will be recognized for their contributions to science and technology at the Fellows Forum to be held February 18, 2012, during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

Carl A. Pinkert, Auburn University associate vice president for research, is elected to the rank of AAAS Fellow for his meritorious efforts in advancing science and its applications in the field of agriculture, food, and renewable resources. As a new Fellow he will receive a certificate and a blue and gold rosette as a symbol of his distinguished accomplishments.  

Pinkert, who holds an academic appointment in the Department of Pathobiology, joined Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 2006 as associate dean for research and graduate studies and professor of pathobiology. He was appointed to the Office of the Vice President for Research in 2009.

Pinkert promotes and develops multidisciplinary research initiatives across the Auburn University campus. He also represents the Office of the Vice President for Research in certain external roles in the state and national arena.

He has served on numerous federal research panels including chair of the Comparative Medicine Review Committee at the National Institutes of Health, as an ad hoc specialist for the Association for the Advancement and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care and on various Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges committees.

Before joining Auburn's faculty in 2006, Pinkert was a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in the Center for Aging and Developmental Biology and director of the transgenics program at the University of Rochester. Previously, he spent nine years on the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Pinkert holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania before embarking on his professional career. He has received numerous honors and achievements such as Who's Who in Medical Science Education, honorary membership in Phi Zeta and the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation Research Prize which is awarded for biomedical research that significantly impacts the welfare and well being of research animals.

Founded in 1848, AAAS serves some 272 affiliated societies and academies of science and publishes the peer-reviewed general science journal Science. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives that include science policy, international programs, science education, and public understanding of science. The honor of being elected a Fellow of AAAS began in 1874.

Contact: Tara Lanier, 334-844-3698, tara.lanier@auburn.edu