Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson has been selected as one of seven 2004 fellows of the Association for Women in Science (AWIS).

The Association for Women in Science (AWIS) describes itself as the largest multidisciplinary scientific organization for women in the United States, and is dedicated to achieving equity and full participation of women in all fields of science and technology.

The AWIS Fellows will be honored at a reception in Seattle, Wash., on Sunday, Feb. 15, in conjunction with the 2004 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting.

Sunday's reception is to honor "prominent women and men who have labored in support of women in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics," according to AWIS President Elizabeth Ivey. AWIS officials said Gregory Nickels, mayor of Seattle, will proclaim Feb. 15, 2004 as "Women in Science Day" in honor of the 2004 AWIS Fellows for their commitment to recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering fields.

In addition to President Jackson, the 2004 AWIS Fellows are: Anne Rusoff, associate professor of cell biology and neurosciences at Montana State University; Jane Maienschein, Regents' Professor of Biology and Society in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University; Elga Wassermann, research scholar in law at Yale University; Robert Lichter, principal in Merrimack Consultants LLC; Susan Fitzpatrick, vice president of the James S. McDonnell Foundation; and Nancy Marcus, chairperson of the Department of Oceanography and Director of Women in Math, Science, and Engineering Program at Florida State University.

AWIS has more than 3,000 members and more than 60 chapters.

Contact: Theresa Bourgeois
Phone: (518) 276-2840
E-mail: bourgt@rpi.edu