Renowned IIGB/CEPCEB geneticist Susan Wessler has been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society (APS), the country’s first learned society. She is the first faculty member at UC Riverside to be elected a member of the APS.

The APS has played an important role in American cultural and intellectual life for more than 250 years. It was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge.” Membership in the APS is entirely honorary and reflects extraordinary accomplishments in all fields of intellectual endeavor. This year, the APS offered membership to 34 new members.

Wessler holds a University of California President’s Chair and is a distinguished professor of genetics in the Department of Botany and Plant Sciences. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In February 2011, she was elected home secretary of the NAS. Later that year, she was named the recipient of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology 2012 Excellence in Science Award. Most recently, she was named a fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists.

Wessler’s research focuses on plant transposable elements and their role in the evolution of plant genomes. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, a fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, and the first recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Southeastern Universities Research Association.

“It is humbling to be elected to membership in the historic APS,” Wessler said. “I am delighted that my contributions to plant genetics and the contributions of my current and former students have been recognized by the institute.”

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