National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, non-profit organization of distinguished scholars.

NAS was established by Congress and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 with the mission of providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology.

NAS members are elected to membership by their peers for their contributions to research. Its members are active participants in the international scientific community and committed to furthering science in America. A total of approximately 500 members of the NAS have won Nobel Prizes, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, founded in 1914, is today one of the most prestigious international journals publishing original research results.

A pair of independent scientific bodies -- the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM, previously the Institute of Medicine) -- were founded under the NAS charter in 1964 and 1970, respectively. In the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, these three academies also work together to conduct research and provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation. They also encourage education and research, honor outstanding achievements in science and engineering, and increase public understanding in these fields. Its service to the government has become so crucial that Congress and the White House have passed legislation and issued executive orders reaffirming its role.

UCLA members of the National Academy of Sciences

A list of members by name, year elected and department.

Name Elected Department
Elihu Abrahams 1987 Physics and Astronomy
Utpal Banerjee 2018 Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology; Biological Chemistry
Andrea Bertozzi 2018 Mathematics; Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Paul Boyer 1970 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Lennart Carleson 2006 Mathematics
Emily Carter 2008 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
William Clark 2005 Geography
Edward De Robertis 2013 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jared Diamond 1979 Geography
Richard Dickerson 1985 Chemistry and Biochemistry
David Eisenberg 1989 Biological Chemistry; Chemistry and Biochemistry
Mostafa El-Sayed 1980 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Juli Feigon 2009 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Miguel GarcĂ­a-Garibay 2023 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Andrea Ghez 2004 Physics and Astronomy
Robert G. Goldberg 2001 Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology
Michael Grunstein 2008 Biological Chemistry
Arnold Harberger 1989 Economics
T. Mark Harrison 2011 Earth, Planetary and Space Science
M. Frederick Hawthorne 1973 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Kendall N. Houk 2010 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Wayne Hubbell 2005 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Louis J. Ignarro 1999 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Steven Jacobsen 2011 Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology
David C. Jewitt 2005 Earth, Planetary and Space Science
Patricia J. Johnson 2019 Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics;
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
H. Ronald Kaback 1987 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Peter M. Kareiva 2011 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Margaret Kivelson 1999 Earth, Planetary and Space Science
Leonid Kruglyak 2023 Human Genetics and Biological Chemistry
Raphael Levine 1999 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Thomas M. Liggett 2008 Mathematics
Glen MacDonald 2015 Geography
Robert D. Mare 2010 Sociology
James McWilliams 2002 Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Sabeeha Merchant 2012 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jeff F. Miller 2015 Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
Elizabeth Neufeld 1977 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Stanley Osher 2005 Mathematics
C. Kumar N. Patel 1974 Physics and Astronomy
Judea Pearl 2014 Computer Science
Claudio Pellegrini 2017 Physics and Astronomy
Michael E. Phelps 1999 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Howard Reiss 1977 Chemistry and Biochemistry
J. William Schopf 1998 Earth, Planetary and Space Science
Gerald Schubert 2002 Earth, Planetary and Space Science
Gary Segura 2023 Public Policy, Political Science and Chicana/o Studies
Charles S. Stanish 2010 Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Terence Tao 2008 Mathematics
Shelley E. Taylor 2009 Psychology
Peter Tontonoz 2020 Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Joan Selverstone Valentine 2005 Chemistry and Biochemistry
Owen Witte 1997 David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Ernest Wright 2013 Physiology
Edward L. Wright 2011 Physics and Astronomy
Eli Yablonovitch 2003 Electrical Engineering
Stephen G. Young 2015 Human Genetics
Min Zhou 2023 Sociology and Asian American Studies
S. Lawrence Zipursky 2009 Biological Chemistry

This listing includes UCLA faculty active in teaching, research or administration, including emeriti and adjunct faculty. We make every effort to keep these listings current and accurate. Last updated August 2021.