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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world鈥檚 largest general scientific society, today announced that three CU Boulder researchers will join the ranks of its newest class of .听

CU Boulder faculty named to the prestigious fellows program are: Noah Finkelstein, professor and vice chair of听the Department of Physics; Karl Linden, Mortenson Endowed Professor in Sustainable Development; and Brian Toon, professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and research scientist in the (LASP). AAAS honored the researchers for their work studying everything from physics education and nuclear winter to using ultraviolet light to keep water supplies safe for drinking. 听

The 2021 class of fellows draws from 564 scientists from across the country. Nearly 30 other scientists from CU Boulder have also received this honor since the late 1970s. 听

鈥淎AAS is proud to bestow the honor of AAAS Fellow to some of today鈥檚 brightest minds who are integral to forging our path into the future,鈥� said Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive and executive publisher of the Science family of journals, in a statement. 鈥淲e celebrate these distinguished individuals for their invaluable contributions to the scientific enterprise.鈥�

Terri Fiez, vice chancellor for Research and Innovation at CU Boulder, saluted Finkelstein, Linden and Toon for their new achievements.

鈥淲e are thrilled that AAAS is honoring these three pioneering researchers,鈥� Fiez said. 鈥淭hey epitomize CU Boulder鈥檚 commitment to research that can improve the lives of people around the world, and to ensuring that this spirit of excellence and innovation translates into education and opportunities for our undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs.鈥�

A lifelong educator

Finkelstein likes to say he has been teaching continuously since he was 12. He first shared his knowledge of Hebrew and computer programming with younger kids through summer camp programs in the early 1980s.

Today, AAAS has recognized Finkelstein鈥檚 work in 鈥渆stablishing and advancing the fields of physics education research and institutional transformation in STEM education with an inclusive mindset.鈥�

Finkelstein explores how students learn about physics鈥攁nd how educators can improve the experiences of budding scientists in their classrooms. He鈥檚 studied how college physics classrooms can be more inclusive for women and people of color who are historically underrepresented in the field. In particular, Finkelstein said he wants STEM classrooms to be about more than just memorizing facts.

鈥淚f I could snap my fingers and do one thing, it would be to support people in broadening our definition of what education is,鈥� Finkelstein said. 鈥淓ducation is also about socializing individuals so that students coming out of classes think of themselves as science capable and engaged鈥� so that our majors can walk and talk like physicists. They can not only recognize and apply Schrodinger鈥檚 Equation but also make sense of it.鈥�

Finkelstein serves as one of the directors of the Physics Education Research group at CU Boulder. He was also a founding co-director of the Center for STEM Learning and sits on the Board of Trustees for the national . He received his doctorate from Princeton University and joined the CU Boulder faculty in 2003.

Clouds overhead

Toon has long had an eye on the skies. AAAS honored the scientist 鈥渇or fundamental contributions toward understanding the role of clouds and aerosols in the climates of Earth and other planets, and for warning the world of the dangers of nuclear weapons.鈥�

Throughout his career, Toon has examined 鈥渧irtually every cloud and aerosol system in the solar system听and some on exoplanets.鈥�

He鈥檚 delved into how the plumes from massive volcanic eruptions and wildfires can influence Earth鈥檚 climate and studied the potential dangers of nuclear warfare. Toon and his colleagues previously discovered even a relatively small-scale nuclear conflict could kill tens of millions of people and wreak havoc on food crops across the planet.听

鈥淭his work influenced the recent United Nations agreement to ban nuclear weapons globally as land mines, biological weapons and poison gases have been banned in the past,鈥� Toon said.

Toon earned his doctorate from Cornell University and has been at CU Boulder since 1997. Among other achievements, Toon received NASA Medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement in 1983 and 1989 and was one of the lead scientists who contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change鈥檚 Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.听

Clean water to drink

Linden, professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, works to help rural communities, municipalities and other entities to control the spread of harmful pathogens such as听SARS-CoV-2 in air, on surfaces and in water.

He is acknowledged by AAAS 鈥渇or distinguished contributions to the field of water treatment engineering, particularly using ultraviolet light for pathogen disinfection and abatement of organic contaminants in water reuse.鈥� 听

Municipal and industrial water treatment facilities around the world use ultraviolet disinfection to eliminate harmful pathogens like E. coli and Giardia from water supplies in seconds. Linden, however, wants to go smaller鈥攃reating nimble and durable technologies that rural communities and countries with limited resources can use to treat their own water supplies.听

Linden leads a five-year, $15.3-million project called the Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership through the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering at CU Boulder. In 2020, he won the Borchardt-Glysson Water Treatment Innovation Prize and was named the Clarke Prize Laureate for outstanding achievement in water science and technology.

鈥淚 am so honored to become a fellow of AAAS鈥攁n organization at the forefront of defending the integrity of science, promoting science-based policy and decision making, strengthening diversity in science and advocating for educational and career opportunities in science and technology,鈥� Linden said.