Five 91探花 researchers have been named AAAS Fellows, according to a . They are among 471 newly elected fellows from around the world, who are recognized for their 鈥渟cientifically and socially distinguished achievements鈥� in science and engineering. A tradition dating back to 1874, election as an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor. All fellows are expected to meet the commonly held standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.

This year鈥檚 91探花AAAS fellows are:

, professor of genome sciences in 91探花Medicine, was recognized for her distinguished contributions to the field of the evolution of tissue development by signaling pathways and to the training of junior scientists. She studies developmental biology, and her work focuses on the patterns and shapes that appear as an organism forms into a living creature composed of a variety of cell types and organs. Her laboratory models are fruit flies, and her investigations begin in the egg chamber and the laid egg. Among her research interests are cell signals and cell migration critical to development, and the evolution of these processes. In addition, new genomic technologies are enabling her research team to manipulate the timing and location of gene activity within developing fly cells. Berg and her team also have designed a system to obtain live imaging of some of the developmental events that take place. Among Berg鈥檚 overarching goals is to better understand the genetic and molecular dysfunctions that lead to prenatal malformations and other disorders. The hope, Berg says, is that basic research, over the long term, might lead to clinical diagnostics for risk factors and to evaluation of potential treatments. Berg鈥檚 course topics are wide-ranging, and include introductory biology, biomedical ethics and forensic genetics at crime scenes.

, the David R. M. Scott Endowed Professor in Forest Resources and professor of plant microbiology in the 91探花School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, was recognized for distinguished contributions to unraveling mechanisms by which microbes colonize plants, increase plant growth and yields in nutrient-limited conditions, increase water use efficiency and drought tolerance, and improve plant health. Her research is on the importance of the plant microbiome as a resource for nature-based solutions to environmental challenges including pollution, climate change and colonizing the moon. A 91探花faculty member since 2003, she has received several awards and honors including the Lockwood Endowed Professorship (2013-2021), Director鈥檚 Faculty Award for 鈥渆xemplary contributions to student mentoring鈥� and the Faculty Member of the Year award (2014). She serves on the executive teams of the International Poplar Commission (Co-Vice Chair, Environmental and Ecosystem Services) and the International Symbiosis Society (VP, Education). She holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Microbiology.

, professor of microbiology in 91探花Medicine, was recognized for his distinguished contributions to the field of microbial interactions, particularly with regard to unraveling mechanisms responsible for the formation of surface-attached communities called biofilms. Parsek explores the social biology of bacterial communities. One of his areas of investigation is quorum-sensing 鈥� how bacteria use signaling molecules to sense the presence of others of the same species. This communication system allows them to coordinate their behavior as a group. Another of his related fields of interest is biofilms. These are bacteria that produce an extracellular matrix to bind themselves together. The matrix protects the community and plays a role, for example, in resistance to antimicrobials and antibiotics and in the persistence of chronic infection. Parsek鈥檚 lab studies the composition of this matrix and how it is assembled. They are especially interested in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which lives in several different environmental niches, but is notorious for infecting the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients and for colonizing burn wounds and growing on implanted biomaterials. In recent work his lab looked at how these bacteria can sense surfaces. A 91探花faculty member since 2011, Parsek is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology and was named a Kavli fellow by the National Academy of Sciences.

, the Lloyd and Kay Chapman Endowed Chair for Oral Health in the 91探花School of Dentistry, was recognized for translating knowledge from the behavioral and social sciences to address the causes of children鈥檚 oral health inequities. In recent years Chi has studied why some parents reject fluoride for their children and worked with Yup鈥檌k communities to improve the oral health of Alaska Native children. In 2018 he was named Pediatric Dentist of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and in 2025 he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from President Joe Biden. A member of the 91探花faculty since 2010, Chi is also the associate dean for research in the School of Dentistry and a professor of health systems and population health in the 91探花School of Public Health. He is editor-in-chief the International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry and treats patients at the Odessa Brown Children鈥檚 Clinic in Seattle.

, the Larry R. Dalton Endowed Chair in Chemistry and associate dean for research in the College of Arts & Sciences, is honored for his contributions to the development and application of time-dependent quantum theory and relativistic electronic structure theory, and for advancing educational pathways and diversity in STEM. Li conducts research at the intersection of physics, chemistry, materials science, mathematics and scientific computing, and he has developed widely used computational software. A 91探花faculty member since 2005, Li’s honors include a Sloan Research Fellowship, the NSF CAREER Award, the American Chemical Society Jack Simons Award in Theoretical Physical Chemistry and the 91探花Distinguished Teaching Award. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), a Lab Fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences.

In an experiment akin to stop-motion photography, an international team of scientists has isolated the energetic movement of an electron in a sample of liquid water 鈥� while 鈥渇reezing鈥� the motion of the much larger atom it orbits.

The finding reveals the immediate response of an electron when hit with an X-ray, an essential step in understanding the effects of radiation exposure on objects and people. The results, Feb. 15 in the journal Science, provide a new window into the electronic structure of molecules in the liquid phase on a timescale previously unattainable with X-rays.

鈥淲hat happens to an atom when it is struck by ionizing radiation, like an X-ray? Seeing the earliest stages of this process has long been a missing piece in understanding how radiation affects matter,鈥� said co-senior author , the Larry R. Dalton Endowed Chair in Chemistry at the 91探花 and a laboratory fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 鈥淭his new technique for the first time shows us that missing piece and opens the door to seeing the steps where so much complex 鈥� and interesting 鈥� chemistry occurs!鈥�

Li co-led the team behind this breakthrough with co-senior authors , a distinguished fellow at Argonne National Laboratory and professor at the University of Chicago, and , professor at the German Electron Synchrotron and the University of Hamburg. The team received critical funding and support from the , a Department of Energy center headquartered at PNNL.

The collaboration used a combination of experiments and theoretical insights to see in real time what happens when ionizing radiation from an X-ray source hits matter. Revealing these moments is not as simple as snapping a photo. Subatomic particles move so fast that capturing their actions requires using a probe that can measure time in attoseconds. There are more attoseconds in a second than there have been seconds in the history of the universe.

鈥淯ntil now radiation chemists could only resolve events at the picosecond timescale, a million times slower than an attosecond,鈥� said Young. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like saying 鈥業 was born and then I died.鈥� You鈥檇 like to know what happens in between. That鈥檚 what we are now able to do.鈥�

The team 鈥� under the guidance of Young and co-lead author , a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne 鈥� set out to develop a whole new experimental approach to achieve attosecond resolution using X-rays. Attosecond X-ray pulses are only available in a handful of specialized facilities worldwide, so the team partnered with scientists at the in California to use the facility鈥檚 Linac Coherent Light Source for developing attosecond X-ray free-electron lasers, with key input from scientists at PNNL.

The resulting technique, AX-ATAS 鈥� or all X-ray attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy 鈥� employed two delicate X-ray pulses: One to 鈥渆xcite鈥� its target matter and one to probe how the excited matter responded. This approach would theoretically allow the scientists to 鈥渨atch鈥� electrons energized by X-rays as they move into an excited state, all before the bulkier atomic nucleus has time to move. They chose the liquid water as their test case for an experiment.

鈥淎nd on our first experiment, it worked!鈥� said Li. 鈥淏ut the signal we picked up in the data was 鈥榗onvoluted.鈥� It turns out that, in this transient snapshot, we were probing so many quantum states that we had to develop a completely new computational analysis method to understand the data.鈥�

Quantum mechanical principles underlie the behavior of all matter, but its signatures are often hidden in experiments like these. But, using AX-ATAS at the attosecond timescale, the scientists were picking up quantum-level details 鈥� and needed new methods to make sense of the data.

To that end, Li, a theoretical chemist, worked with co-lead author Lixin Lu 鈥� who conducted this research as a 91探花doctoral student in chemistry and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University 鈥� to reproduce the signals observed at SLAC. The German Electron Synchrotron-based team under Santra and co-lead author Swarnendu Bhattacharyya, a postdoctoral researcher, modelled the liquid water response to attosecond X-rays to verify that the observed signal was indeed confined to the attosecond timescale.

鈥淯sing the Hyak supercomputer at the 91探花, we developed a cutting-edge computational chemistry technique that enabled detailed characterization of the transient high-energy quantum states in water,鈥� said Li, who is also 91探花Associate Vice Provost for research cyberinfrastructure and member faculty at the 91探花Clean Energy Institute. 鈥淭his methodological breakthrough yielded a pivotal advancement in the quantum-level understanding of ultrafast chemical transformation, with exceptional accuracy and atomic-level detail.鈥�

The team鈥檚 analysis resolved a long-standing scientific debate about whether X-ray signals seen in previous experiments are the result of hydrogen atom dynamics or different structural 鈥渕otifs鈥� of water. The experiments showed no evidence for two structural motifs in ambient liquid water.

鈥淏asically, what people were seeing in previous experiments was the blur caused by moving hydrogen atoms,鈥� said Young. 鈥淲e were able to eliminate that movement by doing all of our recording before the atoms had time to move.鈥�

The current investigation builds upon the new science of attosecond physics, . Working at the attosecond timescale will allow the researchers to understand complex radiation-induced chemistry at a fundamental level. This team initially came together to develop tools to understand the effect of prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation on the chemicals found in nuclear waste.

The researchers envision the current study as the beginning of a whole new direction for attosecond science.

鈥�The methodology we developed permits the study of the origin and evolution of reactive species produced by radiation-induced processes, such as encountered in space travel, cancer treatments, nuclear reactors and legacy waste,鈥� said Young.

Co-authors on the paper are Carolyn Pearce of PNNL and Washington State University; Kai Li of the University of Chicago and Argonne; Emily Nienhuis of PNNL; Giles Doumy and R.D. Schaller at Argonne; Ludger Inhester of the German Electron Synchrotron and the Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging; and S. Moeller, M.F. Lin, G. Dakovski, D.J. Hoffman, D. Garratt, Kirk Larsen, J.D. Koralek, C.Y. Hampton, D. Cesar, Joseph Duris, Z. Zhang, Nicholas Sudar, James Cryan and A. Marinelli at SLAC. The research was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the German Research Foundation and the German Electron Synchrotron.

For more information, contact Li at xsli@uw.edu.

Adapted from a by PNNL.

Seven professors at the 91探花 are among 25 new members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences, according to a . Joining the academy is a recognition of 鈥渢heir outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the State of Washington.鈥�

Twenty of the incoming members for 2022 were selected by current WSAS members, while the other five were chosen by virtue of recently joining one of the National Academies.

91探花faculty selected by current Academy members are:

• , the Robert G. and Jean A. Reid Executive Dean of Nursing, 鈥渇or pioneering research in cultural competence, conducting international collaborative research with professionals and family caregivers of older adults with dementia, advancing assessment of cultural awareness and its impact on healthcare, and supporting establishment of UW鈥檚 Center for Global Health Nursing and the first Center for Anti-Racism in Nursing.鈥�
• , the Harry and Catherine Jaynne Boand Endowed Professor of Chemistry, co-associate chair of the Department of Chemistry, and associate vice provost for research cyberinfrastructure, 鈥渇or a body of work that supercharges computational chemistry, including pioneering work in time- dependent electronic structure theory and quantum mechanical techniques,鈥� and 鈥渇or exemplary collaborative efforts, as well as leadership in developing educational pathways for underrepresented minority students in STEM.鈥� Li is also a faculty member in the 91探花Clean Energy Institute and the 91探花Molecular & Engineering Sciences Institute.
• , the Steven and Connie Rogel Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering, professor of chemistry, and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, 鈥渇or pioneering contributions that advanced the frontiers of molecular simulation, impacting the prediction of enzyme activity in ionic liquids, peptide interactions with surfaces and molecular design.鈥� Pfaendtner is also a faculty member in the Clean Energy Institute and the Molecular & Engineering Sciences Institute, as well as a senior data fellow with the 91探花eScience Institute and staff scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
• , the Klaus and Mary Ann Saegebarth Endowed Professor of Chemistry, 鈥渇or pioneering fundamental and applied studies in mass spectrometry, physical chemistry, and newborn screening鈥� as well as 鈥減ropagation of science, science education, and technical expertise contributions to startup companies in Washington state.鈥�
• , the Kyocera Professor in Materials Science & Engineering and vice dean of the College of Engineering, 鈥渇or pioneering contribution to the discovery of new thermoelectric and energy storage materials for clean energy, and for exceptional leadership to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among academia, industry, and national laboratories for creating transformational and sustainable impact for Washington.鈥� Yang is also a faculty member in the Clean Energy Institute and the Molecular & Engineering Sciences Institute.
• Dr. , professor of radiology and director of the 91探花Medicine Image-Guided Bio-Molecular Intervention Laboratory, 鈥渇or work as an internationally prominent physician-scientist in the field of image-guided minimally invasive interventional therapies鈥� and 鈥渇or pioneering contributions and outstanding achievements in developing innovative and cutting-edge medical imaging and interventional radiology for effective management of life-threatening diseases, such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and cancer.鈥�

In addition, Dr. , 91探花professor of genome sciences, investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and faculty member in the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute, was selected by virtue of his election to the National Academy of Sciences 鈥渇or pioneering a variety of genome sequencing and analysis methods, including exome sequencing and its earliest applications to gene discovery for Mendelian disorders and autism; cell-free DNA diagnostics for cancer and reproductive medicine; massively parallel reporter assays; saturation genome editing; whole organism lineage tracing; and massively parallel molecular profiling of single cells.鈥�

New members to the Washington State Academy of Sciences will be formally inducted in September.