A. Alan Middleton, professor and chair of the physics department in the College of Arts and Sciences, was recently elected a 2016 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The honor recognizes an individual’s distinguished efforts to advance science and its applications through innovation, education and leadership. Middleton will be recognized this coming February during the AAAS’s annual meeting in Boston.

“I was pleasantly surprised and grateful to have received this recognition by my peers,” says Middleton, who joined the Syracuse physics faculty in 1995. “I am lucky to have the opportunities to carry out my research work with the full support of an outstanding group of Syracuse University faculty and student colleagues over the years.“

Middleton, whose own research surrounds condensed matter and disordered materials, has been at the helm of the physics department through several high-profile breakthroughs in recent years—including the historic gravitational waves discovery shared by members of the Syracuse University Gravitational Wave Group, and the discovery of two rare pentaquark states by a research team lead by professors Tomasz Skwarnicki and Sheldon Stone.

Karin Ruhlandt, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was delighted when she learned of Middleton’s recent honor.

“The election of Alan Middleton as an AAAS fellow is a wonderful reflection of his dedication and impact as a leader in our cutting-edge physics department,” says Ruhlandt. “I am very proud to see his work recognized on a national level”

Founded over 150 years ago, the American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society, operating with the belief that science, technology, engineering and mathematics can help solve many of the challenges the world faces today.