Sarah Reisman, Bren Professor of Chemistry and Norman Davidson Leadership Chair of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech, has been elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), one of the nation's oldest honorary societies. In addition, six Caltech alumni were elected to the AAAS in 2025, including Ian Agol (BS '92), Gary Brudvig (PhD '81), Roger Chevalier (BS '70), Lance Dixon (BS '82), Lisa Martin (BS '83), and Norman Murray (BS '79).
Reisman's research is dedicated to contributing to "creative solutions to fundamental problems in chemistry that impact society," according to its website. Reisman focuses on the chemical synthesis of organic molecules known as natural products: molecules produced in nature by bacteria, fungi, or plants. Many antibiotics and anticancer agents can trace their roots to natural products, and the chemical synthesis of such compounds can advance both our understanding of chemistry and their biology. In addition to pursuing the synthesis of specific substances, Reisman's group seeks to develop ever more effective and robust methods of chemical synthesis, including new catalytic processes.
Reisman became a member of the Caltech faculty in 2008. She did her undergraduate studies at Connecticut College, where she first encountered organic synthesis and worked in the laboratory of Timo Ovaska. Reisman received her PhD from Yale University in 2006 under the direction of John Wood, working in the field of natural product synthesis. During a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University funded by the National Institutes of Health, Reisman worked with Eric Jacobsen, Harvard's Sheldon Emery Professor of Chemistry, studying asymmetric catalysis.
Founded in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin, John Hancock, and others, the AAAS aims to serve the nation by cultivating "every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people." The academy has elected as fellows and foreign honorary members "leading thinkers and doers" from each generation, including George Washington and Ben Franklin in the 18th century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 19th, and Duke Ellington and Albert Einstein in the 20th.
A full list of new members is available on the academy website.