KINGSTON, R.I.– February 29, 2012 — University of Rhode Island President David M. Dooley has been elected as a Fellow of the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Initially announced in the journal Science on December 23, 2011, this is an honor bestowed on association members by their peers.

President Dooley has been honored for his distinguished career of sustained discovery and innovation in biological inorganic chemistry and in university research, technology and education administration. This year, 539 members received this honor because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Dooley became URI’s 11th president in 2009. Prior to joining the University, he was the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Montana State. Actively engaged in teaching and research throughout his academic career, as provost at Montana State, Dooley maintained an active laboratory with research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Earlier he had led Montana State’s chemistry and biochemistry department, served as a chemistry professor and was a central figure in attracting research dollars to Montana State, helping to grow that budget to $100 million during his tenure. Some of his biochemical research investigated metals, like copper and iron, and how they may relate to disease and health in humans and other organisms.

Dooley earned a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of California in San Diego and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Though he was unable to attend the ceremony, Dooley and other new fellows received an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting on February 18 in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

AAAS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world. Founded in 1848, AAAS serves some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. It publishes the journal Science, which has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world.