Sarah Reisman, the Bren Professor of Chemistry and Norman Davidson Leadership Chair of the Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Division at Caltech, has been appointed as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), one of the nation’s most ancient honorary organizations. Additionally, six alumni from Caltech were chosen as fellows of the AAAS in 2025, which include 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).

According to its website, Reisman’s research is aimed at providing “innovative solutions to fundamental challenges in chemistry that affect society.” She concentrates on the chemical synthesis of organic substances known as natural products: compounds that occur naturally through bacteria, fungi, or plants. Numerous antibiotics and anticancer medications can be traced back to these natural products; thus, the chemical synthesis of such substances can enhance both our comprehension of chemistry and their biological roles. Besides focusing on the synthesis of particular compounds, Reisman’s group aspires to create increasingly efficient and resilient methods of chemical synthesis, which includes novel catalytic techniques.

Reisman joined the Caltech faculty in 2008. She completed her undergraduate education at Connecticut College, where she first encountered the concept of organic synthesis while working in Timo Ovaska’s laboratory. Reisman achieved her PhD from Yale University in 2006 under the guidance of John Wood, specializing in natural product synthesis. While holding a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, funded by the National Institutes of Health, she collaborated with Eric Jacobsen, the Sheldon Emery Professor of Chemistry at Harvard, focusing on asymmetric catalysis.

Established in 1780 by figures such as John Adams, James Bowdoin, and John Hancock, the AAAS aims to advance the nation by nurturing “every art and science that may contribute to the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous populace.” Throughout the years, the academy has selected as fellows and foreign honorary members “prominent thinkers and doers” from each era, including George Washington and Ben Franklin during the 18th century, Daniel Webster and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 19th, as well as Duke Ellington and Albert Einstein in the 20th.

A comprehensive list of new members can be found on the academy’s website at amacad.org/new-members-2025.