Rodney Priestley, Z. Jason Ren and 15 alumni named AAAS Fellows

The American Association for the Advancement of Science announced today that Dean of the Graduate School Rodney Priestley and Z. Jason Ren, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, are among the more than 400 scientists and engineers recognized this year as lifetime AAAS Fellows. This year's cohort of fellows also includes 15 Princeton undergraduate and graduate alumni.

“This year’s AAAS Fellows have demonstrated research excellence, made notable contributions to advance science, and delivered important services to their communities,” said Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “These Fellows and their accomplishments validate the importance of investing in science and technology for the benefit of all.”

Rodney Priestley

Priestley, the Pomeroy and Betty Perry Smith Professor in the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, was recognized for his “distinguished contributions expanding the understanding of polymer and soft matter nanoscience, including materials development and characterization,” according to his citation.

“The thrill of this honor is joining the community of AAAS Fellows who share a belief in the value of science and discovery,” said Priestley. “I am delighted to represent the work of my lab, including the many undergraduate and graduate students and emerging scientists who drive our efforts forward.”

Priestley's research group integrates physics, chemistry, soft matter science, materials processing and more to pursue new understanding and applications of polymers at the nanoscale. Throughout his career, Priestley has translated his research into practical applications. He holds more than a dozen patents and has launched several companies that draw upon his research, including Greenlynd, a technology company focused on sustainability solutions to improve the performance of materials.

His many awards include the American Physical Society’s Dillon Medal, the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans, the 2023 Carl S. Marvel Award for Creative Polymer Chemistry by the American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry, and a fellowship in the APS.

Z. Jason Ren

Ren, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, was elected for “pioneering contributions to water-energy-climate nexus research, advancing resource recovery and decarbonization science, and national and local leadership in advancing implementation of water technologies.” 

At Princeton, Ren’s Water & Energy Technologies (WET) Lab integrates electrochemistry, microbiology and data-driven methods to understand the carbon and electron flows and to improve the design, operation and monitoring of complex engineering systems. 

In addition to academic research, Ren and his students translate innovations beyond the laboratory. Ren has co-founded two companies, including Princeton Critical Minerals, which is advancing Princeton-developed technologies for direct lithium extraction. PCM’s systems are designed to support more selective recovery of minerals from brine and produced water while reducing energy use and chemical inputs. The company recently received an ARPA-E award from the federal government and delivered its first products to a major mining client.

His previous honors include elections as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and of the International Water Association, as well as the Paul L. Busch Award from the Water Research Foundation, the AEESP Frontier in Research Award, and the Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Alumni fellows

Other Princetonians honored this year by AAAS include:

• Debra Auguste, Northeastern University, a 2005 Ph.D. graduate in chemical engineering;
• Chris Clifton, Purdue University, a 1991 Ph.D. graduate in computer science;
• John Dabiri, California Institute of Technology, a member of the Class of 2001 concentrating in mechanical and aerospace engineering;
• Yingying Fan, University of Southern California, a 2007 Ph.D. graduate in operations research and financial engineering;
• Karl Krushelnick, University of Michigan, a 1994 Ph.D. graduate in astrophysical sciences;
• Wei Lu, University of Michigan, a 2001 Ph.D. graduate in materials science and engineering;
• Alison Marsden, Stanford University, a member of the Class of 1998 concentrating in mechanical and aerospace engineering;
• Katharyne Mitchell, University of California-Santa Cruz, a member of the Class of 1983 concentrating in art and archaeology;
• David Morrison, University of California-Santa Barbara, a member of the Class of 1976 concentrating in mathematics;
• Helene Muller-Landau, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, a 2001 Ph.D. graduate in ecology and evolutionary biology and a postdoctoral researcher from 2004 to 2006;
• Christa Peters-Lidard, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a 1997 Ph.D. graduate in civil engineering;
• Richmond Sarpong, University of California-Berkeley, a 2001 Ph.D. graduate in chemistry;
• Lori Setton, Washington University in St. Louis, a member of the Class of 1984 concentrating in mechanical and aerospace engineering;
• Marvin Slepian, University of Arizona, a member of the Class of 1977 concentrating in biochemical sciences; and
• Danfeng (Daphne) Yao, Virginia Tech, a 2000 M.A. graduate in chemistry.

The new AAAS Fellows will be celebrated at a ceremonial Fellows Forum on May 26, 2026, in Washington, D.C. At the ceremony, they will receive a blue-and-gold rosette pin, with blue representing engineering and gold representing science.

Liz Fuller-Wright in the Office of Communications, Tracy Meyer at the Princeton Graduate School and Bumper DeJesus at the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment contributed to this story.