Adams is one of 348 AAAS members this year to be awarded the honor, a recognition by peers of significant contributions to cluster science, structure, and reaction mechanism in inorganic systems. Adams and John Dawson,
who received the honor in 1989, are the only USC faculty to earn the rank of AAAS Fellow in the field of chemistry.

"It is a great honor to be elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science," Adams said. "The AAAS is one of the premier scientific organizations of the world. I am very pleased to have been selected as a Fellow this year."

The award is the second honor for Adams this year. In June, he was honored with the Governor's Award for Excellence in Science.

Adams, the Arthur S. Williams Professor of Chemistry at USC, came to the university in 1984 from Yale University. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Pennsylvania State University and his doctorate in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has won numerous awards for his work, including a senior scientist award from the Humboldt Foundation in Germany, the American Chemical Society's national award for inorganic chemistry in 1999, and the American Chemical Society's Southern Chemist award in 2000.

Adams is American regional editor for the Journal of Organometallic Chemistry and a co-editor of the Journal of Cluster Science. As director of USC's NanoCenter, he guides the university in the study and development of nanotechnology, which holds tremendous potential in the fields of medicine and electronics.

"Rick Adams has been an outstanding researcher at USC for many years," said Gerard Crawley, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. "His obtaining the fellowship in the AAAS brings credit to him, to the chemistry department, and to the University of South Carolina."

The AAAS was founded in 1848 and works to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs, and publications in areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. The tradition of fellows began in 1874. Members can be considered for the rank of fellow through nomination by the Steering Groups from the Association's 24 sections or by three fellows who are current AAAS members (providing that two of the members are affiliated with the nominee's institution), or by the chief executive officer.

Each Steering Group reviews the nominations of individuals within its section and the final list is sent to the AAAS Council, who votes on the complete list.

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