Two Brandeis professors have been accepted into the National Academy of Sciences, an honors society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research. The NAS announced its 72 newest members May 1, among whom are Brandeis professors Chris Miller (BCHM) and Eve Marder (NEUR), bringing the total number of Brandeis faculty in the NAS to 10.

The NAS was established by President Lincoln, and has a membership of about 2,000, many of whom are Nobel Laureates, in addition to 350 foreign associates. Researchers are elected to the NAS in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research, according to the organization's Web site.

The percentage of Brandeis faculty who are members of the NAS, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science is the second-highest in the country, out of over 4,200 colleges and universities, a University press release stated.

Miller, who works with a type of proteins found in cell membranes, said that he was "surprised and pleased" to learn of his election. As a new member, he said he could not yet say exactly what responsibilities he would have.

"I think you can think of [membership] in two ways," he said. "You can think of it as some kind of gold star they stuck on your forehead, like when you were in second grade and you did all your spelling right."

Another way of looking at it, he explained, is to appreciate its role as an official advisory body to the government on scientific affairs. "It can be influential if you have a government in place that would actually listen to scientists," he said.

Marder, whose research mainly focuses on neuronal networks in lobsters and crabs, said that she was "extremely pleased [to hear the news] because it's a big honor."

Echoing Miller, she said that she did not yet really know what her membership will involve. She also emphasized that "it's extremely unusual for an institution this small to have as many members of the National Academy as Brandeis [does]."

Miller called the inductions "terrific" for Brandeis.

"Because we're a small university, we don't have a big name in the scientific research world," he said.