Julie Zimmerman, the Liliane and Christian Haub Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and the Environment appointed jointly at the Yale School of the Environment and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been elected as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Zimmerman was recognized for her distinguished contributions advancing sustainable solutions and establishing principles of green engineering, for her leadership in environmental education, and for her service to the environmental science and technical community. She will be formally inducted during a ceremony May 29 in Washington, D.C.
An internationally recognized engineer, Zimmerman’s work focuses on sustainable technologies and policies to advance them. Her seminal work includes the “Twelve Principles of Green Engineering” published in 2003, which laid the groundwork for safer, more sustainable chemicals and materials. She serves as deputy director for the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale and is editor-in-chief of Environmental Science & Technology, a leading journal in the field of environmental science and engineering.
As Vice Provost of Yale Planetary Solutions (YPS), Zimmerman leads efforts across the university to catalyze solutions to global challenges, including health, biodiversity, and climate change, and oversees YPS’s competitive grant program, which has awarded more than $7 million to interdisciplinary projects at Yale focusing on climate change, biodiversity, ecosystems, and society.
Zimmerman is one of four Yale faculty members elected to the AAAS fellows class this year. The fellows from Yale include Susan Baserga, the William H. Fleming, M.D. Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry; F. Kenneth Nelson, senior lecturer II emeritus in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, and Qin Yan, professor of pathology and co-leader of the Genomics, Genetics, and Epigenetics Research Program, Yale Cancer Center.
The AAAS class of 2025 includes fellows from 24 scientific disciplines. The fellowship dates back to 1874 and has included some of the nation’s most esteemed scientists, including inventor Thomas Edison and anthropologist Margaret Mead.