Three faculty named arts and sciences fellows

Joining the ranks of filmmaker Woody Allen and photographer Richard Avedon as American Academy of Arts and Sciences fellows for 2001 are three UW–Madison faculty members:

• William M. Denevan, Carl O. Sauer Professor Emeritus of geography. A leader in the field of cultural ecology, Denevan has transformed our understanding of the environmental and material conditions of the pre-Hispanic Americas. His work is considered an important foundation for interdisciplinary problem solving. His research has uncovered the hydraulic base of Andean civilizations, documented the large size of native populations and demonstrated the scale of landscaped changes.
• Lorrie Moore, professor of English. Described by the academy as “the American Chekhov,” Moore’s novels and story collections have received widespread acclaim. Known for her skepticism of popular culture, she is renowned for looking at tragedy with from a wry perspective. Her most recent book is “Birds of America.”
• William S. Reznikoff, Evelyn Mercer Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Reznikoff’s studies have increased vastly our knowledge of gene activation. His work has yielded the first structure of a transposase-DNA complex, a landmark in the field.

In all, the academy selected 185 new fellows from across the country, and 26 from around the world. Members of the 2001 class were chosen for their contributions in fields ranging from mathematics to medicine, from computer science to literary criticism, and from public affairs to the performing arts.