On Tuesday morning, Anthropology Chairwoman Kristen Hawkes was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, a private organization that advises the federal government on science and technology issues.
Hawkes is the eighth U faculty member to be honored by the organization, but the first female.
“It’s the most amazing honor there is, and I’m just speechless right now,” Hawkes said of her election.
The NAS, along with the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine, are all private organizations that advise the federal government.
Jim O’Connell, an anthropology professor who has worked with Hawkes for more than 20 years, said that Hawkes is well trained in both anthropology and biology.
“She’s my most important professional colleague,” he said.
O’Connell also said Hawkes’ election brings prestige not only to herself, but to the university as well.
“This is a real big deal for her and for the U,” he said.
Hawkes’ election marks the third consecutive year the U has had one of its faculty members recognized.
Last year, Geology Professor Thure Cerling was elected to the NAS, and in 2000, Chemistry Professor Peter Stang received similar honors.
With only 2,234 members worldwide, election into the NAS is considered to be one of the most prestigious positions a scientist can hold.
“It’s about the highest thing you can get as a scientist. You can’t buy your way in, and you can’t ask your way in. The only way you can do it is by sustaining scientific output for a long period of time,” said Frank Brown, the dean of the College of Mines and Earth Sciences.
Hawkes, whose primary focus is the study of hunter-gatherer tribes and how they problem solve, has spent time in the east African country of Tanzania as part of her field studies.
“When you find modern people living on wild food, it really gives you a chance to see the problems that presents,” Hawkes said.
In addition to her contributions in the field of anthropology, much of Hawkes’s work is “nested in evolutionary biology,” she said.
Hawkes has also spent a great deal of time studying the role of human grandmothers, and how that relates to evolution.
“The fact that human women can live so long after menopause is unusual,” Hawkes said.
Though every female primate undergoes menopause, Hawkes said that human females have a long post-menopausal lifespan.
“A lot of people think that long life in humans is a recent phenomenon, but it’s significant aspect of our species, and maybe even our genus,” Hawkes said.
Election into the NAS is a lifelong position, and though it brings no monetary bonus, members of the NAS participate in the governance and advisory activities of the National Academies and the National Research Council.