The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780, is one of the USA’s oldest learned societies. It elects members from across the sciences, humanities, arts, and public affairs, and as an independent research center it convenes those members for interdisciplinary, nonpartisan research on issues including democracy, education, energy, global affairs, and science and technology.
The Academy’s 2026 class includes four FQxI members. Raphael Bousso (UC Berkeley) is a theoretical physicist best known for the covariant entropy bound and his work on the multiverse. Hiranya Peiris (University of Cambridge), elected as an International Honorary Member, is an observational cosmologist whose research on the cosmic microwave background has helped sharpen the picture of the early universe. Doris Tsao (UC Berkeley) is a neuroscientist whose studies of the primate visual system identified the brain’s “face cells.” James Owen Weatherall (UC Irvine) is a philosopher of physics whose work ranges over the foundations of spacetime, gauge theory, and the spread of misinformation.
Other 2026 electees include Jodie Foster, Rita Moreno, and Sundar Pichai.
Explore more:
“Dropping Schrödinger’s Cat Into a Black Hole,” by Raphael Bousso: QSpace
“Testing the Multiverse,” by Hiranya Peiris: QSpace
“Seeing is Believing,” by Doris Tsao: QSpace
“Gravity’s Residue,” by James Owen Weatherall: QSpace
Image credits (left to right): jamesowenweatherall.com; UC Berkeley Physics; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Serena Nobili, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.