Britt and Shaver Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Distinguished Professor R. David Britt and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Phillip R. Shaver are among UC Davis’ newest members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Founded in 1780, the academy is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges.
UC Davis’ newest members are among nearly 270 members elected to the academy in 2023, drawn from academia, the arts, industry, policy, research and science, and including more than 40 international honorary members from 23 countries.
R. David Britt
Britt, who is appointed in the Department of Chemistry, is the first person to hold the Winston Ko Professorship in Science Leadership. The professorship, named after the late professor and divisional dean of mathematics and physical sciences, recognizes national or international science leadership by an outstanding faculty member in the departments of Chemistry, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, Physics or Statistics.
Britt studies the structure and function of biologically important enzymes, especially those involved in capturing the sun’s energy and using it to split water and generate hydrogen. Understanding these enzymes could lead to new ways to generate clean fuels from solar energy.
Britt’s laboratory studies these molecules using a technique called electron paramagnetic resonance, or EPR, spectroscopy. The lab operates the California EPR center, known as CalEPR, the largest center of its kind on the West Coast.
Phillip R. Shaver
Shaver, who is associated with the Department of Psychology, pioneered the scholarly field of romantic love with an article he and a graduate student published in 1987, spawning an enormous body of interdisciplinary research on human bonding.
Since then, hundreds of studies have been published covering attachment processes in the brain, the personality, romantic and marital relationships, religious experiences and large organizations. He has received career and scientific influence awards from his three main professional organizations: Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Society of Experimental Social Psychology and the International Association for Relationship Research.
He joined UC Davis in 1992 and served twice as psychology department chair before taking emeritus status in 2014. He has written more than 300 scholarly articles and book chapters, and coauthored and coedited numerous books.
Adapted from an article on the UC Davis News website.