UC Press authors David Meltzer, Melvyn Goldstein, and Anne Salmond were elected to the National Academy of Sciences on April 28. Meltzer and Goldstein were elected as members, and Salmond was elected as a foreign associate. They join a distinguished group of scholars who advise the government on scientific and technological issues, and advance knowledge in these areas as a public service. Members of the Academy are selected on the basis of exceptional, consistent achievement in original research, and election is one of the highest honors in any area of science or engineering.
David Meltzer is Henderson-Morrison Professor of Prehistory and director of the QUEST archaeological research program at Southern Methodist University. In Folsom,
Meltzer tells the story of the famous archaeological site in New Mexico,
and the pivotal discovery that proved humans lived in Ice Age America. His most recent book, First Peoples in a New World, follows North America's first inhabitants as they trekked across the icy continent more than 12,000 years ago. Tracking their elusive footprints with archaeological and scientific tools, he reconstructs the landscapes and experiences of the first North Americans.
Melvyn Goldstein is co-director of the Center for Research on Tibet, John Reynolds Harkness Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, and the author of many books on Tibet. He is noted for his balanced approach to controversial issues, and Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times called his book The Snow Lion and the Dragon "the best introduction to Tibet". In the first and second volumes of A History of Modern Tibet, he presents a detailed account of Tibet from 1913 to the present. Most recently, Goldstein co-authored (with Ben Jiao and Tanzen Lhundrup) On the Cultural Revolution in Tibet, which reexamines the Nyemo Incident of 1969.
Anne Salmond is Distinguished Professor of Maori Studies and Anthropology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her forthcoming book Aphrodite's Island returns to the day the first European ships landed at Tahiti. Exploring both Tahitian and European perspectives, Salmond chronicles how these early encounters shaped the future of the island and its visitors. Aphrodite's Island will be available in January 2010.