Rice University: James Pomerantz named AAAS fellow

James Pomerantz, a professor emeritus in Rice University’s Department of Psychological Sciences and a leading researcher in the field of cognitive psychology, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

Pomerantz was honored for his distinguished contributions to the advancement of psychological science through his research in perceptual organization, years in academic administration and development and leadership of professional societies.

“AAAS is, without question, the world’s most influential scientific society,” Pomerantz said. “As the publisher of Science and its sister publications, it’s also the world’s leading publisher in science. So it’s quite an honor to be asked to join the ranks of its fellows, which include the world’s leading researchers in all scientific disciplines.”

AAAS fellows are elected by their peers, and fewer than 1% of the association’s members are elected each year.

“Jim has had a truly remarkable career highlighted by his administrative work and groundbreaking psychological research,” said Rice Provost Reginald DesRoches. “His recognition by the AAAS is well-deserved and emblematic of the excellence of our faculty. I know I speak for our entire academic community when I congratulate him for this prestigious career accolade.”

Pomerantz, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in psychology from Yale University, has spent his career conducting research focusing on human visual perception with an emphasis on the perception of form and of structure in visual patterns, Gestalt psychology and the role of attention in perceptual organization. He has also published on motion perception, color perception, texture perception, visual imagery and theoretical approaches to perception.

He previously served as dean of Rice’s School of Social Sciences and as provost and acting president at Brown University. In addition, he taught at Yale, Johns Hopkins University and the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Pomerantz is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society and the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and most recently served as chair of The Psychonomic Society , the leading professional organization for the study of cognitive psychology.