On 1st May, 2018, Mahzarin R. Banaji, an esteemed faculty of Harvard University, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) – a non-profit society of distinguished scholars committed to furthering science in America – as one of the distinguished 84 members and 21 foreign associates, in recognition of “their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research,” as per the official NAS announcement.

Mahzarin, an APS (Association for Psychological Science) William James Fellow as also its Past President, is the Richard Clarke Cabot Professor of Social Ethics and Harvard College Professor at Harvard University, where she is also the Chair of the Department of Psychology. She studies implicit or unconscious mental systems, and she works to apply her research to improve decision making within individuals and organizations. She will join her colleagues at NAS in providing independent analysis and advice to the United States and will contribute to national discussions surrounding public policy issues. Achieving membership in NAS is a significant accomplishment for scientists of any discipline. Members of the NAS also oversee the ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’, a multidisciplinary journal.

Established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the NAS is charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. Scientists are elected by their peers to membership in the NAS for outstanding contributions to research and its members are active contributors to the international scientific community. Nearly 500 members of the NAS have won Nobel Prizes, and the ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’, founded in 1914, is today one of the premier international journals publishing the results of original research.