Editorials

BERKELEY A scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and chemistry professor at the University of California at Berkeley has been named to a society that includes such notable names as Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. 

The Royal Society of London -- the oldest scientific academy in the world -- announced today that Alexander Pines has been chosen as a foreign member of the academy. 

Pines, 56, was recognized for his contributions in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which allows scientists to study the molecular composition of materials. 

Considered on of the pioneers in the field, Pines helped to establish the foundations for much of the conceptual framework and practice of modern multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. 

Pines completed his undergraduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned his doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1972. 

He then joined the Berkeley national laboratory, where he currently holds the position of faculty senior scientist in the Materials Science Division. He also began teaching at UC Berkeley, where he is a Glenn T. Seaborg professor of chemistry. 

The academy, also known as the Royal Society, names 42 fellows from the United Kingdom and up to six foreign members from other countries each year. A formal induction ceremony will be held in July.