Faculty elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Two Weinberg College faculty members from Northwestern University have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies.

Bruce Carruthers and Suzan van der Lee are among the 250 members elected in 2024. They are recognized for their excellence and commitment to uphold the Academy’s mission of engaging with professions across different perspectives.

“We honor these artists, scholars, scientists and leaders in the public, non-profit and private sectors for their accomplishments and for the curiosity, creativity and courage required to reach new heights,” said David Oxtoby, president of the Academy. “We invite these exceptional individuals to join in the Academy’s work to address serious challenges and advance the common good.”

Founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and others, the Academy was founded on ideals that celebrate the life of the mind, the importance of knowledge and the belief that the arts and sciences are “necessary to the interest, honor, dignity and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.”

Bruce Carruthers
Bruce Carruthers is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology at Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

Carruthers is involved in the graduate Comparative Historical Social Science (CHSS) workshop and the Kellogg-Sociology joint Ph.D. program. His current research projects include a comparative study of the institutional foundations of long-term decision-making, the adoption of “for-profit” features by U.S. museums, the relationship between corporate taxation and corporate social responsibility, and how “big data” affects credit markets.

He has had visiting fellowships at the Russell Sage Foundation, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, the Library of Congress and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. He has also received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Currently, he is a non-resident long-term fellow at the Swedish Collegium.

Suzan van der Lee
Suzan van der Lee is the Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Earth and planetary sciences at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

An observational seismologist, Van der Lee applies data science to millions of records of seismic signals extract insights about earthquakes and the ongoing dynamics within the Earth’s interior. By studying the Earth’s interior structure, Van der Lee aims to reveal the effects of the geodynamic forces that lead to planetary cooling, plate tectonics, continental rifting, subduction zones, volcanism, mountain building, all types of earthquakes and more. She is particularly interested in how plate tectonics started, is sustained and how it will end.

Van der Lee has led numerous big-data analyses and seismological data acquisition field experiments in Africa, the Americas and Europe. She previously served on the board of directors of the EarthScope Consortium, is former president of the seismology section of the American Geophysical Union and is principal director of the Metropolitan Chicago Data Science Corps and NU-Geopaths. She also co-developed Earthtunes, an iOS app that transforms seismic frequencies into audible pitches. The app soon will be available for Android phones.