The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Dr. Daniel Griffith, a UT Dallas professor of geospatial information sciences, as a Fellow.

Dr. Daniel Griffith is being honored in part for his contribution to spatial statistics and quantitative geography.

Griffith is being honored for his contributions to spatial statistics and quantitative geography, particularly for his work on spatial autocorrelation, spatial filtering and statistical errors, according to the organization. He was named a Fellow in the geology and geography section.

Griffith, an Ashbel Smith Professor in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS), said he was pleasantly surprised.

“This award is across all the sciences,” he said. “I think it’s something that is really pleasing because it’s not subject specific. It’s really nice to be recognized outside your discipline as well as within in it.”

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization devoted to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. The group also publishes the journal Science.

“This is a well-deserved honor for Professor Griffith,” said Dr. James Marquart, dean of EPPS. “His scholarly contributions have been and continue to be of the highest quality. His research has helped shape the GIS discipline. He is also a dedicated and top-notch teacher. We are proud that he works here at UT Dallas.”

Association Recognizes Science Achievement

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society, has granted the honor of Fellow to its members since 1874. Fellows are annually nominated and elected by their peers in recognition of their meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. Fellow are elected in 24 sections that include: agriculture, food, and renewable resources; astronomy; education; physics; and social, economic and political sciences.

AAAS notable leaders have included distinguished scientists such as aviation pioneer Samuel Langley, anthropologist Franz Boas,  anthropologist Margaret Mead, astronomer Margaret Burbidge, and biologist Stephen Jay Gould.

Griffith joins other UT Dallas scholars including Dr. Brian Berry, Kevin Finneran, Dr. Donald M. Gray, Dr. Julia Hsu, Dr. Denise Park, Dr. Suresh Sethi and Dr. Bhavani Thuraisingham, who are also Fellows.

The association will recognize Griffith during a Fellows Forum on Feb. 18 in Vancouver, British Columbia, where its annual meeting is being held.

AAAS is awarding 539 members with the Fellows honor this year.

Griffith has been at UT Dallas since 2005. The Environmental Protection Agency selected him to serve on the Food Quality Protection Act Science Review Board in 2011. 

He has been chosen as an American Statistical Association Research Fellow, Fulbright research fellow, a Guggenheim Fellow and Regional Science Association International Fellow.

The New York Academy of Sciences has also elected him a Fellow.