K-State Provost M. Duane Nellis new Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Media Relations and Marketing
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-0117
Phone: 785-532-6415
Fax: 785-532-6418

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Source: M. Duane Nellis, 785-532-6224, provost.nellis@k-state.edu
http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/MediaGuide/dnellisbio.html
Photo available. Go to http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-6415, media@k-state.edu

Thursday, November 23, 2006

K-STATE PROVOST M. DUANE NELLIS NEW FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE

MANHATTAN -- M. Duane Nellis, provost of Kansas State University, has been elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is among a select group of members receiving the honor this year because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Election as a Fellow is an honor awarded to association members by their peers. As part of the association's Section on Geology and Geography, Nellis was elected for his contributions to understanding of remote sensing and geographic information sciences and for contributions to the advancement of science through leadership as a dean, provost and co-editor of the journal, Geocarto International.

Nellis and the other new Fellows will be honored Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, in San Francisco, Calif., at the Fellows Forum, a part of the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The tradition of Fellows of the association began in 1874.

"It is a real honor to be recognized in this way by my professional colleagues," Nellis said.

His research interests have been in the areas of natural resource systems and geo-spatial analysis technologies such as satellite remote sensing applications and geographic information systems. He has published more than 100 research articles and numerous books and book chapters.

Along with being a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Nellis is a member and immediate past president of the Association of American Geographers, the nation's largest professional geography organization. He has received national honors from the organization, including its John Fraser Hart Award for Research Excellence. He also is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Explorers Club, and former president of the National Council for Geographic Education. In addition, he was recently elected to a three-year term on the executive committee of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Universities Council on Academic Affairs.

His honors also include a Presidential Citation Award from the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. At K-State, he received the University Distinguished Teaching Award in 1986, Adviser of the Year Award in 1985, and the K-State Phi Kappa Phi Faculty Research Scholar Award in 1995. He was selected as a distinguished lecturer for 1993-94 by the Kansas Academy of Science.

Nellis was named K-State's provost in 2004, after serving as a dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University since 1997. Before accepting the West Virginia post, Nellis spent 17 years at K-State, progressing from assistant professor of geography to professor and head of the department, and then to senior associate dean of K-State's College of Arts and Sciences. He was the first director of K-State's Institute for Social and Behavioral Research.

Nellis earned his Ph.D. in 1980 and his master's degree in 1977, both in geography from Oregon State University. He earned a bachelor's degree in geography from Montana State University in 1976.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal, Science. The association was founded in 1848 and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more. More information about the association is available at http://www.aaas.org