Clockwise from upper left, Gary Karpen, Janet Yellen, Kam-Biu Luk, Peter Bartlett, Russell Vance and Joshua Goldstein.
April 30, 2026
The National Academy of Sciences announced its newest members this week, among them six eminent UC Berkeley faculty members, including former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.
Membership in the academy, now held by more than 135 living Berkeley faculty members, recognizes scientists for “their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
The National Academy of Sciences, along with the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, advise the federal government and other groups on science, engineering and health policy.
Altogether, NAS announced 120 new members and 25 new international members, bringing the total number of active members to 2,705 and the total number of active international members to 557.
Kam-Biu Luk is a professor emeritus of physics, a Professor of the Graduate School and a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong. Luk is best known as co-leader of the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment, near Hong Kong, which discovered a third kind of neutrino oscillation. He is currently involved with the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in South Dakota through his affiliation with Berkeley Lab.
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UC Berkeley News covers all 6 UC Berkeley faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences for 2026.
A full list of newly elected members, along with an online directory of NAS members past and present, is available on the NAS website.