NTNU neuroscientists elected to US National Academy of Sciences

NTNU neuroscientists elected to elite scientific association.

Professors May-Britt and Edvard Moser have been elected Foreign Associates of the US National Academy of Sciences. Only a handful of Norwegians have ever received this honour.

First woman

Professor May-Britt Moser, director of the Centre for Neural Computation and co-director of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is the first Norwegian woman to receive this honour, and the Mosers are the youngest Norwegians ever to be elected.

The National Academy of Sciences announced yesterday the election of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Those elected yesterday bring the total number of active members to 2,214 and the total number of foreign associates to 444. Nearly 200 members have won a Nobel Prize

“We are honoured and overwhelmed,” May-Britt Moser says. “We had no idea that we were even nominated. To be considered for this membership is a sign of broad scientific recognition, for which we are deeply grateful.”

Advisers to the nation

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, non-profit society of distinguished scholars. Established by an Act of Congress, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the NAS is charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. Scientists are elected by their peers to membership in the NAS for outstanding contributions to research.