Emily Carter, the Arthur W. Marks ’19 Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Applied and Computational Mathematics, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest scientific honors.

In a separate honor, Carter and fellow Princeton engineers Pablo Debenedetti and Marlan Scully were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the nation’s most prestigious society spanning the sciences and humanities.

Carter works on a wide range of problems at the intersection of chemistry, materials science, applied physics and applied mathematics. Her work focuses on aiding the design of new materials by simulating and predicting atomic-level interactions. Her goal is to allow atom-by-atom design of high-performance materials for uses ranging from non-fossil-fuel energy production to more efficient land and air vehicles.

Carter, who joined the Princeton faculty in 2004, earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. She is the author of more than 200 papers and has delivered more than 300 invited lectures worldwide. Among other honors, she received the 1993 Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, the 1995 Peter Mark Award of the American Vacuum Society, and the 2007 American Chemical Society Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research.

Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science and acting chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, also is a theorist whose work spans condensed matter physics and engineering. His research investigates the fundamental properties of glass-like materials, water and aqueous solutions, as well the thermodynamics and other physical processes related to these materials. One area of his recent work has addressed the stability and preservation of proteins, which is of interest to the pharmaceutical industry.

Debenedetti earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and joined the Princeton faculty as an assistant professor in 1985. Among many honors and invited lectures, he won the 2008 Joel Henry Hildebrand Award from the American Chemical Society and has received numerous teaching awards. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Scully, a lecturer with the rank of professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering, holds joint appointments at Princeton and Texas A&M University. His research focuses on laser science and quantum optics, and his work has yielded fundamental insights into quantum mechanics as well as practical approaches for detecting toxins, such as anthrax, from a distance.

Scully, who earned his Ph.D. from Yale University, was previously elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Among many honors, he has received the Schawlow Prize from the American Physical Society, the Quantum Electronics Award from the IEEE, and the Charles Townes Award and Adolph Lamb Medal from the Optical Society of America.