Dr. Michele Gelfand joins the ranks of some of the most world renowned scientists this year in a historic election at the National Academies of Sciences. Election to the Academy represents one of the highest honors in science and the organization serves as a primary resource for scientific guidance on matters of national policy. The election this year addresses a long-standing lack of recognition for the contributions of women scientists within the Academy with 59 out of the 120 newly elected members identifying as women.
Dr. Gelfand received her PhD in social and organizational psychology from the University of Illinois in 1996 where she studied under Dr.s Harry Triandis, Louise Fitzgerald, and Fritz Drasgow. She is credited with developing the concept of cultural tightness and looseness as a means of describing how strictly cultures adhere to norms and tolerate deviant behaviors. This framework has provided a way to understand how societies are able coordinate to manage threats such as natural disasters and infectious diseases.
We applaud Dr. Gelfand's contributions to science and recognition of excellence at the National Academies!
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