Pitt-Bradford professor inducted as president of National Association of Academies of Science

BRADFORD, PA – Dr. Assad Panah, professor of geology at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, was inducted as president of the National Association of Academies of Science at the organization’s meeting in Boston.

Panah was elected president-elect at the organization’s meeting in 2011. He will serve a total of six years: two as president-elect, two as president and two as past president. It was the first time that anyone has been elected to a second term as president. Panah also served as president of the NAAS from 2003-04.

The NAAS is a nonprofit organization that oversees a network of 47 state and regional academies of science affiliated with the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science, of which Panah is a fellow.

In 2000, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, and in 2004, he received the same award from the NAAS.

In addition, Panah worked to bring the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science to Pitt-Bradford in early April. Hundreds of scientists from around the state met on campus for three days.

Panah is the director of Pitt-Bradford’s petroleum technology program, which he developed and launched in 2007.

He developed and taught a K-12 Teacher Enhancement program for NASA under a six-year grant from the Mission to Planet Earth and NASA Earth Science Enterprise from 1997-2002.

Panah has twice been named a Fulbright Scholar in addition to other awards.