Mikiko Sodeoka elected as International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

On April 22, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences announced the election of 252 new members from the fields of academia, the arts, industry, journalism, philanthropy, policy, research, and science. Mikiko Sodeoka, Director of the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS), was elected as an International Honorary Member in the field of chemistry.

Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences is the oldest academy in the United States. It describes its mission as follows: “Founded in 1780, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences honors excellence and convenes leaders from every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.”

In the announcement of the awards, Academy President Laurie Patton wrote, “We celebrate the achievement of each new member and the collective breadth and depth of their excellence – this is a fitting commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The founding of the nation and the Academy are rooted in the inextricable links between a vibrant democracy, the free pursuit of knowledge, and the expansion of the public good.”

From RIKEN, a number of individuals have been elected to the Academy in the past: former President Akito Arima; former President Ryoji Noyori; former RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology Director Masatoshi Takeichi; former RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center Director Shigeyuki Yokoyama; Takuzo Aida, Group Director of the Emergent Soft Matter Function Research Group, RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science; and Executive Director for Science Tetsuo Hatsuda.

The induction ceremony for new members will be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October 2026.

Commenting on the honor, Sodeoka said: "I am deeply honored to have been elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences."