Sandra Weller Elected Vice President of Connecticut Academy of Science & Engineering

Sandra Weller, Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular, Microbial and Structural Biology, University of Connecticut Health Center, was elected Vice President/President Elect of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering for a term beginning July 1, 2012. Dr. Weller will be the first woman to serve as both Vice President and President of the Academy.

The Academy is a private, nonprofit, public-service institution patterned after the National Academy of Sciences. The Academy identifies and studies issues and technological advances that are or should be of concern to the people of Connecticut, and provides unbiased, expert advice on science- and technology-related issues to state government and other Connecticut institutions. Another important goal of CASE is to promote STEM education in the state of Connecticut in the K-12 school population.

Since being elected to the Academy in 1999, Dr. Weller has been an active member. She was elected to the Academy’s governing council in July 2003 and is currently completing her term as secretary of the Academy, a post she has held since July 2008.

“I am honored to be given the opportunity to continue to working with such a distinguished and dedicated group of scientists and engineers from Connecticut's academic and industrial communities,” said Dr. Weller. “The work that CASE does adds value to the State of Connecticut in so many ways from promoting science education for K-12 students and the citizens of Connecticut to providing expert advice to state government."

A graduate of Stanford University, Dr. Weller earned her doctoral degree in molecular biology at the University of Wisconsin and received post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School. Her awards and honors include being named Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut in 2007 and research awards from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society and the March of Dimes.

Dr. Weller has resided in the town of Farmington since 1984 and has been active in the community serving as an organizer of the Friends of Farmington Education and the President of the Farmington Public School Foundation.

Submitted by Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.