(Philadelphia, PA) - Four professors at the University of Pennsylvania are among the 195 members of the 2006 Class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Founded in 1780, the Academy is an independent policy research center that brings together scholars, scientists, artists and civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders to study complex and emerging problems.

S. Walter Englander from Penn's School of Medicine, and Charles Bernstein, Andrew Postlewaite, and Amos Smith, from Penn's School of Arts and Sciences were nominated and elected to the Academy by current members.

S. Walter Englander is the Jacob Gershon-Cohen Professor of Medical Science and Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Englander is also a member of National Academy of Sciences as well as an Honorary Fellow of The Biophysical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His laboratory is interested in biophysical studies of protein structure, function, folding, misfolding, and amyloid. The study of protein folding in particular is expected to shed light on the errors in the process that can lead to such disorders as Alzheimers disease, Huntingtons-related diseases, and prion-related encephalopathies.

Charles Bernstein is the Donald T. Regan Professor of English. He teaches courses on poetry and poetics, with an emphasis on modernist and contemporary art and performance. In addition to his teaching activities, he is a co-director of PENNsound, the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing's digital poetry archive project. He has published three collections of essays and more than 20 books of poetry, and his poems have appeared in more than 350 literary magazines and anthologies in North America. His recent works include the poetry collections With Strings and Republics of Reality: 1975-1995, as well as the pamphlet World on Fire. In addition, Bernstein has written librettos for five operas, including Shadowtime.

Andrew Postlewaite is the Harry P. Kamen Professor of Economics. His research and teaching focus on microeconomic theory, game theory, law and economics, public economics, mathematical economics and social choice. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society and a recipient of numerous NSF grants and a Sloan Foundation grant.

Amos Smith is the William Warren Rhodes-Robert J. Thompson Professor of Chemistry. Smith's laboratory focuses on bioorganic, medicinal and materials chemistry, and he is highly regarded for his work on synthesizing architecturally complex anticancer and antiviral molecules. His many awards include the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays, with Neck Ribbon from the Government of Japan, the Yamada Prize (Tokyo, Japan) and Penn's first Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching and Mentoring Ph.D. Students.

A complete list of newly elected members and their affiliations is available at www.amacad.org.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.9 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn's School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #3 in the nation in U.S.News & World Report's most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System includes three hospitals [Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, which is consistently ranked one of the nation's few "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S.News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center]; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home care and hospice.