In April, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1780 by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and others to honor the finest minds and leaders of each generation, named National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Director David J. Lipman, MD, one of its 190 new Fellows and 22 Foreign Honorary Members.

Along with Lipman, this year’s new Fellows include US Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice John Paul Stevens; mathematician and philanthropist James H. Simons; soprano Dawn Upshaw; winners of the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine, Linda Buck, a 2004 laureate who discovered a molecular understanding of the sense of smell, and molecular biologist Craig Mello, a 2006 recipient for the discovery of RNA interference.

The 212 scholars, scientists, artists, civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders come from 20 states and 15 countries, and range in age from 37 to 86. Lipman was honored for his leadership of the NCBI, which he has headed since its creation in 1988.

A component of the National Library of Medicine, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, NCBI is a national and international resource for molecular biology information.