Emily Carrington, resident scientist at the UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories, was named a AAAS Fellow, according to a Jan. 26 announcement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is among 564 new fellows from around the world elected in 2021, who are recognized for “their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements” in science and engineering.

Carrington is honored for her research contributions in biomechanics and ecophysiology, as well as efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in science. Her research has shown how marine life in near-shore ecosystems, especially invertebrates and seaweeds, respond to both short-term fluctuations in their environment and long-term shifts due to climate change. Carrington’s research has illuminated the many ways that expected shifts in oceans due to climate change — including heat waves and increases in dissolved CO2 — will negatively impact shellfish, algae and other organisms in coastal ecosystems and aquaculture. Her investigations of the biomaterials that mussels use to adhere to underwater surfaces have also aided the design of wet adhesives and antifouling surfaces for biomedical and maritime applications. A member of the UW faculty since 2005, Carrington also served as a program director in the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Biological Sciences from 2016 to 2019.