UCLA School of Law professor Ann Carlson has been honored with election to the membership of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

A leading authority in environmental law, Carlson is the Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law and a founding director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law. She recently concluded three years of service in the Biden administration, including work as the acting administrator and chief counsel of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

“I am both extremely humbled and incredibly honored to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,” Carlson says. “The academy works to address ‘issues of importance to the nation and the world,’ and I hope that my work reflects and will continue to advance the academy’s mission.”

She is among five UCLA professors and 250 artists, scholars, scientists and leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors who were chosen for membership this year. The academy serves as an independent research center that convenes leaders from across disciplines, professions and perspectives to address significant challenges. Its aim is to produce independent and pragmatic studies that inform national and global policy and benefit the public.

New members were elected “for their accomplishments and for the curiosity, creativity and courage required to reach new heights,” David Oxtoby, the academy’s president, said in an announcement of the new members for 2024. “We invite these exceptional individuals to join in the academy’s work to address serious challenges and advance the common good.”

Carlson is a nationally renowned leader in legal scholarship, policy-relevant analysis and teaching on environmental issues, including groundbreaking work in air pollution law and policy. A frequent commentator in the national media, she co-wrote with Dan Farber and William Boyd the top casebook Environmental Law (West, 2019) and co-edited with Dallas Burtraw the book Lessons from the Clean Air Act: Building Durability and Flexibility into U.S. Climate and Energy Policy (Cambridge University Press, 2019). She earned her B.A., magna cum laude, from UC Santa Barbara and J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

The UCLA Newsroom contributed to this report and features a full rundown of the five UCLA faculty members who were elected to the association this year.