UIC distinguished professor elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

James Pellegrino, co-director of the UIC Learning Sciences Research Institute and distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences, psychology and education.

Learning sciences researcher James Pellegrino of the University of Illinois at Chicago has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies and research centers.

Pellegrino, co-director of the UIC Learning Sciences Research Institute and distinguished professor of liberal arts and sciences, psychology, and education, is among 213 new members who join some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers and artists, as well as civic, business and philanthropic leaders.

For more than three decades, Pellegrino has produced influential research related to student learning, instruction and assessment. Combining knowledge of cognitive science, assessment, educational technology, instructional practice and educational policy, his work aims to design and deliver new, improved and equitable learning environments.

Throughout his career, he has led large-scale research and development projects for the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Education Sciences and the Office of Naval Research.

Pellegrino’s current research is focused on assessment of student learning in multiple areas of mathematics and science that span kindergarten through college. He was the principal investigator for a NSF grant to the College Board to redesign and improve the Advanced Placement science courses and assessments.

Pellegrino, who came to UIC from Vanderbilt University in 2001, is an American Educational Research Association fellow, a lifetime national associate of the National Academy of Sciences, and a past member of the board on testing and assessment of the National Research Council. In 2007, he was elected to lifetime membership in the National Academy of Education.

The new academy members will be inducted at an Oct. 8 ceremony, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Members of the 2016 class include winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the Wolf Prize; MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships; the Fields Medal; and the Grammy Award and National Book Award. Founded in 1780, the academy is one of the country’s oldest learned societies and independent policy research centers, convening leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to respond to the challenges facing the nation and the world.