UCF Vice President M.J. Soileau, Professor Henry Daniell Named AAAS Fellows

By Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala Nov. 2, 2007

Two University of Central Florida professors have been named American Association for the Advancement of Sciences Fellows for 2007.

M.J. Soileau, vice president for Research and Commercialization, was named to the prestigious group for his “distinguished research contributions and leadership in the field of lasers and optical engineering.”

Henry Daniell, a professor in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Medicine, was honored for his “distinguished contributions to the field of chloroplast genetic engineering, to the development of transgenic plants with agronomic traits and field production of vaccine antigens and biopharmaceuticals.”

The AAAS Council selects a group of scientists as fellows each year. It’s a tradition dating back to 1874 that was created to recognize those who work toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

Soileau was the first director of UCF’s now internationally recognized Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers. In 1999, he was named vice president for the Office of Research and Commercialization, where he continues his efforts to move research from the labs into industry.

Soileau received his Ph.D in Quantum Electronics from the University of Southern California. His research interests include the nonlinear optical properties of materials and laser-induced damage. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, the SPIE -- The International Optical Engineering Society and the Optical Society of America.

The Optical Society of America earlier this year honored Soileau with the Esther Hoffman Beller award for outstanding contributions to optical science and engineering education. He also received the Director’s Award from SPIE in 1999. Soileau is a professor of Optics, Physics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Daniell, who is the first UCF Trustee Chair in Life Sciences, began teaching at UCF in 1998. His research led to the formation of the university's first biotechnology company for the commercial development of patented chloroplast genetic engineering technology. In 2004, he won UCF's Pegasus Professor Award, the top honor given to a faculty member who excels in teaching, research and service. Daniell also became only the 14th American in the past 222 years to be elected to the Italian National Academy of Sciences.

Daniell pioneered chloroplast genetic engineering as a new platform technology to produce vaccines and biopharmaceuticals in plants and replace the expensive fermentation-based technology currently in use. In the laboratory, Daniell has created vaccine antigens against biothreat agents anthrax and plague and against several of the top infectious diseases identified by the World Health Organization.

In a study published in July, Daniell found based on tests with mice that capsules of insulin produced in genetically modified lettuce could hold the key to restoring the body's ability to produce insulin and help millions of Americans who suffer from insulin-dependent diabetes.

Daniell’s laboratory research has been featured on the Discovery Channel, in Scientific American and in many other media around the country.

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