Bertozzi was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2005, recognizing her pioneering chemical biology research.
In 2005, Carolyn Bertozzi was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest and most prestigious honorary societies in the United States, founded in 1780. Membership in the Academy recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to their fields, spanning the sciences, humanities, arts, and public affairs.
Bertozzi's election came at a time when her research program, then based at the University of California, Berkeley, was rapidly gaining international recognition for its pioneering work in bioorthogonal chemistry. Her election reflected the growing appreciation within the American scientific establishment for the transformative potential of designing chemical reactions that could safely occur within living systems.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences convenes its elected members, sometimes called Fellows, to conduct interdisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems, publishing its findings and recommendations to inform public policy and discourse. Election to the Academy is considered one of the nation's highest honors for intellectual achievement.
This recognition came several years before Bertozzi's most famous accolades, including her election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2008 and her eventual Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022, marking an important early milestone in the formal institutional recognition of her scientific contributions.