In recognition of their continuing achievements in original research, two active contributors to the USDA Plant Genome Research Program in April were elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. Congratulations to Steven D. Tanksley, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Breeding at Cornell University (Ithaca, NY); and Ronald R. Sederoff, Professor, North Carolina State University Department of Forestry (Raleigh, NC), for attaining one of the scientific community's highest honors.

Also among the distinguished plant researchers elected to the Academy are Bob B. Buchanan, professor, department of plant biology, University of California, Berkeley; and Elliot M. Meyerowitz, professor, division of biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, that calls on the Academy to act as an adviser to the Federal Government, on request, in any matter of science or technology. The total number of current active members is 1,733.