Edmonds resident Aseem Prakash was among 15 faculty members at the University of Washington who have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences. They are among 36 scientists and educators from across the state announced Aug. 1 as new members.

Selection to the academy recognizes the new members’ “outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement, and their willingness to work on behalf of the academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington.”

Prakash, a professor of political science and the Walker family professor for the arts and sciences, is a specialist in environmental politics, international political economy and the politics of nonprofit organizations. He is widely recognized as a leader in the field of environmental politics, best known for his path-breaking research on the role firms and nongovernmental organizations can play in promoting more stringent regulatory standards.

His recent awards include American Political Science Association, Public Policy Section’s 2024 Excellence in Mentoring Award which recognizes ““sustained efforts by a senior scholar to encourage and facilitate the career of emerging political scientists in the field of Public Policy”; International Studies Association, Environmental Studies Section’s 2023 Distinguished Scholar Award, which “recognizes outstanding scholars whose long history of excellent research and teaching has had a substantial impact on fields associated with international relations and environmental issues” and the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Elinor Ostrom Career Achievement Award in recognition of “lifetime contribution to the study of science, technology, and environmental politics.”

Prakash, who founded the Environmental Politics and Governance (EPG) network, is an elected Fellow of the Washington Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration. He has served as International Research Fellow at the Center for Corporate Reputation, University of Oxford and on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Environmental Change and Society.