American Physical Society Names Anya Jones and Aaswath Raman as Fellows

UCLA Samueli School of Engineering faculty members Anya Jones, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Aaswath Raman, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society, which recognizes members for exceptional contributions to the advancement of physics through research, application, teaching or service to the society.

In selecting Jones as the recipient of the Division of Fluid Dynamics Fellowship, the society cited her “novel contributions in experimental fluid dynamics with an emphasis on investigating the underlying flow physics of unsteady aerodynamic phenomena that are relevant to gusting flows, flapping wings, helicopter rotors and the control of those flows.”

Jones leads the Separated and Transient Aerodynamics Laboratory at UCLA, which studies vortex dynamics and the physics of highly separated flows using experimental methods including water channels and wind tunnels. Her group develops models for complex wind gusts and tests how different aircraft designs may fare in those conditions to improve simulations.

Her many honors include a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2016 — the nation’s highest honor for scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers — as well as an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator award and a National Science Foundation CAREER award.

Raman received the Forum on Industrial & Applied Physics Fellowship for his “fundamental advances in thermal photonics and the development of radiative cooling, including the first demonstration of daytime radiative cooling and its integration into energy systems.”

At UCLA, Raman directs the Raman Lab, which studies how light and heat interact with metamaterials and nanoscale optical structures and devices to enable new technologies. His team focuses on developing materials and systems that can passively cool buildings and enable low-energy cooling solutions for outdoor infrastructure.

The election as an APS fellow was the first of two in recent weeks for Raman. He was also named a 2026 fellow of Optica, an international scholarly society for the science of light, for “pioneering contributions to radiative cooling and thermal photonics.” His other honors include an NSF CAREER award, a Sloan Research Fellowship, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Director’s Fellowship and the Materials Research Society’s Kavli Foundation Early Career Award. 

Other UCLA Samueli faculty who have been elected as American Physical Society fellows include Prineha Narang and Kunihiko “Sam” Taira in 2024, Pirouz Kavehpour in 2023, Mona Jarrahi in 2022, Richard Kaner in 2020, and Aydogan Ozcan and Chee Wei Wong in 2019.

Outside the engineering school, Steven Furlanetto, a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, was also named a 2025 APS fellow.