Chemist Anna Krylov inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Anna Krylov, USC Associates Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, was inducted on April 23 into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). Founded in 1780 by more than 60 “scholar-patriots,” including John Hancock and John Adams, the academy honors intellectual excellence and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration.

Its charter is to “cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Krylov’s fellow inductees this year include novelist Amy Tan, cancer geneticist Kenneth Offit and actor Danny Glover.

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a professor of education, psychology and neuroscience and founding director of USC’s Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (USC CANDLE), was also inducted.

Krylov’s induction highlights her exceptional contributions to theoretical and computational chemistry, specifically in understanding molecular behavior at the quantum level. Her research spans various fields, including bioimaging, solar energy, quantum information science, and spectroscopy.

At USC Dornsife, she leads the iOpenShell lab, where her team develops computational methods to study molecules, particularly those that are electronically excited or contain unpaired electrons, known as radicals. Radicals are crucial in many chemical and biological processes, including combustion, solar energy conversion, and DNA repair.

Among her significant contributions is the development of the spin-flip approach, a novel method that allows scientists to study reactions involving radicals and other complex molecular species. This method enhances traditional computational chemistry techniques, making it easier for researchers to model reactions in bioimaging and renewable energy production.

Her research continues to advance science. “In the past decade we have been working on a formidable problem — developing a unified theoretical framework for bound and unbound electrons,” says Krylov. Bound electrons are held within atoms or molecules, while unbound electrons have enough energy to exist freely.

“We have developed many-body methods for states on the continuum (electronic resonances), which we now apply to important phenomena. And, we are at the verge of introducing new tools for treating free electrons with high accuracy.”

Krylov’s interest in chemistry arose from her early fascination with “flames and explosions,” she says. “When I realized that you can make a really big bang with a proper mix of chemicals — that was it for me.”

She completed her master’s chemistry at Moscow State University in 1990 and her PhD in 1996 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

While in Jerusalem, she met Hanna Reisler, University Professor, Lloyd Armstrong Jr. Chair for Science and Engineering and professor of chemistry, and Curt Wittig, Paul A. Miller Professor of Letters, Arts and Sciences, when they came to the university for a visit. The two later invited Krylov to present a seminar to USC’s chemistry department. When an opening became available in the department, they encouraged her to apply. She joined in 1998 and achieved tenure in 2004.

In addition to the induction into the academy, Krylov has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the Barry Prize, the Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy and the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, Academia Europaea, and International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

At USC, she’s been honored with the WiSE Architects of Enduring Change Award, the Hanna Reisler Mentoring Award and the Mellon Mentoring Award, among others. She has also been recognized as a fellow of the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

In her acceptance letter, which will join its gallery of letters from recipients, Krylov noted that her honor comes at a crucial moment for higher education. Although universities hold enormous intellectual capital, in recent years they have drifted off course by prioritizing political advocacy and identity politics over truth-seeking and meritocracy, she says.

“All this has led to a breach of their social contract with the American public. This crisis has created fertile ground for governmental overreach, interruption of science funding and encroachment on academic freedom,” she wrote in her letter.

Organizations like the academy, along with their members, are well-positioned to lead crucial reform in the academy, she adds. “Together, we can defend the principles of free inquiry against political attacks from both sides of the political spectrum,” she wrote. “Together, we can work with government officials to direct their actions towards the betterment of our institutions rather than to their destruction.”