The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently selected Texas A&M University professor Sheela Athreya as the recipient of the 2023 Robert W. Sussman Award for Scientific Contributions to Anthropology.
The Sussman Award was established in 2017 to recognize the contributions to the field of anthropology by mid-career anthropologists. It is named for Robert Sussman, an AAAS Fellow and professor at Washington University in St. Louis who researched the evolution of primate and human behavior and also studied race as a social construct.
“Robert Sussman was one of my most beloved mentors at Washington University in St. Louis, where I got my Ph.D.,” Athreya said. “He and I shared a passion for debunking the idea of ‘race,’ for exploring the history of biological anthropology, for diversifying our field and understanding how our biases today are historically mediated… It is a particular honor to receive an award in his name.”
Athreya herself researches the evolution of the genus Homo in the middle and late Pleistocene, especially within Southern and Eastern Asia, investigating variation within and across populations.
“I study the skeletal remains of human ancestors who lived as far back as half a million years ago, to trace how far back we first see these physical adaptations that characterize us today,” she said.
While Athreya became a full professor just last month, her interest in the study of anthropology extends back much further.
“I became interested in the subject as a child, when I wanted to understand why we all looked so different,” she said. “I read National Geographic and Time Life books that my parents had laying around and understood early on that our features, such as skin color and nose shape, were due to adaptation to different climates and environments.”
Athreya came to Texas A&M in 2003, and her love for teaching earned her a 2021 Presidential Impact Fellowship. Two years prior in 2019, she was named a Chancellor’s Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellow to recognize the significant impact of her research in her field.
“My favorite part about both teaching and research in anthropology is that it is foundational for all subjects, whether you’re a doctor, lawyer, engineer, public servant or teacher,” she said. “Anthropology helps you become more informed, compassionate and ultimately more effective in those roles. As the famous anthropologist Ruth Benedict said, ‘The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.’ And I truly see that, particularly as I get older.