In recognition of his research that uses ultracold atoms to study a broad range of topics.
The tradition of electing AAAS Fellows began in 1874 to recognize members for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
The AAAS acknowledged Spielman for his experiments using ultracold atoms to study four topics: synthetic magnetic and gauge fields, topological band structures, zitterbewegung and cosmological expansion. These diverse phenomena occur in drastically different circumstances in nature, but, working with a variety of collaborators, Spielman has recreated and studied them using ultracold atoms.