UMSL professor Michael Cosmopoulos has been named a fellow of the Academy of Science of St. Louis. (Photo by August Jennewein)

University of Missouri–St. Louis Professor Michael Cosmopoulos has been elected a fellow of the Academy of Science of St. Louis.

Founded in 1856, the academy is one of the oldest and most prestigious scientific associations in the United States. Cosmopoulos, the Hellenic Government-Karakas Family Foundation Endowed Professor of Greek Studies and professor of archaeology at UMSL, joins an exclusive group. Each fellow of the academy represents both an extraordinary caliber of expertise and a dedication to fostering science literacy.

“I am humbled and honored by this honor and would like to express my gratitude to the academy” said Cosmopoulos, a world-renowned authority in Greek archaeology.

Through his numerous books, articles and scholarly papers, Cosmopoulos has made significant contributions to the science of archaeology and to the field of Greek Studies. Through his exemplary teaching and outreach programs, he has educated and trained more than 2,000 students and members of the greater public in archaeology, both in his classes and on his digs.

His discovery at Iklaina, Greece, of a new Bronze Age state capital with the oldest known written state records in Europe changed the prevailing knowledge about the origins of state bureaucracies and literate societies. He has given hundreds of public lectures on archaeology and Greek culture, founded two university-based Greek Culture Centers and organized hundreds of public outreach events. He has been designated a National Geographic Society Explorer and has been honored with the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award by the Archaeological Institute of America.