The URochester professor studies American political behavior and survey methodology.
James Druckman, a political scientist at the University of Rochester whose research focuses on how people form opinions and how that translates into political and social phenomena, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Membership in the National Academy of Sciences is awarded to scholars in recognition of distinguished and continual achievements in original research. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the scientific community, and Druckman is among 120 members and 25 international members elected in 2026.
“I’m extremely honored and appreciative of all the opportunities I have had throughout my career,” says Druckman, the Martin Brewer Anderson Professor of Political Science. “It is special to receive the honor, too, while at URochester, which has long had a department at the forefront of advances in political science.”
Druckman, a renowned expert in political polarization and American democracy, has published seven books and more than 200 articles and book chapters in political science, communication, economics, sciences, and psychology journals.
He is involved in several prominent initiatives including sitting on the boards of American National Election Studies, the General Social Survey, the National Internet Observatory, and the board of trustees for the Russell Sage Foundation. He is also a principal investigator for the Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences.
The National Academy of Sciences, a private, nonprofit institution, was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Along with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine, it provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
Druckman joins a prestigious list of current URochester professors and professors emeriti selected to the academy in past years, including Richard Eisenberg, the Tracy H. Harris Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus; William Jones, the Charles Frederick Houghton Professor of Chemistry; Lynne Maquat, the J. Lowell Orbison Endowed Chair and Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics; and David Williams, the William G. Allyn Professor of Medical Optics.
