WASHINGTON, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday the election of 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from nine countries in recognition of their achievements in original research.

    Evelyn Hu, a Chinese-American scientist from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is among the 72 new members. Hu is also the scientific co-director of California Nanosystems Institute.

    She has over 340 publications and 11 patents in the area of high resolution fabrication processes, process-material interactions and novel device performance.

    Terence Tao, a Chinese-Australian mathematician from the University of California, Los Angeles, is included in the list of the newly-elected foreign associates.

    A child prodigy, Tao exhibited extraordinary mathematical abilities from an early age. He was promoted to a full professor at the age of 24. In August 2006, he was awarded the Fields Medal, which is often described as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics" for the prestige it carries.

    The U.S. National Academy of Sciences made the new election during its 145th annual meeting. The election brings the total number of active members to 2,041, according to the statement released by the academy.

    Foreign associates are nonvoting members of the academy, with citizenship outside the United States. Tuesday's election brings the total number of foreign associates to 397.

    The U.S. National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln that calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.