United States Congressman Rush Holt will take the helm of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific organization, when he retires from the United States House of Representatives at the end of his eighth term. Mr. Holt will become chief executive officer and executive publisher of the AAAS’s Science family of journals.

Mr. Holt is a research physicist and former teacher who served as Assistant Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from 1989 until 1998. His research into alternative energy earned him a patent for an improved solar pond technology for harnessing energy from sunlight.

The 66-year-old has represented Central New Jersey’s 12th District since 1999. He had an AAAS fellowship in 1982-83 while teaching at Swarthmore College. Mr. Holt will be the 18th chief executive of the 166-year-old AAAS and will be formally named at the association’s annual meeting in San Jose, California in February, according to a release issued by the organization. He will succeed Alan I. Leshner, who is stepping down from the CEO position after 13 years.

“Rush Holt will be a great leader of AAAS and a powerful spokesman for science both nationally and internationally,” said Phillip A. Sharp, chair of the AAAS Board of Directors, who serves as an Institute Professor at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “His career as a scientist, educator, and public servant, uniquely prepares him to take the reins of AAAS from another great leader, Alan Leshner.”

Mr. Leshner commented, “Rush Holt is an ideal choice to lead AAAS and Science into the future. His expertise, experience, and commitment to science and public service are sure to greatly enhance the association’s impact in all domains.”