William Lucas, UC Davis professor of plant biology, has been elected a foreign member of France's Academie des Sciences, to honor his research on cell-to-cell communication and the movement of viruses and macromolecules in plants. Lucas has also been invited to hold the prestigious Interuniversity International Francqui Chair in Belgium. The position was established by the Francqui Foundation to support higher education and research in Belgium. During the six-month position, which begins in February 2001, Lucas will teach scientists at Belgium universities about his field of research. He is the first plant biologist to receive this honor.