Robert E. Buswell

Buswell is the first (former) Buddhist monk to be elected to the AAAS. His scholarly work lies in both Chinese and Korean Buddhism, focusing especially on the contemplative dimension of the traditions. He has published over fifty works on Buddhism and Korean religion and is the premier proponent of the emerging field of Korean Buddhist Studies in the Western academy. In 2008, he was the first scholar of Buddhism and of Korea to be elected president of the Association for Asian Studies. He won the Manhae Prize, a major cultural award in Korea, for his contributions toward establishing Korean Buddhist Studies in the West.