As an aside, I noticed many prominent universities belong to the ORAU. I also noticed that Florida, Texas and North Carolina are well represented while not one school from California belongs. Just curious if any of these other associations are as important as AAU. I think only Yale and UMass-Lowell from New England are members.
en.wikipedia.org
"The organization was first established in 1946 as the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (ORINS) with 14 university members. Its original purpose was to advance science and technology education and research by providing access to the atomic energy research facilities of the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to faculty and students of universities across the South."
"ORAU's mission continues to be the advancement of scientific research and education. ORAU operates the
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) under contract to the
Department of Energy. ORISE provides operational capabilities dedicated to enabling critical scientific, research, and health initiatives of the department and its laboratory system by providing world class expertise in STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews, and the evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination."