Harvard's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society, Alpha Iota, last week announced the names of the 48 seniors and advanced-standing juniors it has elected.

A committee, headed by chapter president and Professor of the History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn, selected the honorees out of an original pool of 96 students who were chosen on the basis of grade point average.

The recipients were then elected based on two recommendations and their transcripts.

Professor of Comparative Religion Diana L. Eck, vice president of the chapter and master of Lowell House, said the society looks for students who demonstrate academic breadth.

"[Phi Beta Kappa] recognizes excellence in scholarship that goes beyond one's own field of study," she said.

Twenty-five students were elected to the society in an initial round last spring, and more will be picked in a final round before commencement.

Daniel B. Baer '00, a Quincy resident, said he appreciated the honor.

"Of course honors like these aren't something you work toward, but it is a nice recognition of the time and effort that goes into schoolwork," Baer said.

David F. Browne '01-'00, a Winthrop resident, said the application was not a hassle to complete, and that the honor was good news.

"I'm happy to hear about it," he said. "It's a very low maintenance thing."

The inductees, all members of the Class of 2000, are Nisha S. Agarwal, David A. Boyajian and Yoon-Ho Lee of Adams House; Li-Chung Chen, Aaron M. Einbond, Katerina Linos, Jacob A. Lurie, Michael S. Passaportis and Matthew C. Warburton of Cabot House; Joy L. Ishii, Aziz F. Rana and Grigory Tovbis of Currier House; Christopher B. Slowe of Dudley House; Carlye A. Murphy and Elizabeth C. Oelsner of Dunster House; Brian T. Chan, Geoffrey A. Fowler, Winifred M. Li, Margot L. Minardi, Thomas G. Saunders and Lauren A. Wetzler of Eliot House; Carl W. Davis and Laura T. Lee of Kirkland House; Jeremy P. Condit and James A. Hunter of Leverett House; Henry C. Fu, Albert C. Ju, Emma F. Phillips, Laura E. Rosenbaum, Randy Z. Wu and Yu Yasufuku of Lowell House; Chenghuan Chu, Ari M. Lipman, Nicholas R. Parrillo, Dmitry Sagalovskiy and Derek D. Smith of Mather House; Alice H. Pritikin and Hannah K. Reid Weiss of Pforzheimer House; Baer, Kentaro Fujita, David G. Harris, Matthew P. Humbaugh, Benjamin A. Rahn, Saloni K. Saraiya, and Sam Spital of Quincy House; Browne, Alicia M. DeSantis and Michael R. Grunwald of Winthrop House.

All of the students contacted yesterday said they were unaware of the honor.

Operating since the fall of 1781, Alpha Iota is the oldest continuously operating Phi Beta Kappa chapter in America.