Forty-eight members of the class of 2002 were elected this week to the Massachusetts chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the prestigious academic society.

“It’s a great honor,” said Susie Y. Huang ’02, a Chemistry concentrator in Dunster House. “I think I worked really hard last year, and the rewards are being seen now.”

Alpha Iota, the Massachusetts chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, elects three installments of Harvard students through faculty committees for social sciences, humanities and natural sciences.

Twenty-four students were named last spring; a third group will be selected just prior to Commencement next spring, bringing the total to just under ten percent of the senior class.

Each year, Phi Beta Kappa elects over 15,000 new members to 262 chapters from colleges across the United States.

Alpha Iota, founded in 1781, is the oldest continually operating chapter of the society.

Students are initially selected on the basis of their grade point averages, and then the group is narrowed down using teacher recommendations and a committee examination of the breadth and difficulty of their academic programs.

An induction ceremony for all of the class’ members will be held in the spring.

Many of the students selected have demonstrated a broad approach to a liberal arts education.

James L. Wilson ’02 of Mather House entered Harvard planning to concentrate in Mathematics, but became enthralled with political philosophy after taking core classes in Historical Study and Moral Reasoning. Now a Social Studies Concentrator, he is also involved the Harvard Debate Council and in activism for women’s rights.

Ethan M. Merlin ’02 of Currier House also began as a Mathematics concentrator, but switched to the Study of Religion. He said that while being recognized for academic excellence was exciting, “It’s also only one piece of college life as a whole.”

Currently the director of Mizmor Shir, the Jewish a capella group, Merlin said, “The real reward for learning is how it fits into my life and what I’m trying to build with it.”

The seniors elected are:

Nickolay T. Boyadjiev, Morgan E. A. Bradylyons, Matthew F. Buas, Angus R. Burgin, Richard C. Chiburis, Andrew H. Chu, Laura K. Cobb, Joseph F. Cooper, Elizabeth B. Cullum, Aaron J. Dinkin, Benjamin G. Edelman, Emily C. Ferguson, John N. Friedman, Peter W. Graham, Jennifer H. Hepps, Michael A. Hill, Robert S. Hill, Susie Y. Huang, Cendri A. C. Hutcherson, Sahir S. Islam, Derek J. Kaufman, Vera Keller, Yuni Kim, David D. Kornhaber, Timothy B. Lautz, Jonathan L. Lee, Janice M. Leung, Conor M. Liston, Rochelle P. Lundy, Catherine A. Marlantes, Nicole M. Martin, Deirdre A. Mask, Philip J. Matchett, Ethan M. Merlin, Sarah E. Moss, Alec J. Nevala-Lee, Emily N. Ogden, Joshua L. Passman, Parag A. Pathak, Devon R. Quasha, Katherine E. Sharaf, Timothy F. Sohn, Pauline Tsai, Brooke J. Wagner, Silas L. Wang, Andre D. Williams, James L. Wilson, Lindsey O. Worth.