Medals for masterminds
Posted: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 9:34 PM by Alan Boyle
Two years’ worth of top scientists and technologists will be getting their medals this month during a White House ceremony. The 27 recipients of the National Medals of Science and Technology include the co-inventors of modern-day microphones and atomic clocks, a Nobel laureate, one scientist who has put in her share of government service and another who is just starting a government job.
President Bush will present the awards to the honorees for 2005 and 2006 during a ceremony at the White House on July 27. Congress established the National Medal of Science in 1959, with the National Science Foundation administering the program. The National Media of Technology came later, thanks to a 1980 congressional mandate, and the Commerce Department's Techonology Administration is in charge of that program.
Back in May, we listed the eight 2005 National Medal of Science winners, including Nobel laureate Torsten Wiesel. Here are the science laureates for 2006, as announced this week:
- Hyman Bass, mathematician at the University of Michigan: Bass' fields of interest include algebraic K-theory, number theory, group theory and algebraic geometry, according to his biography. He's also played an influential role in developing teaching materials for math education.
- Marvin Caruthers, biochemist at the University of Colorado: The methods currently used for chemically synthesizing DNA were developed at Caruthers' laboratory. These procedures have been incorporated into so-called "gene machines" for research. More recently, Caruthers pioneered new approaches for preparing DNA chips and synthesizing RNA.
- Rita Colwell, biologist at the University of Maryland and former director of the National Science Foundation: Colwell headed the NSF between 1998 and 2004, after which she returned to biotech research at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on global infectious diseases, water and health. She is currently developing an international network to address emerging infectious diseases and water issues, including safe drinking water for both the developed and developing world.
- Peter Dervan, chemist at the California Institute of Technology: Dervan has created a new field of bio-organic chemistry, focusing on the chemical principles for the sequence-specific recognition of DNA coding, according to his biography.
- Nina Fedoroff, genetic researcher at Penn State University and newly named science and technology adviser to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: Fedoroff produced one of the first complete gene sequences as a postdoctoral fellow. She turned to plant research in 1978 and pioneered the application of molecular techniques to plants by cloning some of the first plant genes.
- Daniel Kleppner, physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Kleppner is credited along with Nobel laureate Norman Ramsay for developing the hydrogen maser, an atomic clock that is widely used in navigation and timekeeping. He's also considered a pioneer in the study of Bose-Einstein condensates, which are weirdly behaving clusters of ultra-cold atoms.
- Robert Langer, a chemical engineer at MIT: According to his biography, Langer's work focuses on the interface of biotechnology and materials science. A major focus is the study and development of polymers to deliver drugs, particularly genetically engineered proteins, continuously at controlled rates for prolonged periods of time.
- Lubert Stryer, a physician and biochemist at Stanford University: Stryer's specialty is the study of how our vision system works on the molecular level. As part of his research, Stryer discovered the light-triggered amplification cycle in vision and developed new fluorescence techniques for studying biomolecules and cells.
Now we turn to the National Medals of Technology. These awards can be given to individuals, teams or whole companies. Here are the Technology Administration's citations for 2006 laureates, announced this week:
- Leslie Geddes, professor emeritus of bioengineering at Purdue University: Geddes will be recognized "for contributions to electrode design and tissue restoration that have led to the widespread use of numerous clinical devices. His discoveries and inventions have saved and enriched thousands of lives and have formed the cornerstone of much of the modern implantable medical device field."
- Paul Kaminski, chairman and chief executive officer of Virginia-based Technovation: Kaminski will be recognized "for contributions to the national security through the development of advanced, unconventional imaging from space, and for developing and fielding advanced systems with greatly enhanced survivability. As a result he has made a profound difference in the national security posture and the global leadership of the United States."
- Herwig Kogelnik, adjunct photonics systems research vice president at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs in New Jersey: Kogelnik will be honored "for pioneering contributions and leadership in the development of the technology of lasers, optoelectronics, integrated optics, and lightwave communication systems that have been instrumental in driving the tremendous capacity growth of fiber optic transmission systems for our national communications infrastructure."
- Charles Vest, former president of MIT: Vest is being recognized "for his visionary leadership in advancing America's technological workforce and capacity for innovation through revitalizing the national partnership among academia, government and industry."
- James Edward West, research professor of electrical and computer engineering at Johns Hopkins University: West will be recognized "for co-inventing the electret microphone while working with Gerhard Sessler at Bell Labs in 1962. Ninety percent of the 2 billion microphones produced annually and used in everyday items such as telephones, hearing aids, camcorders, and multimedia computers employ electret technology."
Here are the 2005 technology laureates, announced in June:
- Alfred Cho, adjunct vice president of semiconductor research at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs: Cho is being recognized for his contributions to the invention of molecular beam epitaxy and its commercial development over the course of three decades into an advanced production tool for electronic and photonic devices, with applications to cellular phones, CD players, and high-speed communications.
- Dean Sicking, professor of civil engineering at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln: Sicking is being recognized for innovative design and development of roadside and racetrack safety technologies that dissipate the energy of high-speed crashes, preventing approximately 150 fatalities and countless injuries each year, and contributing to the safety and well being of every American who travels the nation’s highways.
- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Team: Ronald Eby, Velupillai Puvanesarajah, Dace Madore and Maya Koster are being recognized for their work in the discovery, development, and manufacture of Prevnar, the first-ever vaccine to prevent the deadly and disabling consequences of Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in children. It has been described as the single most important advance in pediatric medicine in the last decade.
- Genzyme Corp.: A biotech leader based in Massachusetts, Genzyme is being recognized for pioneering a business that has led to dramatic improvements in the health of thousands of patients with rare diseases and harnessing the promise of biotechnology to develop innovative new therapies.
- Semiconductor Research Corp.: Based in North Carolina, SRC is being recognized for building the world’s largest and most successful university research force to support the rapid growth of the semiconductor industry; for proving the concept of collaborative research as the first high-tech research consortium; and for creating the concept and methodology that evolved into the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.
- Xerox Corp.: Based in Connecticut, Xerox is being recognized for over 50 years of innovation in marking, materials, electronics, communications and software that created the modern reprographics, digital printing and print-on-demand industries.
Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this month's most famous scientific honoree, agricultural scientist (and fellow Iowan) Norman Borlaug. The 93-year-old "father of the Green Revolution" received the Congressional Gold Medal on Tuesday.
Borlaug received accolades on the order of those given to Thomas Edison and Martin Luther King - who are among the past winners of the Gold Medal, Congress' highest civilian honor. He's credited with saving up to a billion lives by developing agricultural innovations to head off widespread hunger in the 1960s - a feat that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
"The name Norman Borlaug may not be known in many households on earth, but his life's work has reached almost every kitchen table on earth," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid noted during the ceremony.
President Bush was in attendance as well, and said the greatest tribute to Borlaug would be to launch a "second Green Revolution." Borlaug agreed that much more had to be done - and said solving the hunger problem could address the world's other ills as well.
"We need better and more technology, for hunger and poverty and misery are very fertile soils into which to plant all kinds of 'isms,' including terrorism," The Associated Press quoted Borlaug as saying.
