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National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award
Background. The National Science Foundation's
(NSF) annual Alan T. Waterman Award honors an outstanding
young U.S. scientist or engineer. The honoree receives
a grant of $500,000 over three years for scientific
research or advanced study in any field of science,
plus a medal and other recognition.
Public Law 94-86 of the 94th Congress established the
Waterman Award on August 9, 1975 to mark the 25th
anniversary of the NSF and to honor its first director,
Alan T. Waterman.
Criteria. A candidate must be a U.S. citizen
or permanent resident, 35 years of age or younger,
or not more than seven years beyond receiving a Ph.D.
by December 31 of the year in which nominated. The
candidate should have demonstrated exceptional individual
achievements in scientific or engineering research
of sufficient quality to be placed at the forefront
of his or her peers. Criteria also include originality,
innovation and a significant impact on the individual's
field.
Candidates. Nominations come from responses to a
solicitation
letter sent to about 150 universities and colleges; scientific,
engineering and other professional societies and organizations; and
members of the National Academy of Sciences and the
National Academy of Engineering. The solicitation
is also made available on the NSF web site.
Using a special
nomination form, respondents nominate candidates who, in their judgment, have made
outstanding contributions in science or engineering
that put them in the forefront of their respective
fields early in their careers.
Selection. The Waterman Award Committee reviews all nominations
and supporting documentation; it then forwards a recommendation
of the most outstanding candidate to the NSF director
and to the National Science Board for a final determination.
Recipients. The 2003 recipient of the Waterman Award is Angelika
Amon, a cell biologist from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Other recent recipients include the following:
- 2002 – Erich Jarvis, Duke University,
neurobiology
- 2001 - Vahid Tarokh,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wireless communications
- 2000 - Jennifer Doudna, Yale,
biochemistry
- 1999 - Chaitan Khosla, Stanford,
chemical engineering
- 1998 - Christopher C. Cummins,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, inorganic chemistry
- 1997 - Eric A. Cornell, University
of Colorado and National Institute of Standards and Technology, physics
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