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NSF PR 98-84 - December 8, 1998
This material is available primarily for archival
purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information
may be out of date; please see current contact information
at media
contacts.
National Science Medalists Named
President Clinton today named nine of the nation's
most renowned scientific researchers to receive the
National Medal of Science, citing them for "their
creativity, resolve, and a restless spirit of innovation
to ensure continued U.S. leadership across the frontiers
of scientific knowledge."
The individuals awarded the nation's highest scientific
honor have had wide-ranging impact on social policy,
cancer research, materials science, and greatly extended
knowledge of our Earth and the solar systems. Their
theoretical achievements also led to many practical
applications.
"These are superstars in their respective fields,"
Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation
(NSF), said. "They've contributed a lifetime of stunning
discoveries. We can only recognize them once with
a science medal, but we applaud them daily for their
continual contributions to humankind, to the reservoir
of scientific knowledge and for the impact they have
on the students they mentor and educate along the
way."
William Julius Wilson, a professor of social policy
at Harvard University's JFK School of Government,
is one of this year's awardees. He is noted for influencing
a generation of social scientists through his studies
and published works in urban poverty and its causes.
Bruce N. Ames, University of California, Berkeley,
and Janet D. Rowley, University of Chicago, have had
a major impact on cancer-related studies -- Ames for
work on cancer and aging, Rowley for her research
in chromosome abnormalities that opened new areas
of study in different types of leukemia.
John W. Cahn, a fellow at the National Institute of
Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., is
considered the nation's intellectual leader in materials
science.
Eli Ruckenstein, a Romanian-born professor of engineering
and applied science at the State University of New
York in Buffalo, has many pioneering achievements
in most areas of chemical engineering and is a world
leader in catalysis and surface phenomona.
George M. Whitesides, chesitry professor at Harvard
University, made revolutionary discoveries in several
fields of chemistry and more recently, notable advances
in the fabrication of ultra small structures.
Cathleen Synge Morawetz, a mathematics professor at
New York University, advanced the science of new aircraft
wing design because of her work in partial differential
equations started in the 1950s.
Don L. Anderson, a geophysics professor at Caltech,
has led the way to better understanding of Earth and
Earth-like planets.
John N. Bahcall, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton,
New Jersey, was a key figure in helping plan the development
of the Hubble Space Telescope while also pioneering
the development of neutrino astrophysics.
Including this year's recipients, the National Medal
of Science now has been awarded to 362 leading U.S.
scientists and engineers. The medal was established
by Congress in 1959 and is administered by NSF. It
honors individuals who have significantly advanced
knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences,
biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics.
A 12-member presidential committee reviews nominations
for the annual awards.
Attachment: List of individual
recipients and institution contacts
Attachment
RECIPIENTS OF THE 1998 NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE
- Bruce N. Ames, Professor of Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology and Director, National Institute
of Environment Health Sciences Center, University
of California, Berkeley, for changing the direction
of basic and applied research on mutation, cancer
and aging. He devised a simple, inexpensive test
for environmental and natural mutagens, identified
causes and effects of oxidative DNA damage, and
translated these findings into intelligible public
policy recommendations on diet and cancer risk
for the American people. (Media Contacts: Bill
Noxon, National Science Foundation, 703-306-1070
wnoxon@nsf.gov, and Bob Sanders, at the University
of California, Berkeley, 510-643-6998, rls@pa.urel.berkeley.edu)
- Don L. Anderson, Eleanor and John R. McMillan
Professor of Geophysics at the California Institute
of Technology Seismological Laboratory, for leading
contributions to understanding the composition,
structure and dynamics of Earth and Earth-like
planets, and his influence on the advancement
of earth sciences over the past three decades
nationally and internationally. (Media Contacts:
Bill Noxon, NSF, and Robert Tindol, Caltech, 626-395-3631,
tindol@caltech.edu)
- John N. Bahcall, Richard Black Professor
of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study,
and Visiting Lecturer with rank of professor,
Princeton University, for pioneering efforts in
neutrino astrophysics and his contributions to
the planning of the Hubble Space Telescope. (Media
Contacts: Bill Noxon, NSF, and Georgia Whidden,
Institute for Advanced Study, 609-734-8239, gwhidden@ias.edu)
- John W. Cahn, Fellow, National Institute
of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md.,
for his profound influence on the course of materials
and mathematics research, and his immense impact
on three generations of materials scientists,
solid-state physicists and mathematicians. (Media
Contacts: Bill Noxon, NSF, and Emil Venere, NIST,
301-975-5745, venere@nist.gov)
- Cathleen Synge Morawetz, Professor Emerita,
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New
York University, for pioneering advances in partial
differential equations and wave propagation resulting
in applications to aerodynamics, acoustics and
optics. (Media Contacts: Bill Noxon, NSF, and
Josh Plaut, NYU, 212-998-6797, josh.plaut@nyu.edu)
- Janet D. Rowley, Blum-Riese Distinguished
Service Professor, University of Chicago, for
revolutionizing cancer research, diagnosis and
treatment through her discovery of chromosomal
translocations in cancer, and in her pioneering
work on the relationship of prior treatment to
recurring chromosome abnormalities. (Media Contacts:
Bill Noxon, NSF, and John Easton, University of
Chicago, 773-702-6241, jeaston@mcis.bsd.uchicago.edu)
- Eli Ruckenstein, Distinguished Professor,
Department of Chemical Engineering, State University
of New York at Buffalo for pioneering theories
and experimental achievements in colloidal and
surface phenomena, catalysis and advanced materials,
and as a world-leading scientist in these fields.
(Media Contacts: Bill Noxon, NSF, and Ellen Goldbaum,
SUNY, Buffalo, 716-645-6066, goldbaum@buffalo.edu)
- George M. Whitesides, Mallinckrodt Professor
of Chemistry, Harvard University, for innovative
and far-ranging research in chemistry, biology,
biochemistry and materials science that have brought
breakthroughs to transition metal chemistry, heterogeneous
reactions, organic surface chemistry and enzyme-mediated
synthesis. (Media Contacts: Bill Noxon, NSF, and
Bill Cromie, Harvard University, 617-495-1585,
william_cromie@harvard.edu)
- William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda
L. Geyser University Professor, John F. Kennedy
School of Government, Harvard University, for
pioneering methods of interdisciplinary social
science research, advancing understanding of the
interaction between the macroeconomic, social
structural, cultural and behavioral forces that
cause and reproduce inner city poverty. (Media
Contacts: Bill Noxon, NSF, and Bill Cromie, Harvard
University, 617-495-1585, william_cromie@harvard.edu,
also: Miranda Daniloff, JFK School of Government,
617-495-9379, miranda_daniloff@harvard.edu)
See also:
NSF Director Rita Colwell's
statement
Vital Statistics
of the Awardees of the 1998 Medal of Science
Fact Sheet: Medal of
Science
Committee
for the 1998 National Medal of Science
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