Bush Names National Medalists

President George W. Bush has named the 2004 winners of the nation’s top science and technology honors. The eight National Medal of Science winners and seven National Medal of Technology winners include four researchers with ties to chemistry or chemical engineering.

Robert N. Clayton, the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, is being honored for his “leading contributions to cosmic chemistry, from presolar system dust to planets,” according to a statement from the National Science Foundation, which administers the National Medal of Science program. The agency adds that Clayton is “an exemplary role model as a mentor, teacher, and advocate for rigorous science.”

Edwin N. Lightfoot, Hilldale Professor Emeritus of Chemical & Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is being recognized for helping to develop the fields of biochemical and biomedical engineering, including the areas of blood oxygenation, oxygen diffusion into tissue, and bioseparations, according to NSF.

Stephen J. Lippard, Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is being lauded as “an expert in the interactions between metal ions and biological molecules” and “the leader in inorganic chemistry in living systems,” says NSF.

And Phillip A. Sharp, Institute Professor at MIT and a recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, is cited for the discovery of RNA splicing. NSF notes that he is “regarded as an inspirational and tireless leader and teacher, and a generous public servant.” He cofounded the biopharmaceutical company Biogen Idec.

The National Medal of Technology winners include Gen-Probe, San Diego, which is being recognized for “the development and commercialization of new blood-testing technologies and systems for the direct detection of viral diseases,” according to the Commerce Department’s Technology Administration, which administers the National Medal of Technology program. Also, IBM’s microelectronics division is being honored for its innovations in semiconductor technology.