Chemists Honored With U.S. National Medals

President Barack Obama selected nearly two dozen researchers—including five ACS members—to receive the nation’s top honor for scientists, engineers, and innovators. The laureates “represent the ingenuity and imagination that has long made this nation great—and they remind us of the enormous impact a few good ideas can have when these creative qualities are unleashed in an entrepreneurial environment,” Obama said when announcing the recipients last month. Twelve researchers will receive the 2012 National Medal of Science, which recognizes those who have made an outstanding contribution to science and engineering. The 2012 laureates include ACS members Allen J. Bard and John B. Goodenough, both at the University of Texas, and M. Frederick Hawthorne of the University of Missouri. Eleven innovators and one company will receive the National Medal of Technology & Innovation, which recognizes those who have made a significant impact on U.S. competitiveness and quality of life, and strengthened the nation’s technological workforce. ACS members Frances H. Arnold, Caltech, and Robert S. Langer, MIT, are among this year’s group. Medals will be awarded at a White House ceremony this spring.