14 DAY TRIAL // On Thursday, October 14, US President Barack Obama announced the names of the 10 researchers that will receive the National Medal of Science.
Additionally, three scientists and a research team will be awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. These two awards are the highest distinctions that the US government can give to engineers, innovators and scientists.
The ceremony in which the recipients of the prizes will be congratulated by the President personally is currently scheduled to take place at the White House, some time in mid-November.
The US National Science Foundation (NSF) administers the prizes for the White house. The NMS was instituted back in 1959.
“The extraordinary accomplishments of these scientists, engineers and inventors are a testament to American industry and ingenuity,” said President Obama in a statement.
“Their achievements have redrawn the frontiers of human knowledge while enhancing American prosperity, and it is my tremendous pleasure to honor them for their important contributions,” he added.
“Each year we are proud to help in the selection of the National Medal of Science recipients, gifted and talented Americans whose solid research contributes to the excellence of America's science and engineering enterprise,” says Cora Marrett.
“The work of these 2009 laureates has led to impressive leaps in quantum physics, pharmaceuticals, solar energy conversion, optics and medicine, among other fields,” explains the official, who is the acting deputy director of the NSF.
“Among the laureates are scientists who have promoted the advancement of women in science, and mentored young people of all backgrounds and origins,” she goes on to say.
The prizes are awarded every year, to scientists and researchers who have made a significant contribution to the development of science and engineering in the United States.
The 2010 National Medal of Science recipients are Yakir Aharonov (Chapman University), Stephen Benkovic (Pennsylvania State University), Esther Conwell (University of Rochester) and Marye Anne Fox (University of California in San Diego).
Other winners include Susan Lindquist (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Mortimer Mishkin (National Institutes of Health), David Mumford (Brown University), and Stanley Prusiner (University of California in San Francisco).
The list is rounded up by Warren Washington (National Center for Atmospheric Research) and Amnon Yariv (California Institute of Technology).
The recipients of the 2010 National Medal of Technology and Innovation are Harry Coover, Helen and Steven Sasson. The team that won the award is made up of Marcian E. Hoff, Jr., Stanley Mazor and Federico Faggin.
These experts helped conceive, design, and develop the first microcomputer, which has since become a universal building block that enabled a multitude of novel digital electronic systems.