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Obama Bestows National Medal of Science on Benkovic

17 November 2010
Stephen J. Benkovic is awarded the National Medal of Science by President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House. Credit: Andy Colwell, Penn State.

Stephen J. Benkovic is awarded the National Medal of Science by President Barack Obama in the East Room of the White House. Credit: Andy Colwell, Penn State.

 

Several hundred people gathered in the East Room of the White House Wednesday evening (Nov. 17) to witness the awarding of National Medals of Science to 10 individuals, and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to three individuals and one team. Among those honored with the National Medal of Science was Stephen J. Benkovic, Evan Pugh professor of chemistry and holder of the Eberly family chair in chemistry at Penn State. For photos, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2364 online. To see a video, visit http://goo.gl/9H14E online.

"The achievements of the men and women who are onstage today stand as a testament to the ingenuity, to their zeal for discovery, and to the willingness to give of themselves and to sacrifice in order to expand the reach of human understanding," said President Barack Obama, as he opened the ceremony. "All of us have benefited from their work. The scientists in this room helped develop the semiconductors and microprocessors that have propelled the Information Age. They’ve modeled the inner workings of the human mind and the complex processes that shape the Earth’s climate. They’ve conducted pioneering research -- from mathematics to quantum physics -- into the sometimes strange and unexpected laws that govern our universe."

Obama continued, "It’s no exaggeration to say that the scientists and innovators in this room have saved lives, improved our health and well-being, helped unleash whole new industries and millions of jobs, transformed the way we work and learn and communicate. And this incredible contribution serves as proof not only of their incredible creativity and skill but of the promise of science itself."

The president explained that it's important to recognize such scientific achievement, because these types of scientific discoveries are important to the continued success of the nation. "One of the most important ways in which we can restore science to its rightful place is by celebrating the contributions of men and women like all of you," he told the laureates. "Because that’s how we’ll excite a new generation to follow in your footsteps. That’s how we can spark the imagination of a young person who just might change the world."

Benkovic received the award "for his research contributions in the field of bioorganic chemistry, which have changed our understanding of how enzymes function and advanced the identification of targets and strategies for drug design."

National Medal of Science winners Yakir Aharonov of Chapman University, left, Stephen Benkovic of Penn State, and Esther M. Conwell of the University of Rochester, listen as President Barack Obama begins his remarks during the award ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Credit: Andy Colwell, Penn State.

National Medal of Science winners Yakir Aharonov of Chapman University, left, Stephen Benkovic of Penn State, and Esther M. Conwell of the University of Rochester, listen as President Barack Obama begins his remarks during the award ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Credit: Andy Colwell, Penn State.

 

Benkovic is renowned for his research accomplishments, which have been described as highly original, of unusual breadth and as having a profound impact on understanding how proteins function as catalysts. His work is continually considered to be at the forefront of research at the interface of chemistry and biology, and he is considered to be among the most prominent mechanistic enzymologists in the world. His studies feature state-of-the-art chemical-biological techniques that include the development and application of innovative kinetic methods, the invention of novel biological protocols for investigating the chemical sequence and structural basis of enzyme activity, and the discovery of enzyme inhibitors with therapeutic potential. With these techniques, he has studied many different enzyme systems that are important in human biology, including research that has been of fundamental importance in the design of cancer drugs and antibiotics.

Warren M. Washington, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., who earned his doctorate in meteorology from Penn State in 1964, also received the award during Wednesday's ceremony.  Washington was honored "for his development and use of global climate models to understand climate and explain the role of human activities and natural processes in the Earth’s climate system, and for his work to support a diverse science and engineering workforce."

As he closed the ceremony, Obama told the laureates, "You have truly revolutionized the world in ways that are profoundly important to people in their day-to-day lives, but also help to create those steps in human progress that really make us who we are as human beings. And so we could not be prouder of you, could not be more grateful to you for your contributions."

The National Medal of Science is the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in fields of scientific research. It honors individuals for pioneering scientific research in a range of fields that enhance our understanding of the world and lead to innovations and technologies that give the United States its global economic edge. The president appoints a committee of 12 scientists and engineers to evaluate the nominees for the award. Since its establishment, the National Medal of Science has been awarded to 441 distinguished scientists and engineers whose careers spanned decades of research and development. The recipient database from 1962 to the present can be searched at http://www.nsf.gov/od/nms/recipients.cfm online.

Previous National Medal of Science winners include Nina Fedoroff, science and technology adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State and holder of the Verne M. Willaman professor of life sciences and Evan Pugh professor of life sciences at Penn State (2007); Calyampudi R. Rao, emeritus holder of the Eberly Family chair in statistics and director of the Center for Multivariate Analysis at Penn State (2002); and Erwin Mueller, Evan Pugh research professor of physics at Penn State from 1952 to 1977 (awarded posthumously in 1977).

Fedoroff is one of the nation's most prominent researchers in the life sciences and biotechnology. At the 2007 National Medal of Science ceremony, the Penn State scientist was recognized for "pioneering work on plant molecular biology and for her being the first to clone and characterize maize transposons. She has contributed to education and public policy pertaining to recombinant DNA and genetic modification of plants." In addition to her work at Penn State, Fedoroff has been the U.S. Department of State's chief scientist and principal liaison with the national and international scientific and engineering communities, on leave from the University since 2007. Her duties during this three-year appointment have included providing advice on current and emerging science and technology issues as they impact foreign policy, enhancing science and technology literacy and capacity at the State Department, and increasing the number of scientists and engineers working in Washington and in missions abroad.

Rao received the award for "his pioneering contributions to the foundations of statistical theory and multivariate statistical methodology, and their applications, enriching the physical, biological, mathematical, economic and engineering sciences." Rao is recognized internationally as a pioneer who laid the foundation of modern statistics, with multifaceted distinctions as a mathematician, researcher, scientist, and teacher. His contributions to mathematics and to the theory and application of statistics during the last six decades have become part of graduate and postgraduate courses in statistics, econometrics, electrical engineering and many other disciplines at most universities throughout the world. Rao's research in multivariate analysis, for example, is useful in economic planning, weather prediction, medical diagnosis, tracking the movements of spy planes, and monitoring the movements of spacecraft.

Mueller was awarded the medal by President Jimmy Carter posthumously "for his invention of the field-emission microscope, the field-ion microscope and the atom-probe microscope, which helped to resolve the atomic structures of solids." In 1955, Mueller became the first person to "see" an atom using a field ion electron microscope of his own invention. The device was a landmark advance in scientific instrumentation that allowed a magnification of more than 2 million times.