NSF PR 00-79 - October 24, 2000
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may be out of date; please see current contact information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.
President Honors Top Junior Faculty in Science and
Engineering
President Clinton today named 20 National Science
Foundation (NSF)-supported researchers as recipients
of the 2000 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists
and Engineers (PECASE). The awards were presented
at the White House Old Executive Office Building by
the president's science advisor, Neal Lane.
The PECASE award is the highest honor bestowed by
the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and
engineers who are in the early stages of establishing
their independent research careers. This is the fifth
year of the awards.
Nine participating federal agencies shared 59 PECASE
awards for 2000. The Clinton Administration established
the awards in February 1996 to recognize some of the
nation's finest junior scientists and engineers and
to maintain U.S. leadership across the frontiers of
scientific research.
"These extraordinarily gifted young scientists and
engineers represent the best in our country," President
Clinton said. "Through their talent, ability, and
dedication, they will quicken the pace of discovery
and put science and technology to work advancing the
human condition as never before."
"These awards acknowledge much more than past performance,"
said NSF director Rita Colwell, "They represent our
expectation that these women and men will continue
to provide leadership in science, engineering and
higher education well into the millennium."
NSF awardees have demonstrated a notable commitment
to the integration of research and education. Since
the White House established the award in 1996, 100
NSF-supported faculty members have received this presidential
honor in such diverse fields as biophysics, mathematical
modeling, transportation engineering and microeconomics.
NSF selects its PECASE nominees from among its most
meritorious CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development)
awardees. The CAREER award supports exceptionally
promising college and university junior faculty who
are committed to the integration of research and education.
CAREER awards range from $200,000 to $500,000 for
a period of four to five years.
Editors: For more information, see:
http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/pecase/start.htm
http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/career/start.htm
Attachment: List of NSF
PECASE Award recipients
Attachment
Recipients of the 2000 Presidential Early Career Award
for Scientists and Engineers
The following are National Science Foundation supported
researchers receiving the Presidential Early Career
Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Sara C. Billey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- For outstanding research on the combinatorial
structures of Schubert varieties, and for innovative
ideas in exploring the changing roles of computers
in mathematics and education.
Reinhold Blumel, Wesleyan University - For outstanding
research in quantum and classical chaos using charged
particle traps, and for innovative teaching and involvement
of undergraduates in research.
Wilfredo Colón, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- For experimental and theoretical approaches
to understanding the mechanism by which the amino-acid
sequence of a protein determines its three dimensional
structure, and for mentoring undergraduate and high-school
students.
John N. DuPont, Lehigh University - For initiating
a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative research
and education effort in solid freeform fabrication
using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) processing.
Carl T. Friedrichs, College of William and Mary
- For an exceptional interdisciplinary approach
to understanding sediment dynamics and its impact
on marine ecology, and his extensive experience with
mentoring programs for undergraduates and high school
students.
Theresa Gaasterland, Rockefeller University -
For outstanding research on computer-based analysis
of rapidly accumulating genomic data and for dedicated
development of course materials for graduate students
integrating computer science and biology.
Susan C. Hagness, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- For outstanding technical expertise in the area
of increasing data transfer rates over optical fiber
communications systems and for her extensive outreach
and educational activities.
Youssef Hashash, University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign
- For developing an integrated research and education
project that addresses a novel interactive visualization
development and learning environment for material
constitutive relations, referred to as VizCoRe.
Scott M. Husson, Clemson University - For noteworthy
contributions that will impact the development of
a range of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) surfaces
and for developing an outstanding program for mathematics
and science education.
Edwin C. Kan, Cornell University - For design
and fabrication of multi-element modules for logic
and memory devices that will have major impact on
a variety of fields, and for novel research trends
that will enhance learning efficiency.
John David Kubiatowicz, University of California,
Berkeley - For ground-breaking architectural research
on extremely wide-area data storage and access as
the basis required for pervasive and widely distributed
network-based applications, and broad, well integrated
educational contributions.
Alon Y. Levy, University of Washington - For
development of theory and tools for flexible and effective
construction, maintenance, and management of Web sites,
and for outstanding dedication to graduate and undergraduate
education.
Garrick E. Louis, University of Virginia - For
developing a research and educational program in the
area of integrated municipal sanitation systems which
will impact the delivery of basic municipal services,
both domestically and internationally.
Kwan-Liu Ma, University of California-Davis -
For significant contributions to the areas of large
data, parallel processing, human-computer interaction
and computational science, and his education plan
emphasizing hands-on experience for graduate and undergraduate
students.
David L. Patrick, Western Washington University
- For creative research on liquid crystal imprinting
with applications in rewritable memory storage devices
controlled by optical, magnetic and electrical fields,
and educational commitments.
Georgia Perakis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- For outstanding research on the development
of a theory for understanding the nature of traffic
equilibria, and for her commitment to undergraduate
and graduate education.
Anne S. Robinson, University of Delaware - For
advances in human health research by improving the
understanding of protein aggregation at the molecular
level, and for education programs to prepare students
for opportunities in biotechnology.
Jenny R. Saffran, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- For outstanding contributions to the understanding
of cognitive processes involved in language acquisition,
and for creative ideas for integrating teaching and
research in undergraduate education.
Arthur R. Smith, Ohio University - For outstanding
research on Gallium Nitrate (GaN) surface structures,
exposing the importance of wurtzite GaN polarity and
enabling atomistic understanding of GaN crystal growth,
and educational commitments.
Kimberley A. Venn, Macalester College - For
an observational program on the new 8-10 meter class
telescopes to determine the chemical composition of
stars in nearby galaxies, and educational commitments.
|