Press Release

Secretary Gutierrez Joins President Bush in Announcing Winners of 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez joined President George W. Bush in announcing and congratulating the 2007 laureates for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nation’s highest honor for technological and scientific achievement. President Bush will present the six individuals and two corporations with their medals at a White House ceremony on September 29, 2008.

“America leads the world in technological innovation because of men, women and cutting-edge corporations like those we honor this year,” Gutierrez said. “Their contributions to our society have impacted all of our lives and they serve as both an inspiration and as role models for future generations of American innovators.”

The 2007 National Medal of Technology and Innovation Laureates are:

• Paul Baran (Atherton, Calif.), whose invention of packet switching, provided the underlying technology that made the Internet possible.
• Roscoe O. Brady (Bethesda, Md.), whose discovery of the enzymatic defects in hereditary metabolic disorders such as Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick disease, Fabry disease and Tay-Sachs disease, led to the development of a highly effective enzyme replacement therapy to treat patients with many hereditary enzyme-deficiency disorders.
• David Cutler (Medina, Wash.), who designed and implemented world standards for real-time, personal, and server-based operating systems and in the process made fundamental contributions to computer architecture, to compilers, to operating systems, and to software engineering.
• EBay (San Jose, Calif.) for pioneering the technology that encouraged and supportedonline trade, enabling global entrepreneurship and the growth of the Internet worldwide.
• Armand V. Feigenbaum (Pittsfield, Mass.), whose leadership in the development of the economic relationship of quality costs, productivity improvement, and profitability define the Total Quality Management approach for achieving performance excellence and global competitiveness.
• Adam Heller (Austin, Texas), whose contributions to electrochemistry and bioelectrochemistry led to the development of products that have improved the quality of life of millions particularly in the area of human health and well-being.
• C. Grant Willson (Austin, Texas), who created novel lithographic imaging materials and techniques that have enabled the manufacturing of smaller, faster and more efficient microelectronic components.
• Skunk Works (Palmdale, Calif.), a division of Lockheed, for its unparalleled 65-year record of developing cutting-edge aircraft, technologies and systems solutions for the U.S. Government including the introduction of operational “stealth” capability, which forever changed the landscape of USdefensive weapon systems.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was created by Congress in 1980 and has been presented by the President of the United States since 1985. A distinguished, independent committee appointed by the Secretary of Commerce evaluates the merits of all candidates nominated through an open, competitive solicitation process. Committee recommendations are forwarded to the Secretary who makes recommendations to the President for a final decision.

The Medal program is administered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Additional information is available at http://www.uspto.gov/nmti/