2006 National Medals of Science

On Monday the White House named the 13 winners of the 2006 National Medal of Science (and no, it's not your imagination, the 2005 winners were announced on May 29th). As Zuska points out "they found some women this time." Two women were awarded "America's highest honor for scientific achievement." The winners:

Rita R. Colwell: professor of microbiology at the University of Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is receiving the prize for her work on understanding marine microbes, particularly the agent that causes pandemic cholera. Colwell was president of the National Science Foundation from 1998-2004, and has also served Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology, President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, among many other positions.

• Official Faculty Web Page
• National Academy of Sciences Interview
  
• NSF Biography
  

Nina V. Federoff: professor of biology and life sciences at Pennsylvania State University. She is honored for her pioneering work on the microbiology of plants and the cloning of plant genes. Her lab focuses on understanding the molecular response of plants to stress, plant hormone response pathways and cataloging transposable element insertions.

• Official Faculty Web Page
• Book: Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Food
  

Both the 2005 and 2006 winners will be honored at the White House on July 27th.

Tags: National Medal of Science, Nina Federoff, Rita Colwell