President Obama has chosen nine individuals to receive the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony early in 2016. The medal, established in 1959, recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering. Among the nine individuals selected for the honor this year, three are women.
Shirley Ann Jackson is president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Dr. Jackson was chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from 1995 to 1999. She then left government service to take over as president of RPI. Dr. Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in theoretical elementary particle physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in any discipline from MIT.
Mary-Claire King is a professor of genetics at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research is focused on genetics and environmental factors in HIV, lupus, and certain types of cancers. Professor King joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1995 after serving on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley. Professor King is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a Ph.D. in genetics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Geraldine Richmond holds the Presidential Chair in Science and is a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon. Professor Richmond joined the faculty at the University of Oregon in 1985 after teaching at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Dr. Richmond has served as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is a graduate of Kansas State University and holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.