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Academy Members Awarded National Medals

Elaine Fuchs and Forrest Bird are among scientists who will be recognized by President Obama in October.

Published September 23, 2009

Two individual Academy members and a corporate member are among those to be honored as recipients of the 2009 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation awards. The awards, which will be presented by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House on October 7, are considered the nation's highest honors for scientists, engineers, and inventors.

Elaine Fuchs, a professor of cell biology and development at Rockefeller University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute known for her studies of skin stem cells, is one of nine scientists who will receive the Medal of Science, which honors individuals for contributions to science and engineering.

Forrest M. Bird, a biomedical engineer with medical-device manufacturer Percussionaire Corporation who is known for his work developing specialized ventilators and his contributions to pulmonary science, is among four individuals who will receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Academy Corporate member IBM will also be honored with the medal for innovating the Blue Gene supercomputer. The technology and innovation medal recognizes individuals or companies for contributions to the promotion of technology for the improvement of the economic, environmental, or social well-being of the United States.